The Apple Doesn't _________________

Can you finish the sentence?

It's an old cliche, but it's probably true...the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. I've been thinking about that a lot recently, since I will be meeting Lauren and I's little "apple" in November. If I'm honest, I'm kind of scared that he'll be just like me.

When someone uses that line, it is usually with a negative connotation. There are definitely times in life, where you're going to look at your kids and say "that's in THEM, because of ME, and I wish that weren't the case." But what about the positive potential that this statement holds? There are also positive traits/characteristics/habits that your kids are in them because you possess them.

Here's where I'm going with this...there's one area of life, where this statement is most definitively true...your relationship with God and your own spiritual growth. Many folks falsely assume that if I bring my kids to church, they'll grow spiritually. It's not that easy.

There are no guarantees that any of our children will grow up loving God and desiring to follow Him with their lives, but I do know this...they have a better chance of understanding what that's all about if they have parents in their life who are modeling that for them and doing their best to live out a genuine and real relationship with God in front of them.

If it's not in YOU...it's probably not going to be in THEM! When it comes to spiritual growth and desire for God, the old adage is true...the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

Friday Media...

Last week's "Friday Media" was geared around the memorization of Scripture. Well, I figured that we would continue the theme. Everyone knows how to "memorize" things. I can prove this because all of us can immediately pop off a whole slew of music lyrics right now. There's something about music that helps us memorize things forever. In fact, there are music lyrics from 20 years ago that are still in my head to this day.

So, one of the easy ways to combine memory and Scripture is to put Scripture to music. Luckily the folks at Seeds Family Worship who have done this for us. If you like it and think your kids will like it, there are lots of CD's available at their website.









Pretty catchy...I'm singing a couple of them right now!

Wednesdays are for parenting tips...

A Fun Way To Teach Children to be Servants

One of the roadblocks to sibling harmony is selfishness. Children want to be first or best. Teaching kids to serve others is an important way for them to learn honor. A servant gives more than half, considers others' needs, and looks for ways to benefit those around him. Children who learn to be servants make better employees, develop meaningful friendships, and enjoy relationships more.

One fun way to teach children to be servants is the "I Cut, You Pick" Rule. It helps children who both want the last piece of cake, or plan to split a chocolate bar. It simply goes like this. When children must divide something between the two of them, ask one child if he would rather cut or pick. The other alternative goes to the second child. This plan motivates the person cutting to be as equal as possible.

Now, instead of two children arguing about who got the biggest piece, they are both involved in the solution. The "I Cut, You Pick" rule equips children with a tool they can use in many situations to bring peace instead of frustration in relationships.

The technique actually comes from a Bible story of Abraham and Lot. They had too many herds and not enough food so they decided to divide the land between the two huge families. Abraham, being a wise servant of God, said, "I'll cut the land into two pieces and you pick which one you'd like." In the story, Lot chose what appeared to be the better piece but Abraham was rewarded in the end and, most importantly, their relationship was preserved.

This parenting tip is taken from the book, "Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, In You and Your Kids" by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

Taken from www.biblicalparenting.org

New School Year

This day is always a "guilty-pleasure-type-of-day" for me. For months, I've had to live through the constant facebook statuses and other reminders that there is a whole group/population of people who are out of school/work for three months. I'll be honest, for three whole months, I'm kind of jealous of their statuses about "going to the pool" or "got to sleep in today." You get the point. While the rest of the working world continues to plod along, they seem to be in the blissful "summer" state.

Well, today, all of that changed. That's right...It's back to school day! There's almost a sense in which I'm kind of secretly thankful that they won't be able to rub their "summer fun" in my face anymore.

I know what you're thinking...that's a little petty, Robert. I'm not denying it...welcome to my wicked, sinful heart. :)

Confession time...ever been jealous of students or teachers during the summer? Ever secretly been happy that they have to go back to school? Or is this just me?

Friday Media...

"I have hidden Your word in my heart...that I might not sin against God."

The author of the Psalms helps us connect the reality that memorizing Scripture is critical to living a life where sin is decreased and following God is increased. That is just as true then as it is now. There is a powerful link between knowing, memorizing, and storing God's Word in our hearts that helps us in the Christian life.

Ever wanted to think about how to get your kids to memorize scripture...well, below is a link to one prominent pastor's thoughts on the matter...

How Can Parents Help Their Kids Memorize Scripture?

There's your Friday media...enjoy!

The problem with the internet...

A good friend of mine and I have had previous discussions about an idea involving the internet. One day we were talking about the reality that people say and do all kinds of things they would never say and do when they can hide behind the internet instead of being face to face with that person. And then, the other day, he found this video and sent it to me.

A real person, a lot like you from Derek Sivers on Vimeo.

You might be wandering...Robert, what does this have to do with parenting. Here's what. Every generation from this point on is growing up in the online world. 10 year old's have facebook (forget the problem that they are on their illegally, and that they either have hid it from their parents or their parents have helped them lie about their age...that's a whole other issue). They are growing up "detached" from having to tell people hard things face to face. They can just shoot off a text, fire off an email, or send a facebook message.

