before we go too much further into parenting specifics, let me point out some things you already know but may have resisted telling yourself. i am speaking to people of faith. the King of kings said that "you are the light of the world." now, this is not me being mad at us as much as being confused about us. have you thought about the fact that in order to be the light of "the" world, you must first be the light of YOUR world? and since He said we already are the light of the world, we are the lights of our own worlds whether we want to be or not. HOWEVER, God does not give responsibility without giving the ability to carry it out. you are EMPOWERED to be the light of your home, your work, the diner where you eat lunch, whatever you choose to affect. Pastor Randy walked his neighborhood at night praying for the people in the houses he walked by. Pastor Don is known and trusted throughout the cities with churches he pastors. "yeah, but they are pastors, and we are just people." pastors who do what they are called to do are continually working themselves out of a job. like parents. success means you create healthy, independent, loving adults ... in faith and life.
people do what they see. if you have even one functioning brain cell, you don't need government studies to tell you that guns are glorified in this country, and that is why gang blood is spilled every night across the land. it is interesting to watch top shows and realize they rely on murder to stay at the top of the ratings week after week. "thou shalt not commit murder, but thou shalt witness many thousands of murders on TV." how dumb are we? if we hadn't decided as a culture to blink at the fact that murder is sin and we are glorifying it, perhaps we could be a grown-up land. now the "blinking" has spread to adultery, government lies ... take a quick read down the Ten Commandments and see if we aren't blinking at all of it. do you know how we can take back America? it isn't through spam that says, "if you love Jesus send this to everyone you know including me cuz i am lonely." puh-leez. if you love Jesus, quit humiliating Him with the sales tactics. the way to take back our land is to learn to love our children.
notice:
the most important love you will ever love
is the love of your family
i am far more concerned that my kids enter courtrooms with God's words working in their hearts than having the Ten Commandments on the wall. if church is "standing in the way" of family, you are doing it wrong. quote me on that when you meet the Lord and see if He agrees. God puts in the hearts of parents a love for their children that is indefinable. there is no end to its depth. each parent is equipped for the job in front of them. it would be ridiculous for you to have the skills to raise my children unless i was hit by a truck. then God would re-equip another adult to love them through their valleys and mountaintops. studies show that we can have "close" relationships with twelve people. (do ya spose Jesus knew that when picking disciples?) more than twelve we simply don't have time and ability to maintain for an indefinite time. count yours ... did the list start with your spouse and kids? if not, start over. you are EMPOWERED to love your family. it doesn't matter how that family happened. there are no illegitimate children. there are ill-advised pregnancies, and women who want children but no spouse are incredibly selfish, just like men who want families and a mistress. we need to grow up, church. we need to become adults.
the stars that light the night sky may have blown up hundreds of thousands of years ago, but their light is not telling that story yet. the light that you sew into the souls of your children may not "show" for years, but it will come out one day. my Grandpa Howard, the man i was named after and a powerful preacher in his day, prayed for me. i met the Lord after he died, but i know he was involved. it just took a while for the light to break through. parents, it is time that we become inconvenient. i call my kids late at night if they are out or spending the night somewhere. does it bug them? who on earth cares? i am a father. it is my territory to be inconvenient. with our families, we are empowered to be co-creators with Christ. think about THAT. family is a divine appointment, just like a throne. it is through family that the world will be healed. what you hand down to your children is the light that will remain of you in this world. you won't know that you have the skills until you call on them to love, but you are equipped. it is you who must choose to act that way. thanks for stopping by.
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