#4 | My Story | I Will Not Settle - Series
My childhood was average, and what people used to call “decent”. I wasn’t close with my mom or dad. In my youth our parents were people who took parenting as more about dos and don'ts, because “I said so ". And that generation was all about wanting financial security and worked hard for all they had. I was told that the depression era was why so many wanted financial security and worked very hard to have it. Something I never understood or accepted for my own life. I have since reflected on those folks in that generation - my parents’ generation -and appreciate them as the “last generation of extraordinary and exceptional men and women”. The men and women who signed up for military duty in those times, did it as a matter of “I have to” mentality because they wanted to defend this great country. The patriots were so willing to serve our God and country, and were diligent and vigilant in doing so. They had good moral values and worked hard toward excellence in most everything they did. They were certainly not perfect, but these were men and women of character and integrity. Their loyalty and dedication to others was a way of life for most folks.
A work ethic that produced outstanding quality in products, and successful businesses at the very top of the scale.
A generation that would not use the words “I can’t “. And if it was used, a mild rebuke and reminder would follow, that there’s no such word as “can’t”.
They were not quitters in anything in life from working, to marriage, to raising children. They had a genuine respect for others, and a servant's heart toward their neighbors, families and friends. Neighbors would help neighbors, no hemming or hawing - they just did.
In those times people didn’t talk as much, but when they did, it was useful, valuable, and had real substance to their conversations. Not much time left for gossip or mindless dribble…
A natural way of teaching and training us was by living out what they taught us. We were allowed to fail, to make mistakes, and to pick ourselves up and begin again!
Conversations were more about what was right and what was wrong, and examples of each.
We knew that our parents meant business - not too much negotiation in those days. We were disciplined, and knew we would be if we didn’t do the right thing.
Grandparents were respected and listened to, especially if their wisdom about any subject matter was a part of their story. We were encouraged to listen and value their ways of living and learn from them how to navigate our own lives.
There were no vacations as we know them today. Rest and relaxation was a trip to grandparents’ homes, and mine both lived 60 miles away. My parents were always there helping them every other weekend, no matter what.
And if we took a vacation away from home we took them with us! No one got left behind….They were grateful people who worked hard. They did not complain when the fields needed “haying”, and it was 90 degrees outside, or cooking dinner for the family without air conditioning. Oh - and please and thank you were absolutely required as part of conversations or else “I do not hear you” was said until those words were uttered. Signs of respect and gratitude were expectations of us all.
But we, “the baby boomers”, were totally intentional in doing just the opposite. After all, we were born in the “fabulous 50s.”!! Our generation during the teenage years was not compliant. It was all about doing our own thing no matter who it hurt in the process. Hippies and long hair on guys, women’s lib, the acceptance of abortions and divorce all were promoted by even my high school teachers. Then came the “peace” lovers, the drug users, and those who searched for the unknown happiness in either only sexual encounters, or relationships without meaning or value. “Finding yourself” was the saying and challenge in the years of the 60s. We left behind all I knew as a kid, the experiences of growing up with dedicated values and principals.
So when I look at the comparisons of people, just one generation apart from each other as described above, it’s quite clear to say, the older generation was and still is, the greatest generation. There was peace and real respect, hard work, gratitude, integrity and character.
The paragraph that describes the “baby boomers” era goes into the “ 60s “ era. What a huge difference in just a generation! Little by little a moral decay was happening; an undermining of authority, a huge lack of respect for all people, and a complacency for all things work and decent living.
I could go on but I’m pretty sure you get the picture. So subtle and deceiving was the deterioration in morals and values in a relatively short amount of time.
When I was 33 I began a new life because Jesus chose me and saved me. I was not trained or taught the ways of the Lord while growing up. But our grandparents prayed for us. So I received Him and my life changed forever.
In those days our grandparents didn’t talk to others about Jesus like we do today. But they really didn’t have to because I believe most of that generation knew Jesus. They all went to church and read their own Bibles!! It was almost as though each knew the other was a follower of Jesus and the need to share the gospel wasn’t as big a need as it has been since then. According to my mom, they would bring their tithe to their church in the form of a bushel of potatoes ,or clothes someone had made, whatever God would lead them to bring to meet the needs of others ( as written in the book of Acts). It was a “given,” that most people went to church. People just went because they wanted to. And the fruits of those who followed Jesus were there as I shared above.
