I know the price of gas is through the roof - and it is not going to get better in the near future. But taking a vacation can take many forms, it doesn't necessarily cost an arm and a leg to take one with the family.
In a recent study concerning the benefits of taking a vacation, one point stood out to me. It has been found that time away from the everyday grind is a positive thing relative to easing the tension that builds up over time in a person's life. In fact, the survey stated that taking a vacation will actually peal off so much tension in a person's life, that the effect would actually lengthen a person's life. I like that.
Distance from home and work is not the critical factor, it is the total detachment form home and work that makes a vacation work. Don't bring work with you, turn your cell phones off, and refrain from checking into the office - these are some of the things that you must do if you are going to have a successful vacation with your family.
Another thing that makes a vacation work is to totally focus on the family. If that is accomplished, then you will definitely make a good memory for the entire family - and isn't that one of the major reasons for taking a vacation - making a memory.
So, take a vacation. It is worth it.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Memorial Day and Remembering
For most Americans of the 21st century, Memorial Day represents a three day holiday in which you can spend time with your family. Nothing more. And this makes me very sad. Why?
As citizens, we have lost the need to remember the almost one million Americans who have given their lives in battles on this earth for the privileges which we, by and large, take for granted. All of these privileges, which are just assumed by the average American - as a given - can be found under the umbrella called "freedom." To get into your car and drive wherever you wish - is a freedom. To be able to stop where you want, eat what you want, buy what you want, and basically do what you want - all comes from - freedom. Americans have gotten used to freedom so much that the average American is hard pressed to define it when asked. When you are born with it, it is hard to explain it and easy to take advantage of it.
I believe this is one reason why Americans find it hard to understand much of the world; it is just as hard for much of the world to understand Americans for the same reason. The average American has had to pay little or nothing for the freedom they enjoy; whereas, the average citizen of the world would pay almost anything to have such freedom. There is a danger that lies in the human matrix of the mind when it comes to freedom. If freedom is not held precious but mundane, it can be lost overnight. On the other hand, if freedom cannot be realized by a human, that human will overtly seek to destroy the other human who takes freedom for granted. We must remember this.
This is what we are seeing played out on the world scene today. Islamic countries have been under religious bondage for centuries. And the radical elements of Islam, who manhandle their own people, are in earnest to destroy any person, people, or country who enjoys the freedom they do not have. Because their religion does not provide the freedom the human spirit seeks, the radicals seek to destroy the religion that promotes such freedom, and the adherents of such a religion. We must remember this.
America was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles that promote freedom of the soul. The founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, stated that He came to set men free. He made good on such a claim by dying on a cross for the sins of His people, and sending the Holy Spirit to guide sinners to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Once a person receives Christ as their Lord and Savior, a whole new worldview opens up to that individual. And at the heart of this new worldview, is the concept of freedom. We must remember this.
Islamic radicals understand the connection between the Christian worldview and freedom. Liberals in our beloved Country do not understand the connection. They think that Christianity is an old time religion that needs to be forgotten. Secular progressive thinking that promotes the political correctness of today teaches that Americans must become more pluralistic in our thinking. Being absolute in anything is not appropriate in today's society - especially when it comes to faith and politics. Herein lies a dangerous weakness for our beloved USA. Politics simply is a reflection of our faith. Strong, vibrant Christian faith will display itself in a vibrant, strong politic of the people. Our Country was founded upon just such a strong, political ethic. We must remember this.
It is this Judeo-Christian foundation that liberals, with their existential thinking, are in earnest to destroy. What they deem to be irrelevant is the very thing that Islamic radicals want so much to destroy. Why? Because the Islamic radicals understand that the Judeo-Christian principles, upon which our Country was built, are not obsolete but rather essential to our very existence as a Nation. Bad politics make strange bedfellows; those who appose Christianity and are in earnest in trying to remove God from the political history of our Country find themselves in bed with the Islamic radicals who have the same goal in mind - the annihilation of the Christian worldview that has made America the world power that she is. We must remember this.
We must remember the strong faith displayed by the pilgrims when they first came to America. That faith carried them through their first hard winter wherein they realized a loss of half of their people. The pilgrims did not survive because of their politics, rather because of their strong faith. Their Christian worldview can be easily seen in every aspect of their life - including their politics. By acknowledging God and their need of Him, God blest them and carried them through their trials. We must remember this.
