I had serious concerns about many things with the candidacy of Sarah Palin and chief among them was who is going to be watching that precious four month old baby boy with special needs? Now that this latest news has hit, I guess my concern should have been, who's going to be watching her teenagers?
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Children are not formulas. I've met some pretty amazing, incredible people that come from the most dysfunctional places, and some pretty warped, awful people that came from parents who loved them, whose mother stayed at home, and who did everything they could to raise them Biblically. Teenagers make mistakes, and people grow up despite their parents. And considering that instead of hiding the mistake, or going wrong with the mistake (abortion for example), they have chosen to show Christ's merciful love toward that young woman and she is accounting for her sin, not hiding from it or attempting to do away with it. That's a bigger testament of goodness and character than what it could have been.
p.s. I hope I don't count as an angry mob :D I really respect you and your opinion and have learned much from your writings and example. I just can't judge Mrs. Palin based on the actions of her daughter. We don't know the circumstances that lead to her daughter's failing--it may not have anything to do with the success or failure of Mrs. Palin. All it shows me is that they are human, and although they shouldn't have sinned in the first place, they are willing to deal with the consequences appropriately.
Oh, now way, Mrs. Taft! You are perfectly lovely and I welcome your comments. You should see the comments that have been downright scary! And, from those professing to be Christians! ~shudder~ Those comments don't get published. Comment moderation is my friend. :-)
I'm happy the girl is keeping her baby rather than aborting it but to have a seventeen year old that is living in sin, to me, indicates a house that is not in order. Of course, I already knew their house wasn't in order because the wife has abdicated her role in order to be a civil magistrate. This is just tangible evidence of the foothold Satan has in a home out of order. God's ordained order is for our protection.
Even if the main issue - which is that she's not biblically qualified - weren't considered, this woman has some real distractions going on that could not possibly allow her to 'give her all' (as she is quoted as saying) to the office of vice president. She needs to go home and tend a daughter that is in grievous sin helping her to repentance and getting on her feet with a little baby and new husband at the tender age of 17... not something she can do on her lunch hour, I would add. Plus, as I've thought all along, that baby needs her and will need her quite a bit in these early years.
She's to busy (or ought to be!) to be vice president!
OK, wading in.
I agree with Mrs. Taft.
I hesitate to pass judement on her parenting based on the actions of one child at one time. Until I have stood beside my kids at the alter I understand that they may too sin in this area. I hope and PRAY not and work to train them otherwise but kids rebel. Plain and simple.
MY parents had neighbors who home-schooled, their children did not date, they were for all accounts and purposes great parents and yet their 17 year old fell into this sin. Do we pass judgement on them or her?
Hi Happygeek!
Your very comment is the one I expect to hear most often on this newest 'twist' to the Palin as VP debate.
This evening I came across a post by Kelly at Generation Cedar that says it so much better than I ever could! Here is her article on this subject:
"If you're wondering how I feel about Palin's announcement that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, I feel heartbroken. The same way I feel anytime I hear this news about any other fellow believer. The same way I felt about my own out-of-wedlock pregnancy.
Which has a lot to do with our first proddings to question the status quo. Why is this happening so often to the people of God? Are we to just expect rampant promiscuity? Is there nothing else?
And we discovered there is. There is a teaching of your children about God's will concerning marriage, instead of expecting them to do what everyone else is. There is the teaching of your children to preserve what God has said is for one person only. And then there is the SERIOUS job of parents doing that preserving.
A girl cannot get pregnant if she doesn't have the opportunity to have s*x. Spiritually speaking, if she (or he) understands the sacred gift they possess, they would be horrified to think about desecrating it before time.
I hear the questions already...I used to ask them myself. Answer? Do hard things."
I would also add that Mrs. Palin is doing a grave disservice to her daughter by putting her on display this way and bringing her under such media scrutiny... which, of course, is right when you put yourself up to run for president or vice president. What a sad thing to be put through for a young pregnant teen.
Another point of clarification... I have received a few emails from some of my favorite readers and commenters fearing that, because they disagree with me on the Palin thing and commented accordingly, that I was including them in my 'inviting more angry mobs' group per the title of this post.
