Monthly Archives: June 2021

Teaching Children to Respect “Old Glory”

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble; patlambchristianauthor.com

Train up a child…

Teaching Children to Respect “Old Glory”

         My late husband and I have been surprised on many occasions to note that many children do not know how to say the pledge of allegiance correctly.  I have noted children who do not know which hand to use.  Many young men do not know to remove their caps when the pledge is said.  I dare say that many probably do not know what the words “pledge” and “allegiance” truly mean.  Also, many children do not know what our national anthem is.  There are many adults, as well as children, who think “America, the Beautiful” is the national anthem. Children need to be taught these things.  It might help develop their respect for our flag if they knew the story of how our national anthem, the “Star Spangled Banner”, was written.

         Our national anthem was written by Francis Scott Key.  He was born in 1779 in western Maryland, just a few years after our Declaration of Independence was signed.  His family was very wealthy and owned an estate called “Terra Rubra”.  When he was ten years old, his parents sent him to a grammar school in Annapolis, Maryland, and he graduated at age 17. He then studied to be a lawyer.  He was a deeply religious man and was active in the Episcopal Church.  He was asked to help negotiate the release of a prisoner from the British during the war of 1812.  He was actually on a ship headed back for Maryland with the released prisoner when the British attacked Ft. McHenry.  The ship was stopped until the end of the attack on the fort and from the ship, the attack was observed.  It was from this ship that Francis Scott Key looked to see if our American flag was still standing after the British withdrew the attack.  He was happy to see the flag was still there and he took pen and paper and wrote the poem that became the words to the national anthem.

         The British had bombarded Ft. McHenry for 25 hours and finally decided they could not capture it and withdrew.  The poem written by Francis Scott Key was originally named “The Defense of Ft. McHenry”.  It was handed out as a handbill and the public fell in love with it.  It was renamed “The Star Spangled Banner” and became a song. It wasn’t until 1931 that it became the national anthem.

         After the war, Francis Scott Key continued to live a very religious life.  Because of his religion, he had been against the war of 1812, but he did serve in the war in the Georgetown artillery in 1813 because he loved his country so much.  On January 11, 1843, while visiting his daughter in Baltimore, he died of pleurisy.  There are monuments to him at Ft. McHenry, the Presidio in San Francisco, in Baltimore and Frederick, Maryland.

         If children can be helped to understand the love that Francis Scott Key had for our country and our flag, they will better love and respect them both.  There are many good books in public libraries that can be checked out to give more information about our flag and country.  It is worth the time and effort to use these with children.

Children and Violence in the News

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com

Train up a child…

 Children and Violence in the News

What do we tell our children about all the violence that is happening in our world?  Can we shield them from it?  Should we just ignore it?

Since the beginning of time, there has been a struggle between good and evil.  Children need to be told that God wants good for everyone.  Satan is the author of evil.  All people have to choose which they will follow.  No choice means that people just do what they feel like doing and that is usually bad.  It is the condition of the heart that determines our actions.  No law can make people be good on the inside.  Love cannot be legislated.  We hope our children will choose good, but as parents, we must teach them what is good and what is bad.

It is impossible to completely shield children from all bad news.  We may succeed in keeping part of it away from them, but as they grow older, they will hear more and more.  It takes wisdom to know the amount of information to give children.  Some children are able to handle more than others at certain ages.  The parent is in the best position to know what a child can process.  It is better to help a child with understanding rather than just leave it for the child to have to face alone in the future.  To ignore the bad news completely leaves a child wondering and often confused.

There is no doubt that our children have a great challenge in their future.  We need to do all we can to prepare them.  Nothing is better to prepare them than to give them a foundation of Scripture.  Parents can never go wrong in helping children memorize Scripture.  Taking them to church can go a long way in giving support for spiritual development.  Listening to their concerns and answering to the best of our ability is also important.  It is okay to say, “I don’t know.  Maybe we can figure it out together.”  

It is natural for children to ask why God lets bad people hurt others.  The answer is that God can do everything but one thing.  He created us so that we have the right to choose.  He cannot choose for us.  If He could, we would be like puppets.  He wants us to choose the good and not the bad.  He sees everything and it makes Him sad when people choose wrongly.  He gave us the Bible to tell us how to choose the right way.  He wants us to choose to love Him, not be forced to love Him.  He wants us to choose to love others.  If others were forced to love us, it would not seem like real love.  It is the same with God.  It is important to have a choice and to choose wisely.  

A Lesson from a Dad

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com

Train up a child…

A Lesson from a Dad

       No matter how old we get, when Father’s Day comes, our thoughts naturally turn to our dads and what they mean to us.   My dad taught me a lesson that I would like to share with you.