Throughout our American history, this dependency on God can be documented time and time again. Whenever Americans confessed their dependency upon God, God blessed them. By following His principles, as shown in His Holy Bible, America grew mighty and strong for the first two hundred years of her existence. We must remember this!
Nazism and Marxism were no match for a Country based on a Christian worldview. America was proud of her Christian heritage. We must remember this.
But times have changed. Today, radical Islam and terrorism is a two-headed hydra that is biting at our feet. But these are not the greatest enemies we have to fear. Our greatest enemies lie in the seditious waters of relativism and existentialism that are steadily eroding the very foundation of our Country. Since the 1960's we, as a Nation, began to lose our faith in our government leaders and in our religious leaders. That skepticism eventually has led us to lose our faith in all expressions of authority - from religion, to government, to family.
Our society is fast becoming a pluralistic society that stands for nothing - and will fall for anything! In rejecting man-made religion, we have rejected the one true God and the revelation of Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. The liberals cry, "Separation of church and state," and then misuse the phrase as they strive to eradicate any mention of God in any of our history. Relativistic thinking has coined the phrase "pro-choice," and then abuse such a freedom by taking the lives of millions of defenseless babies - who were given no choice! Existentialism has proclaimed the essence of
me-ism with the statement, "If it feels good, do it" - and has deceived millions into thinking that they are not responsible for their actions - someone else is! "Let someone else do it, it is not my responsibility!
With the aforementioned mentality greasing our national skids, we are quickly sliding downhill into the pools of depotism and anarchy. In seeking to be free from all restraints to our subjective me-ism, we are becoming enslaved to rational nihilism. We have forsaken God!
We, as a Nation, must repent of our sins of selfishness, self-centeredness, and self-righteousness and cry out to God for His mercy. We have been so blest, with so much, that we have turned from God and have begun to worship the gods of materialism and humanism. God will not take second place in our lives. As long as America honored God, God blest us. Now, we have forsaken Him. Pray that He will not forasake us!
As citizens, we have lost the need to remember the almost one million Americans who have given their lives in battles on this earth for the privileges which we, by and large, take for granted. All of these privileges, which are just assumed by the average American - as a given - can be found under the umbrella called "freedom." To get into your car and drive wherever you wish - is a freedom. To be able to stop where you want, eat what you want, buy what you want, and basically do what you want - all comes from - freedom. Americans have gotten used to freedom so much that the average American is hard pressed to define it when asked. When you are born with it, it is hard to explain it and easy to take advantage of it.
I believe this is one reason why Americans find it hard to understand much of the world; it is just as hard for much of the world to understand Americans for the same reason. The average American has had to pay little or nothing for the freedom they enjoy; whereas, the average citizen of the world would pay almost anything to have such freedom. There is a danger that lies in the human matrix of the mind when it comes to freedom. If freedom is not held precious but mundane, it can be lost overnight. On the other hand, if freedom cannot be realized by a human, that human will overtly seek to destroy the other human who takes freedom for granted. We must remember this.
This is what we are seeing played out on the world scene today. Islamic countries have been under religious bondage for centuries. And the radical elements of Islam, who manhandle their own people, are in earnest to destroy any person, people, or country who enjoys the freedom they do not have. Because their religion does not provide the freedom the human spirit seeks, the radicals seek to destroy the religion that promotes such freedom, and the adherents of such a religion. We must remember this.
America was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles that promote freedom of the soul. The founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, stated that He came to set men free. He made good on such a claim by dying on a cross for the sins of His people, and sending the Holy Spirit to guide sinners to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Once a person receives Christ as their Lord and Savior, a whole new worldview opens up to that individual. And at the heart of this new worldview, is the concept of freedom. We must remember this.
Islamic radicals understand the connection between the Christian worldview and freedom. Liberals in our beloved Country do not understand the connection. They think that Christianity is an old time religion that needs to be forgotten. Secular progressive thinking that promotes the political correctness of today teaches that Americans must become more pluralistic in our thinking. Being absolute in anything is not appropriate in today's society - especially when it comes to faith and politics. Herein lies a dangerous weakness for our beloved USA. Politics simply is a reflection of our faith. Strong, vibrant Christian faith will display itself in a vibrant, strong politic of the people. Our Country was founded upon just such a strong, political ethic. We must remember this.