Let me just say, if your comment made it to publication, you aren't part of the 'angry mob'! :-)
I have received a few, how shall I say, less than gracious disagreements to my position on Palin as vice president. While I welcome and encourage disagreement and lively debate, I do draw the line when comments get ugly and unproductive.
If your comment was deleted, you're part of the angry mob.
If your comment was published, you are my close personal friend and I love you dearly! Even if you disagree with me. Or I disagree with you. Whichever the case may be.
Now back to regularly scheduled happy disagreeing!
It really rubs me the wrong way that you have been receiving rude comments regarding your convictions. Do I agree with you on the issue of women as magistrates? Nope. Does that give me the right to treat you with anything less than full respect? Not on your life. We are sisters in the faith and Scripture is full of admonition on how to treat one another. Anyone who treats you with less than love has cheapened and tarnished whatever stance he takes.
I'm so sorry you received any unkind comments. If people really don't like what you say, they can stop reading your blog!!!
I'm glad I'm not part of the angry mob :D lol :)
I'm sorry that you've received hateful comments--and doubly sorry they have been from people professing Christ. That's just so sad :(
I do agree that she has a lot to be busy about in her own family, I definitely agree with you there. My heart just breaks for them, honestly.
We aren't fans of Palin, I have a special little post in honor of her due out this afternoon.
Where her kids are concerned, it bothers me DO NOT GET ME WRONG, it bothers me. However my sister and I were raised by the same mother and we both turned out VERY differently she chose a life of destruction, hurt and dabbled in more than she should have, I never did. Yes our mother was responsibile for raising us, but who I am now is a result of my own responsibility, and has NOTHING to do with how we were raised. Granted I'm not 17 either. ;)
This is all part of God's mighty plan. Yes, it makes me a bit nervous that a certain individual may be in his plans and what they bring forth on our country, and then I have to stop and pray some more.
I think I am rambling but it is 4:00 a.m. and my pregnant brain is scrambled but not tired!
Ahhhh, y'all are soooo sweet! It's readers like you that make this blog worth writing!! Y'all are the best!
Well Lady Why, this is one area that I wish I had no experience in. Unfortunately, I do.
The story is way too long to post here in your comments (if you want the long version, just email me)but I have been in Sarah Palin's shoes.
Our 19 year old daughter gave birth this spring to a little boy. She is not yet married. She and the baby's daddy were both only 18 when she conceived. They do plan to marry but they decided to wait until after the baby was born and they were a little older. She is living at our house with her son and the daddy is currently living with his parents. For us, this was probably about as life changing (and challenging) as losing our third child at 20 weeks gestation.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that she chose to keep her son and we do love him greatly-he is a sweet and happy baby that always has a ready smile. She is a good mom. However, this was not the way she was raised. From the time that our oldest two children were able to understand, we talked with them about courtship and the importance of maintaining their purity-not just their physical purity but their emotional purity as well. We believed that she was in agreement-I'm not sure you can even imagine our shock.
I know that there are those who sat in judgement of my dh and I-who figured that it was our parenting that was lacking and led to her pregnancy. Maybe in some ways it was-we just don't know. I have a very dear friend who has helped me to come to terms with all of this. She asked me how our son *second child* was doing-I assured her that he was great-he didn't understand his sister's choices, but he was praying for her and he was staying in the Word. She asked if I took credit for all the things that he was doing right and I assured her that I wasn't - that I felt that any credit for his successes was to be credited to the Lord's work in his life. She pointed out that since I didn't take credit for our son's life and how he was living it, then why should I take credit for our daughter's life and how she was living it? After all, they were both raised with the same standards and with the same parents. Maybe other's won't see it that way, but for me it has helped. It's helped because I know what my dh and I taught-the vision that we shared and felt that we were living examples of-the bottom line is that she made her own choices.
So has Sarah Palin's daughter.
