Monthly Archives: April 2017

Time to Step up to the Plate, Dad!

parenting, Raising kids

Train up a child…

 

Time to Step up to the Plate, Dad!

 

Mother’s Day is almost here! Now it wouldn’t be proper for Mom to remind the kids to give her a present. Moms have to depend on Dad to do this. It’s Dad’s place to work with the children and not only remind them that they need to do something to show appreciation for Mom, but help them to truly appreciate her.

If you wait until the last minute, you won’t have time to get the children to put real thought into what their mother really does for them. You need to talk to them and ask them to tell you all the things they can think of that their mother does for them and others. You need to discuss their mother’s likes and dislikes, so they will know what would please her. This time of year may be your best opportunity to instill an appreciation in the children for their mother.

Help the children understand that the gift needs to be from them. Chances are they may try to con you into giving them money so they can quickly go buy something. The truth is, in such a case, the gift is not from them but from you. It is better that the children consider their own resources and come up with something. Mothers appreciate gifts from the heart.

What mother does not feel like a queen when dad and the kids come bringing her breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day? Sure, the toast may be burned and the kitchen a mess, but it is the thought that counts. Of course, it is even better if she finds the kitchen clean and the toast is not burned! The most memorable gifts are those where time and effort have been combined with thoughtfulness in their creation.

I remember a Mother’s Day when our youngest son could hardly wait to give me his gift. He was so excited that I could tell he wanted me to push him to give it to me early. He had made a gumball machine in his shop class by using a pint jar turned upside down on a board with a hole drilled in it. The gumball would drop in the hole and another board could be pulled out yielding a gumball.

One Mother’s Day my husband called me to the kitchen where three of our four children were gathered. One by one, each gave me a gift personally chosen. This was in the 70’s when the fruit odors became popular. I received a bottle in the shape of an apple with green apple cologne inside. One of the children gave me some watermelon flavored bubble bath. The third child gave me some peach bath powder. I looked around for the fourth child. Finally, he came in the door from outside holding a used paper cup with a rose in it. He had been out picking a rose for me! He had not heeded his dad’s advice and had waited until the last minute.

Even if Mom goes to church smelling like a fruit basket like I did that morning, she will cherish the fact that the children made an effort to show their love and appreciation for her. Dad, help your children to do just that! Then, in a month, it is Mom’s turn to do the same for you!

Teens, Proms, and Graduation

counseling, High School seniors, parenting, Raising kids, , ,

Train up a child…

 

Teens, Proms, and Graduation

 

How exciting it is for upper high school students at this time of year! So much is happening! Memories are being made that will last for life. Emotions are running rampant. During this time of excitement, students are in the spotlight and can feel really special. They have a sense of pride of their accomplishments. Both students and parents are feeling apprehension about the future and are possibly feeling some fear. It is also a time of testing—perhaps the biggest test they have faced so far in their lives.

As the parents and students work together to get the best possible clothes, get hair fixed, and make plans for these last days of school, the teens are basking in the attention they are receiving. As they walk across the platform, hear their names called, and receive the handshake, it is a moment they have longed for and dreamed of. The audience is clapping and there is a real sense of accomplishment. The teens are feeling “on cloud nine”!

After the graduation ceremony, the celebration is a test. Will the students celebrate in a socially acceptable way, or will they throw away some of the principles that their parents and teachers have tried to get across? We’ve all heard stories of seniors who get killed in car accidents caused by drinking. We have to question if those students were really ready to become responsible citizens upon the completion of twelve or more years of school and even more years of training in the home. Project Graduation is an effort to give students an acceptable way of celebrating. Hats off to those who work so hard to provide this activity and to all those who donate to help the cause, but wouldn’t it be even better if it were not needed? In some cases perhaps it is simply something nice that is done for seniors. I would like to think that this is always the case. Reality tells us otherwise.

Many parents may spend some sleepless nights after graduation, wondering how their children will behave. The old saying that young people must “sow their wild oats” seems to excuse bad behavior. Those people who hold to this philosophy are perhaps forgetting that the Bible says, “Be not deceived, God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Gal. 6:7) It might be well to remind young people of this verse.

It is so important to instill real truths and desires in children when they are young, so they can pass this test at graduation and the many other tests that await the graduates. Again, there is a verse from the Bible that applies: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23) A child whose heart is right will not want to act in a wrong way. Actions come from what is truly in the heart.

