A lesson in "expert advice"

Two magazines made their way to my mailbox last week, Parenting and Women's Health. I've had a subscription to the former for a while, maybe almost a year; the latter made its debut in our home. Parenting arrived first, and I immediately turned to the last page to read the "Last Word" which is my favorite section because there is always a good mommy laugh in store. As a day or two went by I flipped through the magazine and came to a blurb that rubbed me the wrong way. If you don't mind I'll take the time to quote the whole thing. The section is Kids' Health and the title of the piece is "Talking it out." OK? Here we go:
"Children who are spanked are at greater risk of taking part in risky or violent sexual behavior as teens and young adults, according to new research by Murray Straus, co director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. "One reason is that when a loving parent spanks, it fuses a relationship in a child's mind between loving and hitting," says Straus. Although you may have occasionally resorted to a smack on the bottom, the most severe effects are associated with frequent corporal punishment. But since spanking's no more effective than other forms of discipline, it makes sense to switch to safer tactics, like rewarding good behavior or taking away a privilege for misbehavior. And if you decide to ban spanking in your house, discuss it with your kids, suggests Straus. "Tell them that's the plan,' he says. 'They'll help you stick to it!'"
We spank Genevieve, we have spanked Elizabeth. You can imagine my thoughts "risky or violent sexual behavior."??!! Well another article helped me to work all this out. Women's Health arrived a few days later and aside from the fact that I grimaced at the scantly clad cover model I thought it would be an interesting magazine full of health tips for my health-minded self. Wrong. One of the main articles of the magazine is titled "The art of Masturbation." I am so embarrassed at the sub-title that I won't quote it. Basically it is supposed to be about "sexual health" for women, as I saw PhD in the text at least 5 times so I assume they have research and "experts" throughout (I did not read the article). Even from the outside the article is unholy. The cover picture is of the Mona Lisa holding a cigarette, one of the bold headings is "Screw with your head" and there are five tips added on why women should "embrace" it in men. There is no cause for me to rant and rave about how disgusted and frustrated I am by this. The absurdity of it brought me clarity for the heaviness that the first article put on my heart.
My point is this: society will produce research to support anything so their conscience will go along with what the flesh desires, but what does God say? Proverbs 13:24 says, "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly." 29:15 says "The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother." Now I know there are many forms of discipline and the Bible gives us so much guidance on how to love others; Steve and I do choose discipline with wisdom and love. The Bible is clear though and I have committed myself to the Word of God. We discipline our children because God has told us to in His word. The girls were given to us for safe keeping; they came sinful and selfish and my hope in Christ Jesus is that through teaching, disciplining, and living by example I can give them back as holy and righteous.
(For more on corporal punishment from the Christian perspective I highly recommend Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family and "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Ted Tripp)

No, I am not a tiger!

I've known what I would title a blog for a long time. I can't remember when I first heard Steve use the term, but I've always thought it was kinda neat. Anyway it is about the perspective of a simple JoAnne Styger - saved by the blood of Jesus, wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend.