There's a LION in your house!

One of the more famous depictions of Satan in the Bible is that of a lion who is seeking to kill and destroy. I've watched enough Discovery Channel to know what a lion is like when they are looking to eat. It's not pretty!

Well, I've got to tell you that the Lion may be in your house, and if you're not careful, you may be allowing the Lion to nip at your kids. I have one BIG question.

Do you have a filter on the computer that your kids use? I'm not asking you if you check where your kids have been on the internet after they've been there. I'm not asking you if you check the history. I'm not even asking if you try your best to monitor where they've been. I'm not asking you if you've looked at the security settings on your computer. I'm asking you if you've got a designated program on your computer that WILL BLOCK inappropriate materials from purposefully or inadvertently popping up on the computer screen.

Here's the facts. The average boy sees pornography for the first time by the time they are 10 years old. 10!!!

Please don't be naive! There are lots of good filters out there. Your child may not be old enough to stumble into anything on the computer they shouldn't yet...but it's coming!

The two programs mentioned below are GREAT options. They cost a little money, but when you have a LION in and around your house, you do what you have to do to protect your children!

BSecure
Safe Eyes

Every parent needs encouragement...

Whether you realize it or not, you do need encouragement every once in a while. I ran across this encouragement for parents, and I wanted to share it with you.

How do you encourage and advise Christian parents?

My prayer is that it is an encouragement to you and a "push" to keep up the work of parenting.

-Robert

How many people would still show?

I have had a thought that has stayed with me since Friday night. On Friday night, our team in Colombia had a victory service to celebrate the week. Along with all the North Americans, hundreds and hundreds of Colombians "crammed" into a church that had no A/C and barely any fans. It was about 93 degrees that night and the humidity was around 90%. There was no air moving at all, and within 10 minutes of being in the building, my shirt was soaked through with sweat. And you know what the coolest thing was...I didn't care at all. I was as hot as I could possibly be, and I've never wanted to be anywhere else anymore than I did that night.

So, here's the question that has stuck with me...

If it were late July in Dallas, and it was supposed to be 100-something degrees on a Sunday morning. If everyone knew that the A/C was broken at the church and there was no hope of it being fixed before services, how many people would still show up?

My sneaking suspicion is that many of the people we see on Sunday mornings wouldn't show. They'd just frankly stay home! Would you be one of those people? Would you forego the beauty of gathering with the assembly of believers and offering your praises to God? Oh, how my heart hurts for the state of Christianity in America...where so often, it's more about us and our comforts, than about God.

I'm not pointing fingers at all...I'm just grieving over this thought that has stuck with me. My prayer is that it would stick with you as well.

Slow week...

I apologize for the slow week this week on the blog. I am still in Colombia with our church's mission team. The blog will be back full force next week.

You may want to use this as an opportunity to unplug from technology. You have my permission! Don't check email, facebook, your phone, or any of your other "addicting" devices for at least two hours.

That's Dr. Robert's prescription...it just might be good for you.

An illustration for fathers...a reminder for everyone!

I remember standing at the edge of a pool with my Dad telling me to jump. We all have those memories, and if you have children, you've no doubt had the experience of encouraging your children to take that leap of faith and jump into the pool where you're waiting.

Below is a reminder of why our faith glorifies God...

"Your daddy is standing in a swimming pool out a little bit from the edge. You are, let’s say, three years old and standing on the edge of the pool. Daddy holds out his arms to you and says, “Jump, I’ll catch you. I promise.” Now, how do you make your daddy look good at that moment? Answer: trust him and jump. Have faith in him and jump. That makes him look strong and wise and loving. But if you won’t jump, if you shake your head and run away from the edge, you make your daddy look bad. It looks like you are saying, “he can’t catch me” or “he won’t catch me” or “it’s not a good idea to do what he tells me to do.” And all three of those make your dad look bad.

But you don’t want to make God look bad. So you trust him. Then you make him look good–which he really is. And that is what we mean when we say, “Faith glorifies God” or “Faith gives God glory.” It makes him look as good as he really is. So trusting God is really important.

And the harder it seems for him to fulfill his promise, the better he looks when you trust him. Suppose that you are at the deep end of a pool by the diving board. You are four years old and can’t swim, and your daddy is at the other end of the pool. Suddenly a big, mean dog crawls under the fence and shows his teeth and growls at you and starts coming toward you to bite you. You crawl up on the diving board and walk toward the end to get away from him. The dog puts his front paws up on the diving board. Just then, your daddy sees what’s happening and calls out, “Johnny, jump in the water. I’ll get you.”

Now, you have never jumped from one meter high and you can’t swim and your daddy is not underneath you and this water is way over your head. How do you make your daddy look good in that moment? You jump. And almost as soon as you hit the water, you feel his hands under your arms and he treads water holding you safely while someone chases the dog away. Then he takes you to the side of the pool.

We give glory to God when we trust him to do what he has promised to do–especially when all human possibilities are exhausted. Faith glorifies God. That is why God planned for faith to be the way we are justified." - John Piper

Kids can teach us all kinds of things...what a reminder for all of us!

Headed to Colombia...

Tomorrow, I will leave for 7 days and travel to the Baranquilla, Colombia. I'm a part of our church's mission team down there. Although a bit nervous, I'm looking forward to having my "American" lifestyle challenged. I know the kinds of things I will probably see, and I'm positive that my life will be altered in some way.

Here's the deal. I didn't grow up with a lot of money...at all. We always had food, but there were some months where my family barely scraped by...and I mean barely. But what I do know is that I was LUCKY to grow up with a lower-middle-class lifestyle. One parting thought for you to consider...

Do your children really understand how fortunate they are? They are all so blessed to live in the US and most have more than they will ever need. What can you do to help them gain a proper global perspective...that they have far more than 95% of the children who live on this earth?

Food for Thought - #5

I am not trying to be the bearer of bad news, but whether you are aware of it or not...

CHRISTMAS is coming!!!

• Are you prepared to battle the rampant "consumerism" that is about to attack your children in the next couple of months?
• Have you thought about how you could leverage the power of Christmas in order to teach lessons about God?
• What if...just for a moment...you could use this holiday season to help your children not give their hearts away to trinkets and toys that they will forget about in a few months?

Now, I'm not one of these "no gifts" or "Santa Clause is evil" kind of guys. But there's one thing I do know, is that Christmas is a time of year where selfishness and other "heart issues" can rear their ugly heads. What's your plan for redeeming the Christmas season and keeping your families attitudes and hearts focused on the reason for celebration of Christmas?

Money, Money, Money...

Nothing can sap a parent's strength and joy like their kids constantly begging for things or begging for money. Materialism attacks your kids every day whether you realize it or not. So, how might one teach/train children the proper use of money and how to honor God with the money that HE has given us! Take a listen to this recording. I found it helpful, and I hope you will too.

What have you done to teach your children the importance of giving?

Quick side note:
If you don't practice this kind of attitude/discipline yourself, I'm fairly certain it won't translate to your kids. In other words, the attitude you have toward money, is most likely the same attitude that they will have towards money. Kind of scary if you ask me. Lord, help us!


Robert

"NO"

Some of us hate saying it. Others of us love saying all the time. If I'm honest, there are certain areas of my life where I'm better at saying it than others.

What's with this word..."NO"? Why is it so hard to say? Do I really have to keep saying it? What if that person doesn't like me because I told them "no"?

Below is a great article on how parents can and need to use the word "NO" and why it's so important if you're going to raise children who know and love the Lord.

Best Parenting Advice You'll Never Admit to Reading


Robert

"Magnificent"

Let me explain a little of what happened last night. For well over 6 months, I had been waiting (with tickets in hand) to go see my favorite band in the world blow the roof off the new Cowboys Stadium. I must report...they did not disappoint.


One of the moments that stuck out to me (and there were TONS by the way), was Bono singing one of their new songs entitled "Magnificent."


A portion of the lyrics to "Magnificent"...

I was born
I was born to sing for you

I didn't have a choice but to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise ...


