Monday, March 28, 2011
Spring Break
Dear Friends, We had ten college seniors in our house lastweek! Ryan’s friends drove from Michigan to find sun and adventure for Spring Break. Well, they found adventure. Driving from Michigan was smooth sailing with clear skies and roads – until the Sierras. They had to purchase and install cables, then snailed over Donner Pass. Many of these young adults have grown up in snow country - but have never heard of chains or cables! Then again, they call our foothills “mountains.” They adjusted to liquid sunshine spending Monday in San Francisco, Tuesday in Santa Cruz, and Wednesday in Sonoma; all the while having the time of their life! And each evening they came home for supper at our house with lots of cooking, feasting, and great fun mixed with expensive shopping, endless dishes, and little privacy. Are Pat and I complaining? No way! We also had the time of our life. Ryan is a senior and will soon enter the work world. We probably will never have this experience again – until Emily brings her group next year! It warms the heart to see our child make good friends and enjoy life. It is a joy to watch him grow and mature. It is a comfort to see that he, and his friends, love God and know how to serve Him. Parents, there are different stages as our children grow up. I recommend that you find a way to enjoy each stage as it comes. Embrace the joys of parenting – because soon your child will be a college senior and on the cusp of adulthood.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Can We Talk?
Dear Friends,
Can we talk?
Nobody said our job was easy. There is no step by step manual, actually there are thousands, and none of them give the perfect blue print for your child. Plenty will give advice, some might even help. But if you are like me, there are times when you feel inadequate and alone – and times when you fail miserably.
What am I talking about? Parenthood!
Our culture doesn’t help. Families are often isolated from extended family. Cultural messages include “anything goes.” Both parents work. Often one parent is both mom AND dad. We live in fear of safety, or the lack of it. Some children have learning problems, ADHD, autism, and other challenges. It’s hard…
It makes for a lively debate to compare the challenge of parenting to 20, 200, or 2000 years ago but the bottom line is – Parenting is HARD! It is also perhaps the most important responsibility we will ever have. And there are joys, oh yes, there are rewards! I pray that you can experience them!
I don’t pretend to have answers but please accept these words of advice:
LOVE – Love covers a host of sins. Your children need your love more than anything in the world, sacrificial love, unconditional love, love that is willing to do hard things, love that knows when to back off or even let go. Are you struggling here? Go to Jesus; he is the source.
PRIORITIZE – Make faith and character development the most important priority for your children. Any accomplishment is life is hollow without faith and character. Make education the next priority. Education is the vehicle for your child to accomplish what God has in store for him or her.
GET HELP – You can’t go alone. Find a CHURCH to help you. Then find a SCHOOL that will be a partner – a school like CCCS. God’s Kingdom is not a place for rugged individualists. Get help.
Parents, we have a difficult job, an important responsibility, but we don’t have to do it alone. God gives us the tools to do the job; his love, his Word, and his family, the family of God. Take a big breath. Pray. Smile. And do your job.
Can we talk?
Nobody said our job was easy. There is no step by step manual, actually there are thousands, and none of them give the perfect blue print for your child. Plenty will give advice, some might even help. But if you are like me, there are times when you feel inadequate and alone – and times when you fail miserably.
What am I talking about? Parenthood!
Our culture doesn’t help. Families are often isolated from extended family. Cultural messages include “anything goes.” Both parents work. Often one parent is both mom AND dad. We live in fear of safety, or the lack of it. Some children have learning problems, ADHD, autism, and other challenges. It’s hard…
It makes for a lively debate to compare the challenge of parenting to 20, 200, or 2000 years ago but the bottom line is – Parenting is HARD! It is also perhaps the most important responsibility we will ever have. And there are joys, oh yes, there are rewards! I pray that you can experience them!
I don’t pretend to have answers but please accept these words of advice:
LOVE – Love covers a host of sins. Your children need your love more than anything in the world, sacrificial love, unconditional love, love that is willing to do hard things, love that knows when to back off or even let go. Are you struggling here? Go to Jesus; he is the source.
PRIORITIZE – Make faith and character development the most important priority for your children. Any accomplishment is life is hollow without faith and character. Make education the next priority. Education is the vehicle for your child to accomplish what God has in store for him or her.
GET HELP – You can’t go alone. Find a CHURCH to help you. Then find a SCHOOL that will be a partner – a school like CCCS. God’s Kingdom is not a place for rugged individualists. Get help.
Parents, we have a difficult job, an important responsibility, but we don’t have to do it alone. God gives us the tools to do the job; his love, his Word, and his family, the family of God. Take a big breath. Pray. Smile. And do your job.
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