         We had about 24 cows to milk most of the time on our little farm in Verona, MO.  I liked to tag along with my dad on summer evenings when he went down into the pasture to bring them up for milking.  On one hot summer evening, I was tagging along behind him watching the little puffs of dust come from under my bare feet on the dry, dusty cow path. Suddenly he stopped, squatted down, and pulled a blade of grass.

         My dad sat for a while looking at that blade of grass.  First he looked on the underneath side of it, and then he rolled it over and looked at the top of it.  I could tell that my dad was having deep, serious thoughts.

         “Patsy,” he said, “jest look at this blade of grass.  Look at all the little hairs on it.  Look at all the little lines going here and there on it.”  About that time, an airplane flew overhead.  My dad looked up at the sky and said, “You know, man can make an airplane and fly.  Why, someday, who knows, man may even be able to go to the moon and back, but don’t you ever forget that only God can make a blade of grass!”

         I haven’t forgotten that lesson. Sure enough, man has gone to the moon and back, and man has done much more. Man has even learned to clone animals and humans, but man will never be able to make a blade of grass.  

         Some of the best teaching parents can do comes at opportune moments when least expected.  Impromptu teaching of values can only come if a parent’s heart is right and the desire to teach is there.  Just as we walk every day and never give a thought to the grass we are treading upon, so do we often let day after day go by and never give a thought to the many opportunities for teaching children.

         The best planned lessons from the most educated of teachers may not be as effective as a lesson given from the heart of a dad.  Sure, mom has plenty of input, but there is something extra special when a dad puts his effort into working with his children.  A dad should think of the home as his piece of the world.  It is his to govern and support.  It is something he owns in partnership with mom.  Mom is his helper as he rules his “little country”. 

         Whether or not a dad wants this responsibility, it is his, and God will hold him accountable for how he conducts himself with this assignment.  In God’s sight, just because a man left a home, his responsibilities have not been erased. Bringing children into the world places the responsibility of rearing them squarely on the dads.  Nothing can take that away. 

         This Father’s Day, let us be grateful and express that gratefulness to our dads.  There are many fine dads who take their responsibilities very seriously and they deserve to be honored.  Oh, that there were more dads who do so! 

Dad’s Dilemma

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by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com.

Train up a child…

Dad’s Dilemma

         Dad has a dilemma as he attempts to be head of his home.  That dilemma is how to please mom and, at the same time, “bring home the bacon” and train the kids properly.

         I’m afraid that too many of us as mothers may be too critical of dad and his attempts to discipline and teach the children.  Often, we expect dad to see things just exactly as we see them and do just exactly as we would when they make an effort to direct the children.  If God had intended us both to think the same, he would have made us both the same.  Often dad wields a firmer hand than a mother would.  I believe that is the way it should be.  It seems to be the nature of mom to nurture and cuddle.  Too many times we want to jump in and rescue a child when dad knows that firmness is needed.  Dad doesn’t want to disappoint mom.  This puts him in a tough spot.

         One comedian in Branson joked that a woman’s brain has a four lane highway going from the left brain to the right brain and men have a narrow cow path going from one side of the brain to the other.  This makes women more able to multi-task where men are more apt to think of one thing at a time.  Generally, this is true. 

 Of course, there are exceptions to all of the research findings.  Some men can multi-task.  For those men who find multi-tasking difficult, it is really hard to come home from work and immediately switch to the role of being a dad.  I remember reading in the 50’s that the wife should wait until the husband has been home from work 20 minutes before she starts telling him about the day with the kids!  Times have certainly changed as now many women are also working outside the home.  However, a man may still find it more difficult to adjust quickly to a different set of tasks from what he faced at work.  Also, many jobs now require the person to be on call for 24 hours. In this case, it is especially difficult to switch the mind back and forth to concentrate on what the children need.

         Many dads hesitate to discipline the children for fear they are not doing it properly.  They want the children to like them, and may fear that they only see him when he is scolding them for something and will hold it against him.  The truth is that even though children may resent discipline for a time, in the long run there will be more respect for parents when they show that they care enough to risk not being liked for the sake of a child.  As for not being sure of how to discipline and teach properly, dads need to avail themselves of books and other information available to help them learn. 

Dr. James Dobson has written many wonderful books that give insight into how children think and react.  Dads need to visit the school and meet the teachers and get involved with their children’s activities. Also, dad needs to make sure there is a time each week for the family to have devotions and an opportunity for each family member to express any concerns or ask questions. 

         We can all learn and do better when it comes to bringing up children.  Mom needs to be more patient with dad and dad needs to make more effort to learn about children and communicate with the family.