It is this Judeo-Christian foundation that liberals, with their existential thinking, are in earnest to destroy. What they deem to be irrelevant is the very thing that Islamic radicals want so much to destroy. Why? Because the Islamic radicals understand that the Judeo-Christian principles, upon which our Country was built, are not obsolete but rather essential to our very existence as a Nation. Bad politics make strange bedfellows; those who appose Christianity and are in earnest in trying to remove God from the political history of our Country find themselves in bed with the Islamic radicals who have the same goal in mind - the annihilation of the Christian worldview that has made America the world power that she is. We must remember this.
We must remember the strong faith displayed by the pilgrims when they first came to America. That faith carried them through their first hard winter wherein they realized a loss of half of their people. The pilgrims did not survive because of their politics, rather because of their strong faith. Their Christian worldview can be easily seen in every aspect of their life - including their politics. By acknowledging God and their need of Him, God blest them and carried them through their trials. We must remember this.
Throughout our American history, this dependency on God can be documented time and time again. Whenever Americans confessed their dependency upon God, God blessed them. By following His principles, as shown in His Holy Bible, America grew mighty and strong for the first two hundred years of her existence. We must remember this!
Nazism and Marxism were no match for a Country based on a Christian worldview. America was proud of her Christian heritage. We must remember this.
But times have changed. Today, radical Islam and terrorism is a two-headed hydra that is biting at our feet. But these are not the greatest enemies we have to fear. Our greatest enemies lie in the seditious waters of relativism and existentialism that are steadily eroding the very foundation of our Country. Since the 1960's we, as a Nation, began to lose our faith in our government leaders and in our religious leaders. That skepticism eventually has led us to lose our faith in all expressions of authority - from religion, to government, to family.
Our society is fast becoming a pluralistic society that stands for nothing - and will fall for anything! In rejecting man-made religion, we have rejected the one true God and the revelation of Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. The liberals cry, "Separation of church and state," and then misuse the phrase as they strive to eradicate any mention of God in any of our history. Relativistic thinking has coined the phrase "pro-choice," and then abuse such a freedom by taking the lives of millions of defenseless babies - who were given no choice! Existentialism has proclaimed the essence of
me-ism with the statement, "If it feels good, do it" - and has deceived millions into thinking that they are not responsible for their actions - someone else is! "Let someone else do it, it is not my responsibility!
With the aforementioned mentality greasing our national skids, we are quickly sliding downhill into the pools of depotism and anarchy. In seeking to be free from all restraints to our subjective me-ism, we are becoming enslaved to rational nihilism. We have forsaken God!
We, as a Nation, must repent of our sins of selfishness, self-centeredness, and self-righteousness and cry out to God for His mercy. We have been so blest, with so much, that we have turned from God and have begun to worship the gods of materialism and humanism. God will not take second place in our lives. As long as America honored God, God blest us. Now, we have forsaken Him. Pray that He will not forasake us!
Monday, May 19, 2008
An Institution of God: Marriage
The hatred toward God and all that He stands for continues to be seen in the actions of the exteme leftists in our beloved Country. By now, all of you have heard of the California's court decision (a 4 to 3 decision) to make same sex marriage legal in the state of California. The court has taken a moral issue - the holy institution of marriage that was created by God Himself - and has turned it into a political issue. Those who support such an outlandish position have told Christians and churches, at large, to stay away from politics. Now, these extremists have taken the institution of marriage - an institution that is NOT political, but moral - and has ripped it away from the moral foundation upon which God originally built it. By their own actions, they have forced churches and Christians to get into the face of politicians concerning this issue of redefining marriage. The action of these liberal judges is not only against traditional marriage but it also against the very authority of God and His Holy Scripture.
What can we do? First, we can PRAY for the Christians who are in California. They are fighting a tremendous battle. If this decision is not overturned by the voters in the November election, then the affects of this liberal court decision that, in affect, is legislating public policy, will be seen in other states across our Country. It is a sure thing that this is headed for the Supreme Court; but we need to be fighting it - now!
Secondly, we can be contacting our own representatives and telling them of our concerns about this moral atrocity. The men and women that represent us must stand up and declare their own position on this matter of the institution of marriage.
Lastly, Christians need to be standing on the Word of God and defending the moral integrity of the traditonal institution of marriage. It is easy to take the position that as long as it is not in my state, then I don't have to really take a stand on this. There is no point in causing waves, is there? This kind of thinking is dangerous because of its numbing affect that it has on the conscience of the average citizen. We must view what is happening in California as analogous to our fighting terrorists in Iraq. If we don't fight and deal with terrorism in Iraq, then we shall fight it on our home soil. In the same manner, if we don't help our California Christian brethren fight this issue in their state, then we will one day see it in our state as well. It is as simple as that.
What can we do? First, we can PRAY for the Christians who are in California. They are fighting a tremendous battle. If this decision is not overturned by the voters in the November election, then the affects of this liberal court decision that, in affect, is legislating public policy, will be seen in other states across our Country. It is a sure thing that this is headed for the Supreme Court; but we need to be fighting it - now!
Secondly, we can be contacting our own representatives and telling them of our concerns about this moral atrocity. The men and women that represent us must stand up and declare their own position on this matter of the institution of marriage.
Lastly, Christians need to be standing on the Word of God and defending the moral integrity of the traditonal institution of marriage. It is easy to take the position that as long as it is not in my state, then I don't have to really take a stand on this. There is no point in causing waves, is there? This kind of thinking is dangerous because of its numbing affect that it has on the conscience of the average citizen. We must view what is happening in California as analogous to our fighting terrorists in Iraq. If we don't fight and deal with terrorism in Iraq, then we shall fight it on our home soil. In the same manner, if we don't help our California Christian brethren fight this issue in their state, then we will one day see it in our state as well. It is as simple as that.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Movie Review: "Expelled"
Ben Stein's Expelled is a must see documentary! It is a cinematic cry in the academia wilderness of America for freedom of speech and honest inquiry. The movie exposes the hypocrisy that is going on in the scientific community as it relates to scientific research - in any field - and how it relates to Darwin's Theory of Evolution and the possibility of Intelligent Design being a possible answer to some of the perplexing questions that are being raised.
Expelled makes it very clear that there is a big difference between Creationism and Intelligent Design. With Creationism, you have as a premise, a Supreme Being called God Who takes an active interest in the creation He has made. With Intelligent Design, you have as a premise, some kind of Intelligent Designer - whether it be called God or something else - who is behind all the incredible designs scientists are discovering in a plethora of scientific fields. With ID, you do not have to acknowledge or deal with the matter of faith or religion. You are simply acknowledging a Superior Intelligence other than, and greater than man.
Therein lies the rub! Darwinists are appalled at the thought that there could possibly be a higher intelligence than themselves. Their arrogance on this point is quite apparent in the film. Ben Stein does a superb job at drawing out scientists, who are darwinists, and have them display both their foolishness in their support of darwinism, and their animosity toward anyone who suggests that there might be flaws to Darwin's theory of evolution.
Prior to Charles Darwin's publication On The Origin of Species in 1859, the pervading thought at the time was that there was a Creator behind creation. Using the axiomatic proposition that scientists have a responsibility to question the status quo, Darwin was unhindered in his publication of his work. The point of the movie Expelled is that scientists do not have that same freedom today!
There is no room for free inquiry in the realm of science when it comes to the subject of Darwinism. This presents a tremendous problem. In Darwin's day - and in his writings - he took the cell to be the simplest form of matter known to man. Because of nanotechnology, we have discovered that there are literally galaxies of molecular material in a cell. As one scientific mathematician puts it, it would be mathematically impossible for all of what makes the cell to have just happened - even if you take five billion years to do so. The complexity of the cell demands the probability of an Intelligent Designer behind it all. This possibility causes fear to run rampant in the hearts of Darwinians.
I am persuaded that Darwinism will one day fall by the wayside along with all the other theories that man has proposed in written history. There is just too much new information being presently gathered that refutes the theory of darwinism. You can't hold down truth forever! And no matter how hard the scientific establishment tries to hold back the truth that is being discovered, the internet and other channels of communication will continue to present to the world what the present opposition to truth does not want the public to know.
It is understandable why the scientific community cannot tolerate the possibility of a Creator - much less an Intelligent Designer. If there is, indeed, a God Who is actually superintending Creation, then there is a God Whom man will one day have to face. That thought terrifies a Darwinist who rejects the existence of God. And this is why ID is too close to sounding like the Creator in their mind; consequently, they have to reject the possibility - or even the discussion of Intelligent Design. And as they reject the possibility of ID, they must also reject anyone who talks about it.