Having shared with you the generational differences, I need to say that the real difference is having Jesus!!
The “best” generation may not have talked about faith much but they walked it out daily….
My generation did not. We walked as the world walked, in spite of anyone talking or walking with Jesus.
We questioned that walk and poked fun at the “Jesus freaks” which started the Jesus Revolution in the late 60s. We were lost and without repentance. We didn’t understand. There was little to no conversation about King Jesus for me in my generation. So when I became His, at age 33, I knew nothing. I, by His Grace and the Faith that He gave me to believe, became a follower of Jesus Christ.
I remember when I was around 12 years old, I looked up at the sky when lounging in the grass one afternoon and asked “are You up there God?” How did I even know to ask that? The Bible says we all know “ of Him .” Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end”.
Paul writes in Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
In Romans 1:21 Paul describes how some people get a glimpse of the truth but do not allow it to work in their lives. They suppress it in order to live by their own “truth”, following their own human ideas, which seems better and less convincing.
Psalm 19:1-4 the psalmist affirms that these people are without excuse. “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.” In blog #1 I shared how I loved God's creation and, and how God spoke to me in His creation. It has spoken to many as the scriptures just talked about.
We all know “of God” at some point in our lives. It’s when we receive and follow Him all the rest of our lives that brings us to a real understanding and right relationship that we begin to know who He is in our own life. He is alive, He is real, and wants to spend time with us. He is the Perfect One and loves us unconditionally!
So whether you were born in the 50s,60s or later, you can know the love of the Father like I and so many others do. I will always remember the day Jesus saved me and how loved I felt for the first time - real love. The steadfast love of God is revealed to us through salvation in Jesus Christ.
God is the only safe place in this upside down world today. A blessed assurance awaits us if we trust in Him for our lives. A peace that passes all understanding is ours because Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He gives us His peace (not as the world gives). Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, gives us His everlasting and unconditional love, when we become His!! It’s eternal and He lavishes those who love and obey His commands. His love is larger than we can ever know or have through people. When we receive His love we can then love others.
1John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
1John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
This concludes the message series for “the Fathers love”.
There’s an infinite love we are not capable of understanding that the Father gives and works in us, we cannot possibly know the depth in which His love abides in us. But we can believe that He IS love and we can receive it for ourselves. Only believe for it and receive it for yourselves and it will be yours…..✝️✝️❤️
Signing off for now…
Lucy Baretta
The On God Blog
A work ethic that produced outstanding quality in products, and successful businesses at the very top of the scale.
A generation that would not use the words “I can’t “. And if it was used, a mild rebuke and reminder would follow, that there’s no such word as “can’t”.
They were not quitters in anything in life from working, to marriage, to raising children. They had a genuine respect for others, and a servant's heart toward their neighbors, families and friends. Neighbors would help neighbors, no hemming or hawing - they just did.
In those times people didn’t talk as much, but when they did, it was useful, valuable, and had real substance to their conversations. Not much time left for gossip or mindless dribble…
A natural way of teaching and training us was by living out what they taught us. We were allowed to fail, to make mistakes, and to pick ourselves up and begin again!
Conversations were more about what was right and what was wrong, and examples of each.
We knew that our parents meant business - not too much negotiation in those days. We were disciplined, and knew we would be if we didn’t do the right thing.
Grandparents were respected and listened to, especially if their wisdom about any subject matter was a part of their story. We were encouraged to listen and value their ways of living and learn from them how to navigate our own lives.
There were no vacations as we know them today. Rest and relaxation was a trip to grandparents’ homes, and mine both lived 60 miles away. My parents were always there helping them every other weekend, no matter what.
And if we took a vacation away from home we took them with us! No one got left behind….They were grateful people who worked hard. They did not complain when the fields needed “haying”, and it was 90 degrees outside, or cooking dinner for the family without air conditioning. Oh - and please and thank you were absolutely required as part of conversations or else “I do not hear you” was said until those words were uttered. Signs of respect and gratitude were expectations of us all.
