May 23, 2008
· Filed under Parenting
From crosswalk.com
By Dr. S. M. Davis
One of the greatest hopes of Christian parents should be that their children will choose right over wrong, good over evil, and wisdom over foolishness. One of the most heartbreaking experiences for Christian parents is when they see one of their children making damaging life choices with seemingly no interest in doing right. What can we do to help make sure that our children refuse evil and choose good?
One of the most powerful statements I’ve ever seen in my life is this: “If you want your ideas to last for years, write them on paper. If you want them to last for decades, write them on brick. If you want them to last for centuries, write them in stone. If you want your ideas to last forever, write them on the heart of a child.”
It is the privilege and responsibility of a father and mother to train the soul of a child who is going to live for eternity. God could have chosen angels to provide perfect teaching and training and care for children, but He did not choose to do that. He could have delegated that responsibility to the government, but He did not do that either. Instead, He gave that responsibility primarily to mothers and fathers. Thankfully, however, He didn’t just give us that responsibility and then leave us alone. He gave us some instructions in His Word that, if we will only follow them, will guide us on our way to raising godly children.
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May 23, 2008
· Filed under Parenting, Relationship
From crosswalk.com
By Kris Swiatocho
My stepfather is only one example of a man who has impacted my life as a result of his relationship with Christ. Throughout this series, I want to share with you about some of the other men who have impacted my life solely because of their relationship with Jesus. I believe as I share that you, too, will connect with them and discover for yourself how God has always had a plan for you, is working it out in your life and will never leave you.
Do you sometimes think you don’t matter? Do you feel insignificant in this big world? That all your hard work, building your life hasn’t amounted to much? Or at least you think much?
I used to feel this way. I can remember when I was a young adult; I was searching for my purpose. What was God doing in my life? I am just one little person. How can my life be that valuable to God? I am one in a zillion of people. Yeah, yeah, he knows the hairs on my head so he knows me. Yada yada yada! I knew he knew me. I had read Scripture and understood that he even loved me, unconditionally. But what I didn’t know was how I could be used by God. I wanted to not just exist. I wanted to make a difference. But how?
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May 12, 2008
· Filed under Parenting
From Crosswalk
By Barbara Curtis
It was the kind of splendid September day when sending kids to school just feels wrong. Fortunately, that year I was homeschooling and calling the shots. Plus we were living in California, an hour from the Pacific Ocean. For all I knew, it could be the last day of summer, and we wouldn’t want to miss that. So it was off to the ocean with five children under eight – Josh, Matt, Ben, Zach, and Sophia.
Together, we cleaned up from breakfast, prepped the car, then gathered beach blankets, umbrella, towels, swimsuits, diapers, sunglasses, sand toys, first aid kit, sunscreen, a cooler full of snacks and drinks – ay yi yi yi yi! Hello, motherhood – goodbye spontaneity.
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May 12, 2008
· Filed under Family, Parenting
From Crosswalk
By Kathi Macias
When people say you look like your mom or dad, do you dance with joy or grit your teeth and cringe? Your reaction tells a lot about your relationship with your parents, as well as how your children will one day think of you.
Author, speaker, and marketing consultant Jan Coates, also the founder of Set Free Today Ministries, knows only too well about those negative reactions to any reference that would link her to her mother. In Jan’s words, “I never had a real mother. Instead, I lived under the control of a paranoid schizophrenic, alcoholic, drug-addict mother.” However, it wasn’t always that way.
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May 4, 2008
· Filed under Bible, Family, Parenting, Relationship
From Focus on the Family
By Linda Klepacki, R.N., M.P.H.
Talking to our teens about sexuality is one of the most life-affirming tasks parents face in our sex-saturated society. Throughout their formative years, teens need to hear from their parents the truth about sex, rather than just the daily bombardment of media sex scandals.
In Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that American children devote more than 38 hours per week to various forms of media, such as television, videos, video games, music, and the Internet. By the time the average teen graduates from high school he will have squandered 15,000 hours watching television—that’s twenty percent more time than the 12,000 hours he will have spent in the classroom. Furthermore, the average American adolescent will view nearly 14,000 sexual references per year.
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