[417 words] When I was a kid in the 70’s, tearing your clothes was a tragic thing. A mother’s admonition was, “Don’t tear a hole in your jeans, or I’ll have to patch them!” Tearing your clothes was an accidental, tragic thing, usually occurring due to a child’s...
[261 words] Parents get deeply excited and involved with what their children are doing in school. They make sure the children prepare for classes. They make sure the children never miss a class, a practice or an event. They are even there with them. They send their...
[145 words] We need to be careful, children are excellent imitators, consider for a moment the following story: A small girl watched with absorbing interest, everything which was happening at her mother’s card party. She observed how her mother dressed; how she...
[349 words] "For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well” (2 Tim. 1:5). I remember well the name of Howard Hughes. Hughes' life started with great...
[347 words] The bags were packed, goodbye's were said, and the children were excited as they prepared to go with their grandparents for a few days to Tennessee. My wife and I do not take a lot of overnight trips where we'll be apart, but on this occasion she and the...
[369 words] Jesus' mother, Mary, witnessed the crucifixion from the foot of the cross. Despite his agony, Jesus told his best friend, John, to take care of his mom, and to his mother he said, let John stand in my place as your son. John lived a very long life, and I...
[157 words] When Paul wrote to Philemon, he was addressing a difficult situation. Philemon's slave had run away, found Paul, and was obviously baptized into Christ (Philemon 1:10-16). Paul sent the slave (Onesimus) back to Philemon with the letter. How did Paul handle...
[261 words] Empathy is the ability to feel for others. It’s what makes us care about each other as people and forms the roots of compassion and love. In a world that struggles with bullying, anger, and coldness, you could imagine why people want to know how to build...
[374 words] Time. We all have a limited amount of it. We all know this, but we ignore it and waste time anyway. We are so selfish with time, not willing to share it or give it others. Time is of the essence is a legal term used in contracts to emphasize the necessity...
[96 words] In the diary of Brooks Adams is a note about a special day when he was eight years old. He wrote, “Went fishing with my father; the most glorious day of my life.” Through the next forty years, there were constant references to that day and the...
[98 words] Proverbs shows the need for children to pay attention to instruction. Solomon admonishes his son to pay attention to his parents (Prov. 1:8-9), and to recognize the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7). Children also need to be...
[418 words] Ours, it is to be feared, is an irreverent age and land. The number of those who neither fear God nor regard man, is greatly multiplied. The whole providentially arranged system of things is reversed; and if there is any one motto which might be...
[249 words] When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to commemorate the great exodus by observing the Passover, He found that the temple complex more resembled a marketplace and banking center than it did a place to offer worship to His Father (John 2:13-22). The place...
[157 words] A neurologist at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan has done research that reveals the great capacity of growing human brains to absorb information. He discovered that by age 2, the infant’s cortex is operating at adult levels. At age 4, that...
[361 words] Each of us know that prayer is very important. In our own lives we will pray at different times and for different reasons. We pray at meal times, when someone is having troubles in their lives (such as sickness, death or making difficult decisions)....
[279 words] They’re called “baby hatches.” They were designed as a way for parents to anonymously drop off unwanted babies which might otherwise have been abandoned in the street. An infant is placed in a box that is built into a wall of a safe haven. When the box is...
[271 words] It’s hard to convince your children that the church is the most important thing in the world when you are negligent about attending its services and supporting its work. It’s hard to convince your children that the church is the greatest institution in the...
[254 words] Our culture is in a sexual free fall. The average age for first-time sexual intercourse for boys is 15.9 (girls 16.2). The vast majority of students are sexual by the time they are high school seniors. By the way, the percentage of “Christian” kids is no...
[435 words] “What do you know about Moses?” the Bible class teacher asked her eager 5th graders. “He was saved from death because his mother put him in a little boat on the river.” “He was found by Pharaoh’s daughter.” “He led the people out of bondage.” “He...
[286 words] The rearing of children is probably the most difficult task on the face of this earth. All of us desperately want our children to turn out right. I certainly do not claim to have all the answers. As a matter of fact, the older I get the less I know....
[328 words] There’s trouble in the land. No wide-awake person will deny that! These upheavals have caused many parents to express apprehension concerning the future of their children. That’s understandable. When our children graduate from high school and leave...
The picture of a truly successful man is seen in Joseph. As we view him in his late thirties, he is in the courts of Pharaoh with the number two position In the land. But his success was measured by more than that. He was a righteous man who, even in his youth refused...
God gave each member of the family a role to play. Each one playing his or her part will make a difference in the family, as can be seen in Paul's instructions to the saints in Ephesus. Christian wives are to place themselves under the control of their husbands as one...
[217 words] I went to Sunday school when I was small and learned all about God. After I was married I decided to go again and take my children. I couldn't persuade my husband to go, but the children and I went regularly for a year. Then I skipped a Sunday. And soon I...
[317 words] I recall an interview I once read of a young teenage girl. At one point in the exchange, she remarked, ”l know for a fact that my parents don't love me." Why do you think this teenage daughter said that? Here's what ran through my mind when I read those...
[291 words] Parenting is challenging. The top of the Christian parent challenge list would be, “Will my child be faithful to Christ into adulthood?” The Fuller Youth Institute says 50% of students walk away from the church after they graduate High School. Our youth...
[288 words] Inheritance is important. Good fathers desire to leave something behind for their children (Prov. 13:22). Old Testament law even regulated the passing down of a father’s possessions (Deut. 21:15-17; Num. 27:8-11). As fathers, what sort of...
[248 words] Why is there so much violence, crime, hostility, anger, hatred, discrimination, disrespect, etc. in our world today? What’s wrong with America? I believe the answer can be summed up in two words: FATHER FIGURE. The ABSENCE of a father figure within...
[390 words] According to an investigative article by Eli Hager published in the Washington Post, March 2, 2017, entitled “Your child’s been sent to jail. And then comes the bill,” many states bill parents when their juvenile children are in the legal system. One woman...
[55 words] Before your child has come to seven Teach him well the way to heaven! Better still the truth will thrive, If he knows it when he’s five! Better yet, if at your knee He learns it when he is only three! Best of all when you have begun To teach of Jesus before...
[365 words] As we headed out the door of our house to load (or should I say cram) our daughter’s final bag of luggage into the car. I went back inside to make sure we had turned off all the lights. For whatever reason, l walked down the hallway to my daughters...
[75 words] A young mother, holding her toddler-sized child, was enjoying playful time with her daughter and the daughter was loving the attention and time from her mother. I rejoice when I see parents enjoying their small children. Certainly, children can be...
[309 words] Rules for Bringing Up a Child: 1. Make home the brightest and most attractive place we can. 2. Make him responsible for helping in some daily duties at home. 3. Never punish in anger nor to relieve our own feelings, but only in love and for disobedience....
“And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged" (Colossians 3:21). Fathers do you discourage or anger your...
"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD; and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the...
At one point during a game, the coach said to one of his young players, “Do you understand what cooperation is and what teamwork is all about?” The little boy nodded in the affirmative. “Do you understand that what really matters is not whether we win or lose, but...
Every Sunday, just about noon, families walk out of church, get in the car and begin the drive home. Crucial religious instruction takes place then. Here are some of the positions a parent can take as these minutes tick away. Act like you have never been to worship...
One Sunday a preacher was entertained in a farm home of a family of a rural church. The preacher was impressed by the intelligence and unusually good behavior of their only child, a little four-year-old boy. Then the preacher discovered one reason for the child’s...