I'm sure this is very long-I apologize-aren't you glad I didn't go into the long story? :-)
There are so many things that I agree with you about-and I'm not saying that I don't agree with you here, but having lived this situation out-I can say that it's not always black and white.
Hi Heartathome,
Thanks so much for sharing your story and it wasn't too long at all!
I don't know if I've ever shared this on the blog but my husband has a 22 year old daughter that was conceived and born out of wedlock when he and the mother were college students. We have other family members that have had children out of wedlock. Our family is not immune to this particular sin either.
I have two very close friends that conceived babies out of wedlock in their teens, married the babies' fathers and have gone on to have the most dynamic godly families anyone could hope to have! I wish I had as strong a walk with the Lord as these two dynamic, godly moms!
Please hear me when I say that falling into this particular sin is not the unforgivable sin. There is forgiveness, redemption and abundance in the choice to have the baby, marry and pick up and go on. There is even redemption, forgiveness and abundance when there is no marriage at the end of it all as was the case with my husband. The Lord has provided us with a lovely young lady that is a delight to our family and a sister to our children. Only the Lord could have worked all that out for His glory!
But, I also don't want to whitewash the fact that this situation is sin and needs repentance. I don't know if the girl has repented, the mother and father have examined what role (if any) they played in allowing this sin to gain a foothold, etc. etc. They very well may have. That's between them and the Lord.
This brings me back to my original point which is, I think that Sarah Palin needs to be about the business of mothering these children in crisis (one that's pregnant and one that has special needs) and not trying to run the country. To me, more than a question of casting judgment over the pregnancy of a teenage girl - and I think judgment can and should be cast over that sin as well as compassion and forgiveness extended to the sinner... people tend to forget the judgment part and want us all to embrace sin 'in Christian love'. I'm not part of that camp - is the question of the mother of a pregnant teenage girl and what she intends to do to see to the needs of her family, not her country.
But, I have to add, Heartathome, I applaud your daughter having her baby and from one who is on the 20+ year side of four teenage pregnancy situations that I have personal knowledge of, the Lord can redeem the land the locusts have eaten and raise up a godly family and a godly heritage out of the midst of this situation! We have a 22 year old daughter that proves that!
Wow! And, you were worried about going long! This has turned into a novel. Sorry about that!
Even though I admire Sarah Palin as a Christian woman & for standing up for what's right, as a mother & grandmother myself, I can't say I haven't wondered about the consequences of her taking on the role of VP with so many children still at home. Still, it's none of our business. And she does have a wonderful husband who helps, as well as close family. Could it be that God's raised up this woman for this particular job in history? I'm just asking. Who are we to judge how she fulfills her role? God can enable a person beyond the ordinary when/if He purposes it.
I'm praying for Palin's pregnant daughter, as well as all the family. Since when did a mother become responsible for her daughter's wrong choices? My kids were raised right and I stayed home all these years, yet some are not even walking with the Lord to this day. We will be held responsible by God for *how* we raised our children, not the choices they make when they're old enough to know better.
So I also pray we wouldn't become self-righteous in judging this woman. Pray that she would do God's will and be able to care for her family. If not, maybe she'll step down. It's just not for us to determine.
Hi Anonymous,
Thanks for commenting! As I said to Heart at Home, I am not "judging" in the way the Bible says not to judge... i.e. a hypocritical fashion. We are, however, called to judge. If not, how can we ever call sin 'sin'?
I think that parents *are* responsible for the choices of their children to a certain extent. This is not a grown woman that is pregnant, this is a 17 year old girl that is still under her parents roof and subjection. While this sin has happened to many a family, my own included, it is still a grievous sin that we cannot sweep under the rug to placate our own responsibility. (or lack thereof)
I think the Bible does address this issue for our leaders.
I Timothy 3: 4-5
"One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)"
Yes, this Scripture is about leaders in the church but I think we should expect no less from the leaders of our country than we do from the leaders in our church.
Of course, as always, this is just my .02. I must admit, I've been a little shocked at how I stand alone among Christians on this issue. I really didn't expect Sarah Palin to be so widely embraced by Christians.
Shows how much I know! :-)
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