See the movie while you can - the opposition is doing everything possible to stop the showing of it.
I wonder why?
Expelled makes it very clear that there is a big difference between Creationism and Intelligent Design. With Creationism, you have as a premise, a Supreme Being called God Who takes an active interest in the creation He has made. With Intelligent Design, you have as a premise, some kind of Intelligent Designer - whether it be called God or something else - who is behind all the incredible designs scientists are discovering in a plethora of scientific fields. With ID, you do not have to acknowledge or deal with the matter of faith or religion. You are simply acknowledging a Superior Intelligence other than, and greater than man.
Therein lies the rub! Darwinists are appalled at the thought that there could possibly be a higher intelligence than themselves. Their arrogance on this point is quite apparent in the film. Ben Stein does a superb job at drawing out scientists, who are darwinists, and have them display both their foolishness in their support of darwinism, and their animosity toward anyone who suggests that there might be flaws to Darwin's theory of evolution.
Prior to Charles Darwin's publication On The Origin of Species in 1859, the pervading thought at the time was that there was a Creator behind creation. Using the axiomatic proposition that scientists have a responsibility to question the status quo, Darwin was unhindered in his publication of his work. The point of the movie Expelled is that scientists do not have that same freedom today!
There is no room for free inquiry in the realm of science when it comes to the subject of Darwinism. This presents a tremendous problem. In Darwin's day - and in his writings - he took the cell to be the simplest form of matter known to man. Because of nanotechnology, we have discovered that there are literally galaxies of molecular material in a cell. As one scientific mathematician puts it, it would be mathematically impossible for all of what makes the cell to have just happened - even if you take five billion years to do so. The complexity of the cell demands the probability of an Intelligent Designer behind it all. This possibility causes fear to run rampant in the hearts of Darwinians.
I am persuaded that Darwinism will one day fall by the wayside along with all the other theories that man has proposed in written history. There is just too much new information being presently gathered that refutes the theory of darwinism. You can't hold down truth forever! And no matter how hard the scientific establishment tries to hold back the truth that is being discovered, the internet and other channels of communication will continue to present to the world what the present opposition to truth does not want the public to know.
It is understandable why the scientific community cannot tolerate the possibility of a Creator - much less an Intelligent Designer. If there is, indeed, a God Who is actually superintending Creation, then there is a God Whom man will one day have to face. That thought terrifies a Darwinist who rejects the existence of God. And this is why ID is too close to sounding like the Creator in their mind; consequently, they have to reject the possibility - or even the discussion of Intelligent Design. And as they reject the possibility of ID, they must also reject anyone who talks about it.
See the movie while you can - the opposition is doing everything possible to stop the showing of it.
I wonder why?
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Book Review: The Faith Given Once, For All
- The Faith Given Once, For All by Charles Colson and Harold Fickett is a must read for every Christian living in the 21st century. As Christians, we are in a spiritual warfare with our fallen nature, the age in which we live, and with Satan himself (Eph. 2:1-3). The liberal society in which we live is increasingly anti-Christian. The gods of materialism, social tolerance and humanism are assaulting Christianity every day and the casualty count among Christians is alarming. How can this be?
More and more Christians are being overrun by the age in which we live because they are poorly prepared to give a strong defense for the faith that was handed down to them. Too many pastors have bought into the secular progressive idea that we don’t want to offend anyone with the Gospel. We dare not speak with a tone that projects authority: “Thus saith the Lord” – that would be narrow-minded! Truth and doctrine must be jettisoned and in their place, we must preach acceptance of others and the value of self. Wrap the love of God in a gospel of prosperity and health – this is what people want to hear today. You can preach Jesus without preaching doctrine. Anyway, there are many ways to get to heaven – right?
Colson answers such foolish notions with a resounding “No!” He goes on to explain:
“To present Jesus without doctrine is to present a disembodied savior, a moral teacher perhaps, but with no more authority than Confucius. This is why I believe that the question of truth and its knowability is the most important single issue for the Church and perhaps for the culture today (p64).”
It is for this reason that Colson and Fickett wrote The Faith Given Once, For All. In the book the following three questions are addressed:
What Christians Believe - Why They Believe It - Why It Matters
It is not being narrow-minded when a Christian says that Christ is the only way to heaven – Jesus said it (John 14:6). Yes, a Christian is supposed to be accepting of people (Rom. 14:1), but that does not mean that we are to be accepting of sinful behavior.
