Gender Fender Bender

I am pretty worked up about an article I read via Facebook, via Tiny Prints, via Parenting.com

First of all, as many of the fans of Tiny Prints pointed out, stick with making great prints and cards, skip the other agendas.  Their job is to make paper look great. 

So, here's the article. 

And here is where I open my can of whoop ass:

Where to even begin?!  So, these "liberated", free-thinking, "gender-neutral" parents decide to raise their "infant" as a non-gender until the age of 5 when they "reveal" his gender due to a kindergarten application process.  They wanted him, Sasha, to grow up unbiased in gender until he was old enough to choose, therefore they did not allow certain toys such as Barbies or fire trucks.  Last time I looked, you know, flipped a truck upside down, I just never seemed to come across genitalia.  Who knew fire trucks had penis' but apparently that is what these parents thought. 

First, let me get genitals off my chest for a moment:  just because people have certain body parts does not mean they should procreate.  And, if they did indeed procreate, it doesn't mean they were cut out for parenting.  Here is where I encourage people to lovingly give their children up for adoption to people who aren't able to procreate but were designed to be parents. 

The presence of genitals does not equal loving parenting.

And why do people want to be parents, anyway?  This is something people should actually think and pray about before having unprotected sex, within our outside of marriage.  *No, I am not advocating sex outside of marriage.  God didn't set this rule in place to be a big jerk who likes to take the fun out of a spicy evening.  Have a spicy evening with your spouse, that's what He was saying.  And, Yes, I am advocating safe sex.  Entirely other post I have brewing in my head about this topic...wait for it...
But truly, just because a person has gotten married doesn't mean the automatic next thing to do is to become a parent.  Especially if they are totally inclined to self-absorption.  The lifestyle and calling just won't work for you...

My disgust for their (people in the article) parenting lies deep.  And yes, I'll probably get feedback from some out there reading that I'm judgmental and "to each his own"  or "their own" in this case.  But this is my blog and here is my spiel.

For the liberated, free-thinking people who believe they are allowing their child the ability to choose their gender by avoiding their gender altogether for 5 years or however long some may choose, they are denying them their basic human right.  And that's just on a political spectrum of being a human born in the United States of America.

What about the bigger, much more important picture of a human being born on God's beautiful green earth?  God designed each of us with gender.  It was the beginning of our identities.  "And God created them, male and female, He created them...AND IT WAS GOOD"  (Bold, mine!)

The stereotypes, both positive and negative, that surround gender are man-made. 

"Fire trucks are for boys."

"Barbie dolls are for girls."

"Pink is a girl color."

"Boys should like blue."

Penis' are for men.  That's the part they are made with.  Vagina's are for girls.  It's the part designed for them.  Penis' and vaginas are not stereotypes.  They are genitalia.

Have we really not come that far in the last several hundred years, at least here in America?  Em and I just completed one of my old books from when I was in Junior High called, "They Led the Way" about early American women who stepped over popular stereotypes like women's suffrage, education solely for males, and women running for public office.  And what about equal rights?  What is that all about if the basic truth of an infant is taken away from them for their most formative years?  Who's going to pay Sasha's counseling bills?

My friend would call this a "First World Problem."  I'm FOR SURE posting on that another day.  But seriously!  In the Third World, sometimes parents don't name their children for several years because of the high infant mortality rate.  Is this fair?  No!  It's child neglect and abuse just as much as denying a child to know their basic gender.  How EDUCATED, UNBIASED, and FREE-THINKING, are we that these are the issues we face in the First World and not if we should or shouldn't even name our dying child who is starving to death or has fallen sick with a horrendous disease that could be prevented through medication or clean sanitation and a balanced diet?!

THESE ARE REAL SOULS, PEOPLE!

I went to High Tea the other day to celebrate my mom's remission from breast cancer.  We were served at this "girly function" by men....  And let me clarify, it's not a "girly" disease.  Men have breast cancer, too.  They don't have cervical cancer, and women don't have prostate cancer, but if a "non-gender" raised boy gets prostate cancer one day, don't you think he'll know he's a boy?

Our society is becoming more and more perverted, meaning sick and corrupt, as it becomes more and more "free" in its thinking.  This is not to say people should not be free to think for themselves or make choices of their own.  By all means.  God created us with FREE CHOICE.  It was His first gift to us, but it came with a heavy price.  We're trying so hard to drop lines that divide, creating GRAY, but not in the areas that matter, and so what will the next generation do?  Dear God, please come back before we have to see...

What these parents could have done to love their child unconditionally rather than try to control his environment in the strictest of ways, was to love the child they were given, who incidentally was a son, to be a healthy, happy, and confident person. 

Our jobs as parents are not to freakishly try to control our children by boxing them in from the fears we ourselves have, and I'm talking to over-controlling Christian parents here, too.  But its to teach them, direct and guide them, watch for their God-given gifts and strengths to shine through and then nurture those gifts through direction and unconditional love, even establishing healthy boundaries, so they can be the best they can be, not be who we want them to be.  This is good parenting. 

Not hands-off ignorance.

Deep breath.  Okay.  I'm off to get my son from his crib. 

He is a boy and he can be whatever God has called him to be, for God's glory, not my own scientific experiment or political agenda.

What's right will be wrong and what's wrong will be right...

Doesn't anyone else find it curious that Eve didn't think it strange to have a conversation with a snake?!!!

Em and I have talked about this quite often and our theory is that quite possibly animals were able to speak in the Garden. I'm not saying that's true, I'm just thinking out loud here...(Now, for those who don't think the Bible is literal, the story of the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve is just that...a story...and, if you don't think the Bible is literal then, relatively speaking of course, Jesus isn't the only way to God...)But, since the Bible is literal, it's a story in that it's an account of a very unique and special time in the history of God's people. A time where God literally walked with His creation. Where every animal came to Adam to be named. Where God and man and woman hung out...not in boundless freedom but within a loving setting where God said all of it was theirs to enjoy, but not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Why? Why not eat from it? What's the big deal? Well, God knew what the big deal was but satan made that decision appear to be one of little or no consequence...he made it seem enticing. "You're not really going to die..." It'll feel good, come on, it's not as big a deal to disobey the Living God of the Universe as you might think...I did it a while back...see, I'm still 'alive'...come on, now, give it a go...The tree itself was not 'evil' if you will. The act of choosing to eat from it after God had warned not to was what was truly detrimental..the beginning of life outside of God's physical presence. No wonder the devil wanted company...he was miserable!

You see, when Jesus said the anti-Christ would come, he told us so we would know. He told us about the signs of the end of the age, so we would know. God wrote His word down on paper for us to read and feast off, so we would know. People who don't read God's word then are easily deceived by things that sound good, politically correct, peaceful, because let's face it...an anti-Christ coming and the end of the world...that doesn't sound like 'fun times'. No, we'd rather go about our busy lives, attending this and that, doing good deeds and 'getting along' with everyone, not standing for Christ, because, well, we need to 'love our neighbor'. The rest of that scripture, which is truth imperative, reads, "Love your neighbor as yourself." If we love Christ yet do not share Christ's love with our neighbors we aren't loving, nor do we really believe God's word to be true. Loving our neighbors means telling the world about God's love for them in Christ...that's why He came. The ultimate Love Story for all mankind!

So, back to the Garden. I personally know that if I were in the back yard watering the trees, let's say, and a snake was in my Aspen tree, I'd freak out, and run in the house to call for help. That's one. Two, if the snake tried to strike up a conversation, if I didn't pass out first, I'd look at him square in the eye and say, "The Lord rebuke you, satan! Get away from me!" And, because of the authority Jesus' name carries in all existence, he'd be required to slither his slimy ass out of my yard...

But that's what I'm trying to say here. "Anti" means: opposed to or against. Notice in the Garden that the devil didn't say God wasn't real, true or God Almighty, Creator of the World. No, in fact, he referred to God as 'God' in his conversation with Eve...he knew who He was and called Him 'God' with a capital 'G' appropriately. What he did do, and with obvious success for the untrained woman, was distort God's earlier conversation with Eve so that it presented itself to her in a much more appealing, human way.

So, for us to be wise, we need to realize that 'anti-Christ' isn't necessarily someone who will come and be a militant, hateful person. Why would we follow someone like that? We are educated enough to discern that. Like, when Osama or Sadam rose up in their corners of the world, don't you think it was obvious they were bad guys! I mean, really, looking back, since many of us weren't alive at the time, isn't it obvious to see that Hitler was a whack job? But still, people have followed these men because they obviously told them something that sounded good...at least at first. And, Jesus said there would be 'anti-Christ's' meaning, plural, meaning many people would oppose Him...They may even call God 'God'. What will happen, however, is people will loosely claim Christ's name (you know, in order to entice followers of Christ), saying they are 'community organizers' meaning all-embracing do-gooders, and it will sound right and good and humanitarian and earth-friendly so people will follow...because, who wants to be left out, right?

In the meantime, while that is happening, if we stand strong and follow Christ, we will be persecuted. It may not look like public hangings or crucifixions, but think about how if you are currently a Christian you are judged for believing that God's word is true and that Christ is the only way to salvation...Jesus did love everyone. He came for everyone. He died for everyone. He does not exclude anyone who will believe in His name. He was inclusive...whether people followed Him or not was their choice. He was very offensive and really miffed a lot of people...political and religious leaders of the day, especially. He wasn't fluffy. He hated sin. He hated being separated from God's presence and experience that on this earth on the cross so that He knew exactly how we feel apart from Him...but because He was intimate with God, He knew that the things we try to fill our lives with were dissatisfying, leading to death. That is why He came. That is why He died. That is why He conquered death and rose again and prays for you and me. That is why there is nothing in ourselves we can do to 'do' good or 'be' good enough for God. Grace is grace. Grace is free. Grace is only found in Jesus Christ. Religion is false. Christ alone is true. Loving Jesus is not PC. My Facebook political status reads: Incorrect

If talking to snakes in backyards around the world is a common thing nowadays, I am clearly out of the loop...and I'm not interested in getting in on that 'loop', thank you very much...but the question is: "Do we know when snakes are talking anymore?"