When parenting looks a whole lot like martial law

Long before Trump was ever even the official nominee, and I was trying to wrap my brain around how to vote for him, I had a dream. I know there are lots of different kinds of dreams. There are "I ate weird food" dreams, "I am mentally processing my life" dreams and I believe that there are "God" dreams. I tell about my dream in my last post.  I personally think it was a God dream, but I understand that other people had dreams that were pro-Hillary that they felt like were God dreams too. I didn't mean for this post to be about dreams so I am just going to say that I don't think that means that God is schizophrenic. I think God could have used either of them. But that's really a whole different post.  In the dream I had there was a quality that was highlighted to me and that is "the father heart of God." So I have been thinking and praying about Trump and America and the crazy mess we are in. Something changed when Trump was elected. Like that night, there was a chemical change in America. We brought two things together and they turned into something brand new. We have not seen in my lifetime, in my opinion, the amount of protests, and rioting and whining that we have seen since he was elected. The media seems to have lost its ever loving mind. Can you imagine there being "alternative facts" in the 80's? People lost their jobs for this stuff back in the day. I have been thinking and really a phrase has been rolling around in my spirit for the last week or so that America is acting like a spoiled child and is in need of discipline. We are acting like a 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum in Walmart. This morning as I was praying I was thinking about this and God reminded me of there dream and Trump being a carrier of the father heart of God. I felt like the Lord asked me, when a spoiled child is acting out, what does a loving parent do? It brings discipline. If we apply that metaphor to an entire nation, what does discipline look like? Setting "temporary bans" so your friends can't come over? Reallocating your benefits so that your priorities are straight. And I think if that doesn't work, it looks like martial law. I think you get your butt whooped. (this isn't a place to debate spankings or time-outs.) i grew up in a home that believed in spankings and I do too. I think it's biblical. I also think that each kid can be disciplined differently. But I think that what we are seeing if Trump acting as a father of kids who have had it their way for the last 8+ years and are now feeling very entitled and spoiled. (This is not just Obama's fault. I actually think a lot of it goes back to FDR and the New Deal.)  I think he is stepping in to remind them that the life they are living is a privilege and they need to have the character to sustain that blessing. I think that discipline can be misconstrued if you don't fully understand the heart of the father. I think it can feel abusive. I also think parents can be qbusive if they don't know the heart of their child. Discipline and reward must happen from a place of vulnerability and intimacy. I think America needs discipline right now. I hope we don't have to go through martial law (or worse) to get straightened out. I pray that America will have a clear understanding of the father heart of God and the father heart of Trump. I pray that America will quit acting so spoiled. I pray that if there is any immaturity, entitlement, or other things that are causing me to act like a spoiled child that I would see it for what it is and repent.  *When I say spoiled I am not talking about being pro or against certain issues. Don't confuse this with a political statement. I am talking about a spirit or mentality that has changed the way we respond to situations. The whining and ranting on social media, the media craziness, the protests. In and of themselves, they are fine. I am talking about something behind the scenes.  You may not agree with me and that's fine. We don't have to see eye to eye. But we do have to love each other no matter what. Let me know what you think.