I am definitely in wholehearted agreement with you and its NOT TO DEEP. I am a Mennonite near Wooster, Oh. The principles we stand for are foundational and essential. What I mean about principles are. One man-One woman for life. Raising Godly children. Helping our neighbors. You know what I mean. But sad to say this way of life has become our religion, our salvation. When our churches become a hospital for SINNERS.... the church looks MESSY, REAL MESSY. When we become a museum for the SAINTS the church looks polished and dusted. I attend a Nazarene church on Thursday nites with a single mom but its a real MESSY church. It is so on fire to the community in reaching people in all walks of life, ( its the only church I have ever attended that is secure enough in their reationship with God as a church) that the MESS is not a threat. We as a Mennonite faith have a "boxed in God" that should any of the MESSY people come in and don`t reform quickly then then are considered bad apples and are a threat to our way of life which to many is their salvation. We have 2 daughters ( 17 & 12) that have witnessed the last 10 years the break up of different homes from our in home daycare. To our people that is exposing them to things that they shouldn`t see. I have told them over and over.... You are on the "mission field" in the USA, and you have seen first hand  DECISIONS NOT TO MAKE THAT WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE. We talk about it freely and openly and together form a team as mother and daughters when anger issues arise from the kids in this type of situations. Instead of our girls running around with friends / shopping they are looking for help on issues on NANNY 911 to see what we can do to be a help and light. Ha! No the girls don`t live with their heads buried in the sand but view real life eveyday. ITS OFTEN US A PARENTS THAT WANT TO SHIELD THEM AND THEM SO THEY DON`T HAVE TO SEE THIS DARK SIDE OF MANY HOMES. I have to admit after seeing how many broken homes that it gives you this completely overwhelming feeling in combating the sin and evil in the world, and when you do, its like we don`t understand that TIMES have changed and we are in the dark ages and not up to societies issues. So thats when you get in the "battle and on the front lines" fighting the enemy and it gets really tough. When you go about your life, job, and your friends, Cav games, then you don`t NEED God as much. Just a little here and there, because YOU ARE NOT ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE BATTLE. There isn`t much of a battle at all. And why do you want to get in THE BATTLE if your friends are shopping, vacations at the beach, sports, etc. and enjoying the FUN LIFE?????? Who wants to get in the battle and start to combat evil on every side WHEN NO ONE ELSE DOES IT? You know thats ONLY for pastors that are in the battle because thats their job and they have been ordained for THAT. No, No No!!!! We are all to be THAT. Not just those on the "Mission fields." I have a family member that is on the mission field in another country. When I view their photos its the VERY PEOPLE THE CHURCH TELLS US TO STAY FAR AWAY FROM, because they are BAD COMPANY. But we can go half way around the world to witness to those people when we have them living nest door in the USA. And our churches close their eyes, hoping not to see this. We witness at Christmas / Summer Bible School and then its SEE YA NEXT SUMMER OR CHRISTMAS. This has bothered me for a long time.

I am interested in others comments as well.  I will keep checking this posts to see what others comment. God bless. Thanks for sharing.

Wow!  Sounds like this is something you've been thinking about for quite sometime.  I want to wish you God's blessing in the work He has for you to do. 

I like your line 'when you get in the "battle and on the front lines" fighting the enemy and it gets really tough.'  You're right, most of us are not on the front lines, and most really don't care to be either.  If you do, you are secretly labled a 'radical.'

Honestly, I would be surprised if there are a lot of comments on this.  Your average blogger likes to keep things on a surface level.

@davidrmiller -I know I could message you privately but I am going to post it here in a reply. I have a single mother in my daycare that has taught me many things. It frustrates her that over Christmas that people do these gift boxes to ease their conscience for another year. I sit with her because she hates being alone when "these people show up and make her feel like a charity case." She knows she needs the help and is truly grateful, but on the other side she knows whats happening. These same people don`t give her the time of day any other time of the year, thats why these gifts at Christmas time frustrate her.

Now, on to a deeper thought. The girls and I have walked beside this single divorced mother of 7 years thro the MANY HIGHS AND LOWS. Since that time of 7 years this has been her life. 4 months after her divorce she got involved in a relationship with a man, that was the span of 5 years. She moved him in like a father to her children but discovered after wasting 5 years and him trashing her life, he was seeing 3 women at a time. So she broke off that relationship. And then after a short span of time, got involved with another man that she moved in once again as a father to the children. This relationship has been going for over a year. Recently my 17 year old daughter confronted her about her lifestyle of living together with a man in front of her children. How can she tell her children to live an upright , godly, moral life, if she lives this lifestyle in front of the children? Lest you think this a mother in society with no teaching.... guess again. She was raised in a Mennonite home with the same moral as you and I.

To make a long story short .... she has now broke off this relationship with this man, she loved deeply. He didn`t even profess to be a Christian altho raised a Baptist. She told her kids that "we" broke them up, so her feelings aren`t to great toward us right now. He thinks the girls and I are religious fanatics.