 

The Easter Story for Children

counseling, parenting, Raising kids

Train up a child…

 

The Easter Story for Children

 

The Bible is a very special book and it tells us about Easter. In the Old Testament, around five hundred years before Jesus was born, the Bible tells us that a prophet said that someday Jesus would come down from heaven to earth as a baby and live here and grow up and that one day he would die. Sure enough, Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth as a little baby and was born in a manger. His mother’s name was Mary and his earthly father’s name was Joseph. We celebrate the holiday, Christmas, to honor the birth of Jesus and the holiday, Easter, to remember his death.

Jesus was a little baby just as we all were. He grew up and went to school and learned scriptures from the Old Testament. Even when he was about twelve years old, he was teaching adults in the temple about things they were wondering about.

When Jesus was about thirty years old, he went to his cousin, John, who was a preacher that had been going around telling people that Jesus was coming. He asked John to baptize him. John baptized Jesus and said that he wasn’t even worthy to untie Jesus’ sandals. He knew how important Jesus was!

Jesus began going around and telling people to believe in his father, God. He chose some men to help him. They were called disciples. They traveled together several places healing sick people and teaching about God. Jesus did many miracles. Some people who were dead, he brought back to life. He walked on water. He calmed a storm. He turned a little food into a lot of food to feed five thousand people. He told lots of stories, called parables, to teach lessons.

One day, Jesus told his disciples that one of them was going to betray him and he would be put to death. The disciples didn’t believe him. They asked who it was. Jesus told them that it was the one to whom he would hand a cup. He handed the cup to a disciple named Judas.

One night while Jesus was praying, Judas brought some people to Jesus. He had told them that the one he kissed was Jesus. He went up and kissed Jesus. They grabbed Jesus and took him away. He was to have a trial, but there was nothing really wrong that he had done. The people wanted him crucified anyway. They yelled, “Crucify him!”

Jesus was taken away and beaten and nailed to a cross. He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He could have called angels to save him, but he let himself die on the cross as a sacrifice for us.

On the third day, some women went to his tomb and he was not there. He had come back alive! He stayed on earth for a few days and then arose and disappeared into heaven. We celebrate Easter as the time Jesus arose from being dead. It reminds us that just as Christ rose from the dead, we will also come back alive after we die. If we are really sorry for our sins, believe that he died on the cross, and ask the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts, we will then live in heaven with him after we die.

Plan a Meaningful Easter for Children

parenting, Raising kids,

Train up a child…

 

Plan a Meaningful Easter for Children

 

Oh what fun to wake up in the morning to a pretty Easter basket! It is a very nice thing for children to remember. Easter egg hunts are looked forward to with much anticipation. In addition, many children get a new Easter outfit to wear to church on that special day. These are all great things to help children remember Easter as a special day.

I wonder how many children have been told the real meaning of Easter. Do they know that eggs represent new life? Do they know that spring, itself, represents the awakening of new life? Do they understand that Easter activities remind us of the fact that the rising of Christ tells us that we, too, will have new life one day?

Why not have the children lay out their clothes the night before Easter so they can get up early and go with the family to one of the many sunrise services in the community? How often does a family watch the sun come up together? Let the children experience the feeling of getting up early in order to identify with the feelings of the ladies who went to the tomb of Jesus only to find it empty. Remind them on the way to the service that the Christian faith is the only one that worships someone who arose from death. Then, after the service, go to breakfast together as a family. Again, many churches in the community serve a free breakfast. If there isn’t a church serving breakfast in your area, go to a restaurant together. Then follow up by attending worship service.

Many egg hunts are sponsored by organizations at times other than the actual Easter Sunday. It is nice, however, to let the children color and decorate their own real eggs on Saturday; then, they can hunt them on Sunday afternoon with dad and mom watching.

A special Easter dinner before the hunt is nice if everyone pitches in to help. The nice thing about ham on Easter is that it takes very little effort to prepare. Let each person choose ahead of time the contribution he/she can make to the dinner. Even very small children can help by setting the table or just putting one thing on the table such as the napkins. Even though it may be easier to do it yourself, it is important to have the children participate in some way. There are many foods already prepared that can be purchased if the children are all too small to give much help. The goal is to have cooperation among family members and for the children to feel a sense of worth for having helped.

We should not forget Good Friday. I remember helping my dad and mom plant potatoes on Good Friday. Although this is not a celebration of a holiday, it still served as a memory of Easter. I remember how we would talk about Friday being the time Jesus was crucified and how sad we all felt.

It may seem strange to talk to children about death and life after death, but it certainly is a subject they need to know about. Each of us has to face death some day. The apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:35 to help us understand death: “But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.”