And who defines what sinful behavior is? God does in His Word! Too many Christians are disengaging from the truth of the Gospel for the sake of peace with their fellow man. Subjective sentimentality is a poor replacement for objective truth.
I highly recommend Colson’s book. Get it, read it – it will prepare you for the end times in which we live (Hebrews 1:1-3).
Monday, April 7, 2008
What is Truth?
During the French Revolution, Voltaire did his best to castigate and destroy the Word of God and its effectiveness in peoples' lives. He even went so far as to say that within a hundred years no one would be reading the Bible.
God must have a sense of humor. After Voltaire's death, his home was being auctioned off to the highest bidder. It was purchased by the French Bible Society. In the same house where the Bible was put down, Bibles were soon running off the presses for the masses.
Today, between 30 and 60 million copies of the Bible are printed each year throughout the world. Those who read it realize it is not simply a book. It is the Word of God. While God used some forty writers over a period of 1500 years to write it down, there is only one Author - God Himself! The Bible is Truth, because God is Truth - nothing more, nothing less.
"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the Word of our God stands forever." - Isaiah 40:8
God must have a sense of humor. After Voltaire's death, his home was being auctioned off to the highest bidder. It was purchased by the French Bible Society. In the same house where the Bible was put down, Bibles were soon running off the presses for the masses.
Today, between 30 and 60 million copies of the Bible are printed each year throughout the world. Those who read it realize it is not simply a book. It is the Word of God. While God used some forty writers over a period of 1500 years to write it down, there is only one Author - God Himself! The Bible is Truth, because God is Truth - nothing more, nothing less.
"The grass withers, the flower fades, But the Word of our God stands forever." - Isaiah 40:8
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
On Raising Children
We have eight out of eleven children still at home - of those eight, the older four are in their "teen" years. The youngest two are three and five years old respectively. And when you look at the eight children: our oldest child is an eighteen year old daughter, our youngest is a three year old daughter. In between those two roses, we have six boys. To say that each day is a challenge is an understatement.
As a homeschooling family, we are very close. We find the mistaken notion that a homeschool child is not adept at social interaction a rather humorous thought. We have learned this: if a child can learn to interact with his siblings in the give and take of a large household, he or she will be quite capable in knowing how to get along with other people outside the home.
As parents, we have also learned from the wisdom given in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it."
In the Hebrew language, the verse reads like this: "Train up a child in its own unique way..."
No two children are alike. Yes, absolutes should be taught to all the children, but they should not be taught in the same way to each child. That would be a mistake. The challenge of parenting is to discover the uniqueness of each child. Once that is discovered, the important things of life can be taught the child in a wonderfully personal way. Each child will learn best when what is being taught is uniquely crafted to their own individual character.
How do we, as parents, accomplish such a foreboding assignment? It takes alot of time given over to each child in the following areas:
1. observing the child
2. listening to the child
3. playing (interacting) with the child
4. being a good example to the child, and finally
5. matching our life example with verbal training to the child in the area you, as a parent, are seeking to develop.
Sure, it sounds like a big list - and it is, but they are worth it!
As a homeschooling family, we are very close. We find the mistaken notion that a homeschool child is not adept at social interaction a rather humorous thought. We have learned this: if a child can learn to interact with his siblings in the give and take of a large household, he or she will be quite capable in knowing how to get along with other people outside the home.
As parents, we have also learned from the wisdom given in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it."
In the Hebrew language, the verse reads like this: "Train up a child in its own unique way..."
No two children are alike. Yes, absolutes should be taught to all the children, but they should not be taught in the same way to each child. That would be a mistake. The challenge of parenting is to discover the uniqueness of each child. Once that is discovered, the important things of life can be taught the child in a wonderfully personal way. Each child will learn best when what is being taught is uniquely crafted to their own individual character.
How do we, as parents, accomplish such a foreboding assignment? It takes alot of time given over to each child in the following areas:
1. observing the child
2. listening to the child
3. playing (interacting) with the child
4. being a good example to the child, and finally
5. matching our life example with verbal training to the child in the area you, as a parent, are seeking to develop.
Sure, it sounds like a big list - and it is, but they are worth it!
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