But we, “the baby boomers”, were totally intentional in doing just the opposite. After all, we were born in the “fabulous 50s.”!! Our generation during the teenage years was not compliant. It was all about doing our own thing no matter who it hurt in the process. Hippies and long hair on guys, women’s lib, the acceptance of abortions and divorce all were promoted by even my high school teachers. Then came the “peace” lovers, the drug users, and those who searched for the unknown happiness in either only sexual encounters, or relationships without meaning or value. “Finding yourself” was the saying and challenge in the years of the 60s. We left behind all I knew as a kid, the experiences of growing up with dedicated values and principals.
So when I look at the comparisons of people, just one generation apart from each other as described above, it’s quite clear to say, the older generation was and still is, the greatest generation. There was peace and real respect, hard work, gratitude, integrity and character.
The paragraph that describes the “baby boomers” era goes into the “ 60s “ era. What a huge difference in just a generation! Little by little a moral decay was happening; an undermining of authority, a huge lack of respect for all people, and a complacency for all things work and decent living.
I could go on but I’m pretty sure you get the picture. So subtle and deceiving was the deterioration in morals and values in a relatively short amount of time.
When I was 33 I began a new life because Jesus chose me and saved me. I was not trained or taught the ways of the Lord while growing up. But our grandparents prayed for us. So I received Him and my life changed forever.
In those days our grandparents didn’t talk to others about Jesus like we do today. But they really didn’t have to because I believe most of that generation knew Jesus. They all went to church and read their own Bibles!! It was almost as though each knew the other was a follower of Jesus and the need to share the gospel wasn’t as big a need as it has been since then. According to my mom, they would bring their tithe to their church in the form of a bushel of potatoes ,or clothes someone had made, whatever God would lead them to bring to meet the needs of others ( as written in the book of Acts). It was a “given,” that most people went to church. People just went because they wanted to. And the fruits of those who followed Jesus were there as I shared above.
Having shared with you the generational differences, I need to say that the real difference is having Jesus!!
The “best” generation may not have talked about faith much but they walked it out daily….
My generation did not. We walked as the world walked, in spite of anyone talking or walking with Jesus.
We questioned that walk and poked fun at the “Jesus freaks” which started the Jesus Revolution in the late 60s. We were lost and without repentance. We didn’t understand. There was little to no conversation about King Jesus for me in my generation. So when I became His, at age 33, I knew nothing. I, by His Grace and the Faith that He gave me to believe, became a follower of Jesus Christ.
I remember when I was around 12 years old, I looked up at the sky when lounging in the grass one afternoon and asked “are You up there God?” How did I even know to ask that? The Bible says we all know “ of Him .” Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end”.
Paul writes in Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
In Romans 1:21 Paul describes how some people get a glimpse of the truth but do not allow it to work in their lives. They suppress it in order to live by their own “truth”, following their own human ideas, which seems better and less convincing.
Psalm 19:1-4 the psalmist affirms that these people are without excuse. “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.” In blog #1 I shared how I loved God's creation and, and how God spoke to me in His creation. It has spoken to many as the scriptures just talked about.
We all know “of God” at some point in our lives. It’s when we receive and follow Him all the rest of our lives that brings us to a real understanding and right relationship that we begin to know who He is in our own life. He is alive, He is real, and wants to spend time with us. He is the Perfect One and loves us unconditionally!
So whether you were born in the 50s,60s or later, you can know the love of the Father like I and so many others do. I will always remember the day Jesus saved me and how loved I felt for the first time - real love. The steadfast love of God is revealed to us through salvation in Jesus Christ.
God is the only safe place in this upside down world today. A blessed assurance awaits us if we trust in Him for our lives. A peace that passes all understanding is ours because Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He gives us His peace (not as the world gives). Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, gives us His everlasting and unconditional love, when we become His!! It’s eternal and He lavishes those who love and obey His commands. His love is larger than we can ever know or have through people. When we receive His love we can then love others.
1John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
1John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
This concludes the message series for “the Fathers love”.
There’s an infinite love we are not capable of understanding that the Father gives and works in us, we cannot possibly know the depth in which His love abides in us. But we can believe that He IS love and we can receive it for ourselves. Only believe for it and receive it for yourselves and it will be yours…..✝️✝️❤️
Signing off for now…
Lucy Baretta
The On God Blog
Posted in I Will Not Settle