A friend of mine sent this to me and I wanted to share it with you!

Shirley & Marcy

A mother was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school.  He didn't want his mother to walk with him.  She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe. So she had an idea of how to handle it.

She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance so he probably wouldn't notice her.  The neighbor is up early with her toddler anyway, and thought it would be a good way to get some exercise, so she agreed.

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew.  She did this for the whole week.

As Timmy and his friend walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady following them every day all week.  Finally she said to Timmy, "Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week?   Do you know her?"

Timmy nonchalantly replied, "Yeah, I know who she is."

The little girl said, "Well, who is she?"

"That's just Shirley Goodnest," Timmy replied, "and her daughter Marcy."

"Shirley Goodnest?  Who the heck is she and why is she following us?"

"Well," Timmy explained, "every night my Mum makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much.  And in the Psalm it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!"

Take comfort in knowing that God cares this much for us!

What comes to your mind in response to the following questions: Who has hurt you?  Who has offended you?  Who has lied about you?  Who has betrayed you?"   How quickly can you make a short list of people who have caused you pain?  And who were these people who hurt you?  Family members?  Your wife?  Your husband?  One of your parents?  Your children?  Or was it a person at work?  Or a friend from church? (perhaps better labeled "a former friend.)  How many friendships have been shattered because cruel words or actions left you feeling betrayed?

Hollywood makes blockbuster movies with a simple story line-the hero of the movie is hurt or is a victim of injustice, and throughout the movie seeks to be justified.  And then, toward the end of the movie, we cheer for the hero's revenge, "All right, go for it, that evil person deserves it!"

But how does God want us to respond to people who hurt us?  Whether that person is a family member or an enemy, how should we react?  Is this what God would want?

Don't just think about it.  Let 'em know what's on your mind!

Have you always wanted to tell someone something, but didn't know how to do it?  Well, this is the perfect site for you.  Read on. . .

ThePayback.com is your home for all of your revenge needs. So you never had a chance to get revenge on your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend? Your current spouse lied to you when he said that he would never cheat on you?

Well, you know the saying "Don't get mad, get even".

Get Revenge On People Who Have Done You Wrong!

This is the opening paragraph of a web site called thepayback.com that really caught my attention.   This is not the way God would want us to handle the pain we cause one another in the midst of our relationships.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you is what we are told to do in Ephesians 4:32.    God also instructs us in Matthew 5:44, But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.    But maybe most importantly, God tells us very clearly in Romans 12:19, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

The worldly response to someone hurting us is to get back at them; to seek revenge.  But God has a plan for us to love those that hurt us and work toward forgiveness and reconciliation.  Two wrongs have never made a right!  How are you going to respond the next time you get hurt?  GOD’S WAY or the world’s way?

In Daniel Patrick Moynihan's memorable phrase, deviance has been dumbed down. “Everybody has a deviance they need to open up, and the rest of us are supposed to be a 'support group' for their deviance. Is there anybody out there who doesn't have a support group?”

"Healthy" and "sick" have replaced "good" and "evil."
Dennis Prager tells of one day playing in the park with his 2-year-old son. A 5-year-old boy walked over to him, threw him onto the concrete. The 5-year-old's mother rushed over to her son and demanded: "Honey, what's troubling you?"

Where is the reprimand? Where is the sense of wrongness to throw another human being to the ground, or away?

Self-esteem is now deemed more important to teach our children than self-control. In fact, in a recent book called Evil: Inside Human Cruelty and Violence (New York: W. H. Freeman, 1997), Roy Baumeister has found four "root characteristics" of the most violent criminals. One of them is "high" self-esteem. Parents that focus all their rearing on building "high self-esteem" are increasing the likelihood of creating a criminal child.

What do you think?  The Bible gives us guidelines to help us raise our children.  Some of those passages include:

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Heb 12:6) “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” (Pr 22:15) “The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” (Pr 29:15) And “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” (Pr 13:24)

Discipline is as much an integral part of childrearing as love is!  May we love our children enough to discipline them when needed.