SAMANTHA

It has been brought to my attention that some people were offended by my last post, so I felt it important to clarify my thoughts and unfortunately "defend" myself since I only heard about their offense "through the grapevine" thus I was unable to clear things up with these people myself. I apologize for any misunderstandings my previous post caused, but I hope after this, people will be able to understand better what I meant.

First off, let me start by saying that Samantha IS a wonderful girl. She has many good character qualities and in most ways is a model daughter. She is kind and caring! She is helpful and for the most part VERY obedient! She lives to make people happy and love her! She has a wonderfully big heart! She loves children, and shows it with her own baby brother, and with other children in the family and church! She is beautiful and intelligent inside and out!

People got the impression that I think that Samantha is a bad daughter- THIS IS NOT TRUE! I'm sorry if it came across that way, but it wasn't my intent. Samantha is a good daughter and I Love Her Very Much! Her good qualities far outweigh the "bad". My intent was to point out that Samantha was struggling in school and I was struggling to be a good parent to her. I needed to treat her with love and patience, rather than "beating her up" about it. I needed to be a better parent to her.

People also thought that I was pointing a finger at Samantha's "SIN" and not including other people in the mix. THIS IS ALSO NOT TRUE! Not only bad people sin- EVERYONE does. Even the most wholesome, loving, seemingly perfect person sins.

" I GUESS THAT'S WHERE GOD'S FORGIVENESS COMES INTO PLAY. GOD GIVES US SO MUCH THAT WE DON'T DESERVE YET WE STILL SIN AGAINST HIM. HE FORGIVES US AND IS PATIENT WITH US EVEN WHEN WE STUMBLE. I GUESS I NEED TO REMEMBER THAT MYSELF SOMETIMES AND TREAT HER WITH LOVE AND PATIENCE WHILE SHE IS GOING THROUGH THIS TIME IN HER LIFE. ALL THE WHILE NOT ACCEPTING THE SIN BUT TRYING TO HELP HER OVERCOME HER OBSTACLES INSTEAD OF BEING ON HER BACK ABOUT IT. "

Note I used the words US and WE. I was not singling Samantha out at all. We all sin against GOD. Some sins might not seem like they are as large in degree as others, but it is still sin. The word may seem like a harsh choice but it the truth. Samantha's obstacle / "sin" is being honest about her work and doing it on time, instead of saying she doesn't have any and then the truth comes out later. That wasn't the point of what I wrote though, I just wanted to clarify. The POINT of this excerpt is that "I" need to be more loving and patient with Samantha, and not be on her back. I need to model my parenting after the way GOD treats me. I need to be a better parent to her! Oh, and also, if you go back and read I also wrote " SAMANTHA IS VERY EXCITED ABOUT GOING TO HERSHEYPARK-IT WILL BE A BLAST FOR HER, IT IS JUST MY OWN SELFISHNESS COMING THROUGH." Specifically, I am SINNING by being selfish.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 JOHN 1:8 -9 (from the bible)

Let me end this by just saying, once again, I love Samantha and was expressing the frustrations I was having, only a portion about her, most about me needing to treat her wih more love and patience. She is a wonderful daughter, and I am truly blessed to have her in my life! I apologize if it seemed as though I didn't recognize her good qualities- I do everyday, I just didn't say them this time. I also apologize if my previous blog intentions were misunderstood. I hope this sheds more light on what I meant, even if it came out "wrong".