We see this even in adults. We've all heard stories of people breaking up a relationship with a text message or leaving a church that has invested in them for years with a short email. We all do this...instead of having discussions face to face or being respectful enough to sit down with someone and explain ourselves, we hide behind the computer...feeling like it would be less awkward. But it's not less awkward...especially not for the person receiving the message...they just think you don't care about them enough to have a face-to-face conversation (and that can be an awkward feeling).

But remember what this video says, there are some things that we would never say to someone's face, that we might send electronically. How can you model and train your children to not "hide" behind the perceived anonymity of the internet and to grow up being careful of how someone might hear what they are "sending" with a few quick finger strokes?.

These are just some of the thoughts running through my head today...if it seems like a jumbled mess of thoughts, it's because that's what it feels like in my brain too. I'm still mulling some of this over...but I think there's a problem with the internet!

Any thoughts?

Friday Media

As is custom, on Friday's, I pass along some good media (audio, video, etc.) about parenting.

Today, I wanted to share with you something that I think might be extremely helpful to you as a parent kids at Firewheel. Each month, our curriculum company gives us all kinds of great resources to help kids and families. Here are the summary videos of what your kids are learning about all month at church. Take a minute to watch...it may help you have a spiritual conversation to your kids!


Elementary

VIRTUE VIDEO: GRACE (August 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

Preschool

VISION VIDEO: FIRST LOOK (August 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

Hope they help!

Practice Makes ___________

Practice makes __________. What answer first pops into your head to fill in this blank? If you're like the majority of people, you may have heard that "practice makes perfect." The idea of that statement is that if you practice something long enough, you will become really great at it...almost perfect.

I would offer another answer to fill in this blank. It's an answer I learned as a high school student from my baseball coach over and over again. He always said, "Practice makes PERMANENT." What he meant by that, is that the WAY you practice something, becomes a pattern. In that context...the way you practice swinging or fielding ground balls, becomes ingrained in us to the point of permanence.

I got to thinking about this the other day. How might this idea apply to "parenting." The other day I was thinking about Lauren and I welcoming our new son in November. What am I "practicing" right now, that has become permanent in the way I do or handle things? Are those good things or not? What are some things we do or allow at home as parents, but expect different behaviors from our kids when they are out in public?

How we "practice" is becoming "permanent." So, the thought-provoking question for today is "how are you practicing and do you want it to become permanent in yourself, your children, or your family"?

School is coming...

In just a couple of weeks, your kids will be back at school. You'll be back to your "normal" routines. Your family will be whisked away into a land of schedules, homework, and semi-managed chaos.

So, I have one question for you...

What can you do in the next two weeks (prior to school starting) to make one more great summer memory or what can you plan to create a lasting memory for your family before the "grind" begins again? It doesn't haven't to be expensive...to be memorable!

A little Friday media...

It's become the custom of the blog to pass along some good media on the topic of parenting. This particular author, Elyse Fitzpatrick has a fantastic book out there on parenting...I would recommend it to anyone.


Here she is talking about her newest book... (video below)





Gospel-Centered Parenting - if you can't see the embedded video

A Very Realistic Fear...

One of the things that scares most Christian parents is that their child would grow up in church all of their lives and then walk away from God/church/etc. These are far from irrational fears...in fact, they are very realistic fears considering some of the stats that are out there in the last 5-10 years. I recently ran across a student pastor who wrote an article/post about why young people stay in church and serve God all of their days. After you read it, I have one thought and a few questions for you.

Why Young People Stay in Church When They Grow Up


There are three things this pastor proposes are reasons that the next generation stay in church long term and serve God with their lives. One of these is the Holy Spirit's job, one is the church's responsibility, and one of these is the parents responsibility.

Are you pleading with God to do the first one, are you helping your church accomplish the second one, and how are you doing on the third one?

It's going to be a great week...

Last year, mostly on a whim and a desire to try and find an opportunity for families to serve alongside one another (parents and kids working side by side), we "adopted" a local apartment complex and had a mini-VBS style program for the kids in that complex. For our church, it was a stepping stone to our Engage Hope Here emphasis...actually getting outside our walls and ministering to others. It was a fantastic week, and this year, we are doing it again. This week is our annual service to this apartment complex and the kids/families there. Please pray for us this week...it's supposed to be awfully HOT!

What I'm most excited about is this idea that there a bunch of kids who will have someone come to them for a week...on their turf...in their world...for them. It reminded me of when our Lord and Savior left the perfectness of heaven, put on flesh, and entered into the world. What was His purpose? "To seek and to save what is lost" (Luke 19:10).

I'm pumped up and excited that I get to leave the comforts of my little world this week and enter into someone else's for the God-ordained purpose... "to seek and to save that which is lost."