Eric’s Sunday Sermon; “To Begin Again In Parenting”.

Can we really really begin again in Parenting? Maybe Parenting is too restrictive of a term. I find myself to begin again parenting to myself. Isn’t that strange. But I have a parenting in me for me. Perhaps these sermons are to begin again in parenting. I wrote the proper sermon on Wednesday last. Out the danged window it went. For some reason I must begin again in parenting myself.

So we ask ourselves. Is there guilt in not doing guilt inside ourselves when us as teachers find fault within ourselves? Now that is heavy. I do not even think that I can think that (Ala Dr. Seuss)

Those above are really not to be answered. Look at the morning moon or clouds going by, these may do you better.

So I am an understanding and supporting parent. Why am I as my own parent so hard on myself? If you deny this in yourself perhaps we should have a chat. It is not self condemnation. It must be self adoration. “Fault” is a great term. I like it. I find fault in many of life’s things. And mostly in myself for finding fault in other’s actions. This judgement of others is not so good. I need to begin again in parenting myself. Son who is me, you have got to knock it off. If you do not judge and only love all lives around you will be better and certainly not worse.

Once again the parenting begins. Today must be better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today. Bad stuff happens and good stuff happens it is how we parent ourselves that makes us thrive. Today will be in strife. I simply cannot let my wife drive. But she will fight me on it. She just did. But we will make it through because of my inner parent. That is just crazy talk but too real. A parent is gentle in the application of rule and discipline as must be the person within us. We are not the Judge and jury over ourselves. We are our advocates for peace and well being. I am not my brothers keeper and yet I am. I am not my keeper but yet I am.

Bow down to peace and love my friend. And let me be my friend. Internal strife causes war between nations as much as it does within us. Let us learn to be parental peacekeepers.

Today is a tough one. We are having to be separate kinds of parents. Perhaps argument is more the rule than getting along. Ha ha ha. Ain’t no devil got us. So we got at like cats and dogs and about every 30 minutes do our group family hug. Parenting is sometimes required to be tough. My wife parents me. I am kind of a kid. Loose cannon some say.

Now my wife in her 40’s can run four crews and four locations and demand perfection in work. I know that tomorrow she will command four crews. One is Russian born, One is Mexican born and the others American born. She works for a contractor and she is one tough lady. I think she is about four feet nine and weighing in at about ninety four pounds. My nine year old is the same in physical. I am over six feet and a big boned presence who has broken more noses than tomatoes on my vine. When I walk into a room either in my black leather jacket or tie and coat folks get my presence. I effect.

I was laughing hard over beer with a buddy. He declared that my wife was hard as nails. I simply told him that she was tougher than an 1849 railroad spike. My children parent me and for danged sure so does my wife. Even my ex-wife. Not to mention my five siblings.

A fine friend told me I was a good man. I just said that those around me were good like him. Not me. We have the opportunity to pick our parenting and our friends. If someone were to tell me I did it right I would have to say “not me but all my parents were such”. Do we teach ourselves? Or do we let others teach us? I like to sit in my big chairs and let my young son tell me about life. I just live to learn and it can even come from our small terrarium or maybe a song or scripture or a buddy. Around here we just learn. I think I should be the boss of everything. But those who parent me suggest otherwise.

I was just picking up on my Italian. My mom and dad insisted on at least three languages. Not to speak it so much but to live and understand cultures. Clearly we were German in our home. But I did Latin area languages and then married a Vietnamese after years there. French still befuddles me. And I never get Finish though I study it, amazingly interesting. Cajun from Louisiana is way cool, my teacher there was awesome, we did it through music.

My point is that we must have parents in several places lest we fail to continue to learn.

So on this day I am back on the reed. I got’s to relearn it for a new beginning. Maybe I just need to do a new beginning in my head and not someone else. Or maybe I should do a new beginning in my God. That clarinet though is brutal to relearn. I have to wonder what the rich people are doing today.

New beginnings are fantastic. I do not even need to leave my comfy house. I just pick up a new thingy. Or maybe I just read the U.S. constitution one more time.

I do not like so much new beginnings with women. My first for 15 years and my now love for nearly on twenty years. My elder children I insist they have new stuff. In their 30s. But here is how it happens. My wife was on a high horse. Judging and demanding for a couple years. Fine for her. I know how to back off. But not good so much for a relationship. So a man steps back and knows that he just better just move to the action. And crazy crap happens. And gal falls off her high horse. And so we have new beginnings and that is fantastic. That is love. Even for years we deal with it. Her hard time has made her more happy with group family hugs. That is what we talk about.

Do not look in my direction, for God has not given me understanding of what to do but rather what to love. I ain’t found nothing lately.

Everyone should have a preacher and a psychiatrist. Mine do not charge me, they take me to lunch. One needs more preaching and the other more psychiatry. Yet each benefits my well-being and that gets passed along in all our lives. I need new beginnings.

We are made perfect. Our simple job is to strive for that perfection.

On my road to owning a security company after 911 I “covered” a gal. Tina, I think she was nice and not rude to me. She told me to stay safe though that was not my job. She told me she did not want another hero. She gave me a new beginning. Good on her.