Inserts from conversations and questions I asked her....

Why do women after taking such great care when marrying the first time with a vow for life..... throw their marriage vows and entire family away over adultery but then turn around and the second time care so little what relationship they get into? Why throw away an entire marriage and the decisions you make the second time are worse then the first time?

How can us as a church help you so you don`t think you have to throw your whole life away the second time?

If you broke up with the second relationship based on the fact we made you feel guilty and thats why you broke up? Who are you fooling? Its the conviction of moving a man in and being in an adulterous situation, recongnizing that this is SIN, will give you a strong foundation to stand on, not our "making you feel guilty."

To my daughter she said..... She hasn`t been there yet---- we don`t understand.... so I posed her this question: So your saying that my daughter needs to lower her morals, her morals are to idealistic, so she can understand how it is for you?

Your saying that my daughter should realize that one man - one woman marriage is no longer what God designed?

I explained to her if she goes back and rereads the email that my daughter shared her convictions her overall statement she was trying to make is this.... YOU WERE ONCE ON THE FRONTLINES WITH US AGAINST THIS IMMORALITY IN SOCIETY. Where did you lose out your convictions that it no longer mattered? WE WANT YOU BACK ON THE FRONTLINES OF THE BATTLE WITH US.... FIGHTING, because if you aren`t, you are on Satans enemy line. WE ARE AT WAR AGAINST EACH OTHER.

A statement she made with tears streaming down her cheeks.... if there is anything that I hate its HYPOCRITES because of being raised a Mennonite .... but the thing is I HAVE BECOME THE BIGGEST HYPOCRITE OF THEM ALL.

Who likes to be a war with a friend..... who likes to go thro the highs and lows of these kinds of family circumstanes..... who likes to be on enemy lines and combat evil especially when your friend is on the other side....who likes to be called a fanatic , a religious one at that? Who likes to be blamed and your high morals get tossed aside like trash? Who likes their daughters to see things like this? Who likes to see their daughters pray and cry at night for situations like this when they could live a carefree life of shopping friends, parties etc?  Not I !!!!!!!!!!!!!

But its the REAL CHRISTIAN LIFE WE ARE CALLED TO.

Like Nelson Coblentz often stated ..... ARE WE GETTING USE TO THE DARK????? AM I ? ARE YOU? ARE WE?????

Let me close with this.... A REAL HOPE... THEREFORE I TAKE PLEASURE IN INFIRNITIES, IN REPROACHES, IN NECESSITIES, IN PERSECUTIONS, IN DISTRESSES, FOR CHRISTS SAKE, FOR WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN AM I STRONG.

So you see, this is a battle that we can`t do on our own strength... we are never strong enough on our own. AND REJOICE ( and take pleasure in) IN THIS..... YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING????  If we are on the frontlines of  the battle, combating evil, then we when reproaches come..... PRAISE GOD. HE IS ALIVE AND WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. AND POWERFUL. AND HE WILL PREVAIL. AMEN and AMEN!

So now you understand why your email spoke to me so directly. This is only one mother. There are far more in our daycare. It makes you feel like a home with a godly family is a minority. So then you take the church and everyone is caught up in making a good life and as long as we do the church standards we are raising a godly family. Not so!!!! Where is the great commission? Then we add women who are to be "keepers at home? Thats a godly principle. Who owns our homes? Are we as women more concerned about the flowerbeds, renovated kitchens in the latest styles, and men playing golf, etc. None of these things are wrong by any means... its why are we doing it? Is it for glory and praise of friends or to do this to have more available space to use and give God more honor and glory for God to use our homes? We think they are OUR homes because we worked hard for them..... but God OWNS them and a flick of a second could strip us down to nothing. These are questions I ask myself over and over. 

My 12 year old daughter has a building outside in the yard that is insulated / carpeted and makes a great place for school and activites with the kids. She has everything in place properly and hates when the kids mess things up and get things out of place. So one day when she was complaining, I asked her, " Who owns your building?" I told her she may need to dedicate it to God. What good does a nice little house do her with everything in its place? These are issues God works out in our lives as we grow in Him in the simplest of things.... giving up our will and using "our things" to Gods honor and glory. Sometimes this is really hard.

I`m sorry this post is so long.... but thanks for the challenge to run hard after God.... giving Him all we have.

My posts on www.xanga.com/devoted2him are a book to my daycare children for Chrismas in 2009 covering our daily lives as we allow God to work in our daycare.

I have also started another xanga site www.xanga.com/thesacredbride where I have been a wedding planner in many religious faiths for the last 10 years. I don`t promote these kinds of immodesty but as time goes on on this site i will be posting on the Bridal Show where we did on promoting modest wedding gowns and where brides can do this. So you see its all about giving our talents to God and using them in the normal and comfortable and not so comfortable circumstances. I have had MANY opportunties to share my testimony at weddings because its so unusal for a Mennonite to be a wedding planner. God has been faithfu as we lift up His name in the areas He has called us too.

Gods blessings to you and your family.