Let Me Explain Myself... :)

The video & the statistics have been on my mind a lot lately. Last night we had a t-ball game in Hubbard and then went to the Wal-Mart in Woodburn: 2 ares that many feel are being "over-run" with Hispanics. In Wal-Mart, I overheard a white man speak rudely to a Hispanic man. I don't like this. I don't think that these towns are being "over-run." They have the right to live there, or in Canby with us, or in any other town around here they want. And if their birthrate is higher than that of those with European ancestry (I suspect it is), great! Props to them! They're living out Scripture and filling their quivers with many little arrows.  My guess is that there could be an anti-Mexicans in America video that looks something similar to the one I posted on here (showing how in 35 years America will be mostly Mexican).  And that would bug me.

The culture thing is bugging me too. Culture changes!  The boys and I have been reading "Our Island Story" about Great Britain. Did Great Britain change every time a new Roman ruler tried to over-take it? Certainly. When Julius Caesar brought his 80 ships--and then 800 ships--and killed many of Great Britain's men--oh yes, the culture changed! When Christopher Columbus came to America, didn't that change the culture? And then the settlers moving here--that changed it, right? And those ships full of Pilgrims, bringing their conservative views to the Native Americans who'd had their own religious views for years (wrong ones, but a history, none the less)...that changed the culture of this country.  And slave trade--changed the culture of America, and Africa.  And every other type of Immigration that's happened in this country. My sister-in-law is Romanian, I have a good friend who is Ukrainian--I suspect higher birthrates in both of these nationalities as well--and they have brought change to the American culture, I am sure.  So I'm not afraid of cultural change.

I'm not wanting to single out a people group, either. I don't want all of you, after seeing that video, to walk down the street and look at every tan-colored (potentially Middle Eastern) person with suspicion.  I don't want them to be treated rudely or avoided.  They are human beings and they need our compassion and friendliness just like everybody else.

My thoughts are, though, that we need to be open-eyed about the fundamental religious beliefs and political beliefs of Islam. Karry said, the other day, the political beliefs of Islam are "not compatible with democracy" or "with the civilized world," perhaps.  I think we need to be aware that, it is true, 2/3 of the mosques within our country are teaching that all of America needs to be converted to Islam. They are teaching that non-Muslims should be taxed and give their money to Muslim authorities. They are teaching that our government officials should all be Muslim. They are teaching that if anybody tries to convert a Muslim, they should be killed. This is Sharai law (the law with multiple spellings on the internet, so I don't know how to spell it!). They believe that 9/11 was justified. They believe that *more* attacks like this should happen within this country.  Not all Muslims, for sure. But 2/3 of the ones in our country are being taught this kind of propaganda. This, friends, is what I think we ought to be aware of.

Not only that, but I think that the "cultural jihad" going on doesn't just involve the birthrates. I think it involves a desensitizing of the American public to the beliefs of Islam. We're told that it's a peaceful religion. Please, friends, look up articles about all of those other countries where the Muslim birthrate has increased & overtaken. How peaceful do these countries look? Are there any mostly-Muslim countries that are peaceful? I would like to know, really.

In recent days, it seems like anyone who believes in Islam is praised in the news as if they are some great, spiritual person. I have seen news stories about many Americans converting to Islam, and it is played up like this is such a great thing.  This is what the radical Muslim leaders want--they want us all to be ok with Islam and to believe it is peaceful and wonderful.  I just think we all need to be aware that it's not.

Do I think that Christians ought to have more babies? ABSOLUTELY!  They are BLESSINGS, people!  And "be fruitful and multiply" was God's 1st command to His people. I don't think it was a mere suggestion: "you know, if you want to--if it's convenient for you--if your wisdom, which y'all think is greater than Mine, leads you to--if you have enough money--if you believe I'll really provide enough resources for those children."  ETC. No. God said to fill the earth. God said to be fruitful and increase our numbers. As a culture, we're not increasing our numbers....We're not obeying God.  

Is parenting hard work? Oh yes! Is it expensive? Can be. Does it take up all of your time, your energy, , and everything else in you? For sure. Does increasing your family size do this even more? I'd say so--though not entirely more than 1 or 2 kids already does.  But here's what I'm learning as a mom: little by little, I am learning to *not be selfish* in ways I never would have learned had I not had children.  I am learning to deal with my own inadequacies and my sin nature as I see them stare me in the face in my children. :) I am learning to sacrifice my own desires because these other people in my life are more important. I think it would be hard to learn this in any other kind of situation. Really. I'm learning how to speak calmly and lovingly to people who drive me nuts sometimes. :)  I am learning how to pour all of me into other people. I never would have learned this outside of being a mom. It's hard work. It's challenging. It's such a blessing though. Really.  Really!

That's all. I hope I explained myself well enough. There's a lot to say about this. I can already think of more, but I'll spare you all an even longer blog post!! :)