Before I get to the story for which the title was selected, I want to share a recent humorous story, about a very serious subject. The humor only exists ...because of the rare element of innocence, existing for only a time, until we destroy it.

The autumn is a favorite time of year; the days not being too hot, and the nights rather cool. Personally, I don't like air-conditioning. I like to have the windows open. But it does have some drawbacks.

The children's window, also being open, presented a rather uncomfortable situation. As the summer winds down, some people feel they'd like one last hurrah. The trouble is, they repeat it over and over again, never really becoming the "last" occasion. And with alcohol involved, discretion is often not one of its finer points, if there arguably are any at all.

We all have choices to make. The ones we welcome may be on the menu of our favorite restaurant,deciding which site we visit on the computer, or whether we can sleep in an extra hour. Other choices may not be as easy or popular ...such as being accountable to our spouse or children. It doesn't take a lot of discretion to tell yourself which is more important.

I've had to be delicate over things like this before. The subjects usually come up when they are all together, during Homeschooling, and my plan has always been the same: Not to reveal too much, make a quick point, have them accept it without question, then back to the textbooks.

This time I listened intently to what they shared. They began by laughing together, stating that yesterday was the neighbor's birthday, and he wanted a cat for his birthday. (We had just watched a movie where someone had received a dog for their birthday.)

At first, I guess, it didn't register ...until they started mimicking his voice with direct quotes. I wanted to say something, but not too much. I guess I wanted the situation to be remedied without further delving into the particulars.

We'd just had the Language book open. We'd been studying words, word meanings, and derivations of words. I explained that certain words have more than one meaning, and though one meaning may be okay, often the other is not ...and often that meaning is the one that is common to people. I tried to exit the conversation without further explanation by saying, "So it's probably best not to use the word."

Of course, curiosity often is a large part of any youngster, and I was asked if a variation of the word was okay. I tried to finalize the conversation by stating that it's best not to use any variation (or derivation) of the word.

A couple days passed, and they were looking at sea creatures in a science book. I overheard one of them refer to one of the creatures as an "octokitty". As the sincere innocent eyes turn towards me, seeking approval, I'm asked, "Is that okay to say?"

Words do have interesting meaning, for sure.

Some meanings of words, and the origin of phrases, were not welcome revelations to me ...and did not do much to enhance my view of life. Nor did it add to my hope of the heritage we are to pass on to our children. Yet, I am not going to always sugar-coat it. Sometimes the Light is seen brighter, in contrast to the dark. And in the brightness of the sun (Son), we can best see our own shadows.

Hinguar & Hubba ...not Hubba Bubba, and I don't mean to burst your bubble, but they were "mean". Certainly they were not hubba hubba; especially when out in the cold, or Coldingham. No! No!! No!!! To cut off your "No!"s, to spite your face ...or what you have to face. Or is it "knows", or who you know, on Face(book)? Horrifically and ...tragically, I think it is "nose". To stem the tide, or ebb and flow ...or is it Ebba? "Ebb" sounds like I have a cold, or been out in the cold ...which brings us back to Coldingham. We were out picking morels ...but can we also pick our morals? And how mushroom, I mean, much room is there for conviction?

When we look at the horrific nature of such barbaric acts ...it goes beyond self-indulgent disregard of humans, as humans.  The violence that attempts to work its way, has its origin in pure evil.  It's not just a Sodom Gomorrah; or a time of Noah, the likes of which Jesus said "end times" will be like.  It doesn't just begin with putting a King, a ruler, or some sort of leader ...in a higher standing than God.  A leader who tends to disregard God, or the things we cannot deny are God's principles.  It does not begin at the highest office in the land ...it begins with the general consensus among the people that their desire to be a people set apart, following God, is not as strong as their desire to be more the same and accepted by others.

In the Bible, it is clear the people wanted to be ruled like everyone else.  But it didn't just fall all apart with the conflict among Kings. It was evident after Moses was called to lead them out of Egypt.  In no time, they were mumbling and complaining ...about this and that. That they were in the wilderness certainly made it more difficult, but they had to trust God's provision ...and God did provide. 

Then when they reached the "land of milk and honey", you'd think they would abound with thanksgiving for the plenty.  But they fell away, time and again ...one time with disturbing similarity to one account we read about in Sodom.  Do we find ourselves also in a "land of plenty", becoming wise in our own eyes ...or conceits?  

If we try so hard to honor the "right to exist" of everything that is against God, then we build a nation without His principles and precepts.  Every person has the right to exist, and every idea does exist ...but if we try to replace our stated belief in the existence of God, with something other than God: and view that only, as the primary thing that should exist, then we are minimizing our own existence and the realization of where that may lead us.  

Where can God be found, without His principles ...and without following His Word.  We cannot have God without having who He is.  And if we leave God out, then what is left?  Is a nation without God, not soon to be nothing more than a nation thriving on evil?

To disregard God, is to disregard human beings ...to say we have regard for human beings without God, is either promoted by the naive, or by those who hope we are.

We don't take our children to the movies much ...and it is very limited what they watch on television.

Do you feel this is wrong? Obviously, some cats in Hollywood (or more generally, the movie industry) think it's okay ...and that everyone, including our children, should have to wake up to it.

Do you feel it's healthy to be exposed to what the world has to offer ...and at what age?

These questions are often thrown at Eddie, in the form of an urgent dilemma. Eddie's wife is a kind, considerate, wonderful person ...a blessing to be around. One thing I must mention though. She is not good at handling stress. That's okay though, because that's Eddie's job!

It is a warm summer day ...and Eddie feels everyone is happy. But it is at this moment, that the immediate burden is thrown upon Eddie.

"I want to move ...right now!" This was thrust upon Eddie without warning!

Eddie doesn't say anything, but his wife says, "What's the matter, Eddie, cat got your tongue?"

Eddie goes to bed that night, almost afraid to sleep, but hoping that his wife will not only be able to sleep ...but soundly, and the children too! But she doesn't sleep soundly. As the sound penetrates the summer air, Eddie's fear does not take long to revisit itself.

It barely has a chance to announce itself before Eddie leaps out-of-bed and begins to make bone-chilling cat noises out the window.

Then he hollers out the window, "Hey, you wild cats, you're going to wake up the children!"

Eddie then changes his voice, pretending to be his wife answering, "Dear, why don't you just leave them alone! God created the cats to do what they do!"

Eddie then switches back to his naturally loud masculine voice, "I understand that, but our 7 year old ...and 9 year old may not!! Should I explain to them what it means when a cat is in heat?"

There is no more noise, the rest of the night. Who would know what effect it would have beyond this one occasion? The fact is that Eddie, his wife, and children are actually able to sleep in peace, not just for the moment, but for the rest of these timeless summer nights.