The New Normal?

    In today's culture the term 'normal' has changed a lot. 
    Back in the day, if you saw someone with a tattoo that person would be known as a rebellious, gang banger. Now, tattoos are a way to express yourself. The new normal has changed with things like that for centuries. The thing is, this normal is more dangerous.
  
                   
                              Uh, Duh?
     
       Ah yes, what a lovely word to hear. "It goes like this, duh!" I know a daughter, little sister or a little girl next door has said that to you before. How is it that one word can make you feel stupid on so many levels? Especially when  its uttered by a nine year old.
        How is it that little girls have so much attitude now? "Ah well, its starting out younger now." You may say. Uh duh! No its not. Oh sorry about my language.
        How is it that we're expecting our children to act disrespectful toward us? I'm not a mother, but I've had my fill of disrespect. Little girls and teen girls are expected to act a certain way by the world's standards.   "But my daughter knows God's ways!" you may say, but Satan is  smart, my friend.
    
                      Monkey See Monkey Hear
                      Monkey Do
        
             We're all like monkeys ( or sheep). What we see, we do. 
              In the Bible, God refers to us as sheep. My Sunday school teacher told me about a guy that was talking about not wanting to be a sheep. " I don't want to be a dumb sheep! They're so stupid!! I want to be a lion. Why does Satan get to be the lion?"
               Why indeed? 
                            Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
                                 1 Peter 5:8
              I don't know about you but that verse gives me the creeps. If you don't take Satan/the devil seriously, you need to start. 
             Satan is devious and he knows exactly how to get to our daughters. He hates them because he knows that they (all of us) are created in God's image and they have a chance of becoming a daughter of God. 
              As I said above, he knows exactly how to get to our daughters.  Have you ever seen or heard your daughter do a dance move or say something that made you want to smack her and scream in horror at the same time?
           " I don't know where that came from." I've heard so many mothers say this. Do you really want to know? TV shows, music, movies, friends, and even other parents. Children are scary-observant. I've witnessed a girl listening to a song for the first time and she mastered the melody after listening to it once. You may have to consider what you have to literally toss out and sacrifice for your daughters and sons. Jesus never said that it would be easy. We need to be alert and aware like children to be able to stop this.
                             
                Pretty Little Lighters

              You know ABC Family? They admit that they're a new kind of family. Yeah, they got that right! The shows are red flags that their new family is deadly. 
              If you were to live like the example of those shows, it would be catastrophic!
               "Alright kids anything goes! You can keep secrets and lie as long as you look pretty doing it. Daddy and mommy are going to have affairs and be completely unfaithful to each other." Okay that may be to dramatic but the TV shows, music and movies are screaming that message.   As children of God we need to be pretty little lighters. Yeah, lighters. Jesus is the flame and we're the lighter. 
                 It will be hard to live separate from the world. I'm not saying you can't listen to music, watch television or movies. Simply put, follow Christ. He will show you and tell you what you and your family can do that's fun and pure. You need to be sensitive to his leading because His voice is soft.
                  Now, if the new normal is like ABC Family, I don't want to be normal! Who's with me?!
   

                I know music is a humongous influence on young people (I love music!!) I want to leave you with a list of music that's awesome and meaningful...
                        Toby Mac, Group 1 Crew, Dara Maclean, Heather Williams, Kerrie Roberts, Need to Breath, Holly Starr, Matt Kearney, Building 429, Chris August, Plumb, Barlow Girl, Red, Skillet, Britt Nicole, Royal Tailor and so, so much more!
                     
                  Jesus calls us to live like Him.  Live in the world but not of it.