Only love, only love can leave such a mark

But only love, only love can heal such a scar



Justified till we die, you and I will magnify

The Magnificent

Magnificent



I don't know about you...but when I hear lyrics like that, I'm reminded that I have a greater purpose here on this earth. I was born and I live only to MAGNIFY the God of the universe who gave me a voice. Thanks for the reminder, Bono. May it be a reminder to you to always look for opportunities to magnify the KING, especially in the presence of your family and your children. They need to see you making much of the Savior!

Food for Thought - #4

The truth hurts sometimes. There have been numerous times in my life where I've been confronted with the truth or had to confront with the truth. Either way, it usually isn't very fun.

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair." - C. S. Lewis

I ran across this quote the other day, and it got me to thinking about how often parents can "shield" their children from the truth. Now, I am not advocating that parents disclose everything at all times to their children. What I am wondering is whether or not we are really doing our children any favors by soft-pedaling or blatantly hiding the truth or reality about the world we live in? These are just a couple "for instances."

• Everyone wins...there is a move in modern youth sports to give trophies to all the children, or to sometimes not keep score. For younger children, I'm sure this may have great benefits...we don't want to crush kids too early, but when do kids learn that losing and losing "well" are an important part of growing up. How long to we shield them from the reality that "sometimes you do your best and lose"?
  
• Have you ever told your child that they can be anything they want to be? Can they really? If your child wasn't born in the U.S., they sure can't be President. And all we have to do is watch the first few weeks of American Idol to realize that some people weren't created by God to sing. Why don't we say, "you can do exactly what God made you to do" instead?

I am aware that these are some potentially "extreme" examples, but these are the kind of random thoughts that make me think about what is really best for kids. Hopefully, it will make you think, too. Only, you know your kids, but the warning from C.S. Lewis' quote is that if you're after comfort, you may not get the truth, and that may lead to despair...something that none of you want for your kids.


Robert

Favoritism...

If you're a parent, you've heard it before. It usually goes something like this... "You like ______ more than you like me" or "______ is your favorite." Whether reality or not, there can often be a perceived favoritism that kids pick up on. Most of the time it's not really what's going on, but how can you do your best to help your kids know that there are no "favorites" in your house. Below is a link to an audio recording about this very thing. Hope you find it helpful.

What can parents do to keep from having favorites among their children?

Robert

Ask the Children's Pastor - Remix - Final Edition

Last summer, I did a series called "Ask the Children's Pastor." Each of these documents are answers to a number of questions that our volunteers (some parents, some not) asked. I hope you find them helpful.

Question #6:
Should a family do devotions together? Why is it so important? Can you give me some tips on how to do this with a family that has so many different age kids who aren’t on the same level? Is it okay to do individual devotions for our children or do we need to find a time to do it all together?

Family Devotional 101

Robert

Self-Control...It's A Big Deal!

I ran across this article the other day. I must admit, it was right up my alley! I've always loved research and reading people who are so much smarter than me talk about things that I think I understand, but could never put a finger on! Here's the link to the article. Look at it this way, even if you don't understand half of the words in it, you can at least drop "I was reading an article from the New Yorker the other day" into conversation...people will think you're really smart.

The Secret of Self-Control

Although it's not written from a Christian perspective, there are definitely some things we could learn and think about. Worst case, it might be a reminder to go to your concordance and look up all those great verses about "self-control."

Robert

Great Websites #2

Here's a few more great websites for you to consider adding to your "favorites."

ParentUnity - This is a great online community of parents. You can connect with other parents all over the nation and get resources and knowledge. Pretty cool idea...if you ask me.

D6 Family "Splinks" - Ever wanted helpful tips/practices sent directly to your email address. Sign up for a "splink" from D6, and they'll do their part to keep you focused on your Deuteronomy 6 (D6) mission.

Oriental Trading - Buy some fun stuff for the family and be a hero!

Alabama Football - Ok...It's a little bit of a joke, but if you'll definitely win my good favor if you know how the Tide is doing week in and week out.


Hope you find it helpful!

Robert