tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88470460722164402762024-03-05T14:39:02.552-08:00WednesdayWisdom<a> WednesdayWisdom </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-49441089693128153102011-06-08T04:50:00.000-07:002011-06-08T04:50:39.484-07:00I Can MakeThe Rules For My Toothbrush
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Grahame Knox
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-57814001257374022472011-06-01T10:42:00.000-07:002011-06-01T10:42:41.780-07:00Mr. Ho Knows What it Takes I recently had the opportunity to have a meal with Mike Ho, a Vietnamese immigrant who came to this country when he was 18. He had nothing when he came, just the clothes on his back. Even some of those he had pulled from a bag that was made available to him for the journey. He laughed and said, “I didn’t even have one dime!”
His dream wasUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-37695968601572148312011-05-24T18:33:00.000-07:002011-05-24T18:33:13.756-07:00ALLOW YOUR KIDS TO STRUGGLE
Monday we attended the climbing of Herndon. Herndon is a 26 foot monument located in front of the chapel at the Naval Academy. It is the final rite of passage for the plebe (freshman) year at the academy. At 1:30 Monday afternoon over 1000 plebes raced to the base of Herndon, yelling and screaming. They were confident, they were ready, theyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-65686279012589356882011-05-18T05:04:00.000-07:002011-05-18T05:04:24.737-07:00When Trouble Comes
Neal was a marine in Iraq during Desert Storm. He and his platoon served as an outpost searching for enemy movement or activity of any kind. On one very ordinary day, they were suddenly being shelled by enemy mortars. The spies had been spied. Ordinary became intensity in a moment. Everyone reacted according to his training. They grabbed their gear, threw Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-10855482708223012022011-05-11T09:51:00.002-07:002011-05-13T13:34:24.053-07:0024/7/365/20
I once asked our friend Kathy Thomson what she did to raise two exceptional kids, Andrew and Lydia. Somewhat surprised, she threw her head back and laughingly answered, “I yelled a lot.”
In those four little words, Kathy expressed what a lot of parents feel, especially moms. Many moms feel like they are nagging, yelling, reminding, directing,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-32882350586895264862011-05-04T04:57:00.000-07:002011-05-04T04:57:52.773-07:00Parents are always teaching
Recently, we were able to spend a little time with some young friends of ours, Thomas and Beth. They are parents of three young children ages seven, three, and one. You can tell that they are doing a good job as parents. We met in a public restaurant and even though the kids tagged along, we were able to have a substantive Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-32529850209178264352011-04-27T06:47:00.000-07:002011-04-27T06:47:10.955-07:00A Wedding, A Family, A Song This past weekend we were in San Antonio, Texas, for William’s wedding to Maria Jose Fernandez. Two young lovers, two families, two cultures--too wonderful. As you would expect, everything was beautiful. Maria was stunning, Will was handsome, the parents were proud, the crowd was joyful, the weather was perfect, the Lord was smiling.
According to their Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-82697437274044312612011-04-19T19:37:00.000-07:002011-04-19T19:37:06.209-07:00Discipline Mistake #5: Never call a practice
A Tale of Two Coaches
I played Little League Baseball four years, ages 9-12. Coach Thomas was a perfectionist. I remember him teaching us how to “hookslide” over and over in practice. Rarely, someone would get it right and he would make them freeze while he taught the rest of us. Once that year, I rounded second base heading into third and the throw was coming in toward the home plate side of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-85702999934604884692011-04-13T04:48:00.000-07:002011-04-13T04:48:01.496-07:00Discipline mistake #4: Double standard, Double trouble
“No sweets before supper!” mom says as she is finishing the icing on the cake. Then she runs her finger along the bowl and wipes out a delicious scoop of chocolate icing and, without thinking about it, pops it into her mouth.
Or Dad comes home from work, throws his jacket over a chair, drops his case on the couch, grabs the sports section of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-49510329677683493612011-04-06T04:50:00.000-07:002011-04-06T04:50:04.217-07:00Discipline mistake #3: Mom and Dad don’t agree
Jim and Sally are a great couple. They love God, love God’s people, and serve unselfishly. We have known them for over thirty years, they have been married over forty. They had three kids, now all grown and married. They were agreed on their church and their place in it, but not agreed on how to raise kids.
As a matter of fact, they were a walking, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-12947892406591090072011-03-29T19:42:00.000-07:002011-03-29T19:42:13.596-07:00Discipline Mistake #2: Our consequences don't fit
Sometimes in the process of disciplining their children, otherwise sane and sensible parents suddenly lose their grip on reality.
Sixth grade Kati had a moment of weakness during a math test; she peeked at her neighbor’s paper to see problem number twelve. She had never cheated before, and on her first attempt to cheat, she got caught. Her dad wanted to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-90426000233675545442011-03-22T19:32:00.000-07:002011-03-22T19:32:06.165-07:00DISCIPLINE MISTAKE #1
Patricia and I looked at one another and asked, “What are we doing wrong?” I know what some of you are thinking: Six kids within ten years was the mistake! But that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that they were bickering. They were obeying very slowly and with some pretty sorry attitudes. They were not putting their things away, they were not pleasant to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-17852057163804920872011-03-16T06:23:00.000-07:002011-03-16T06:23:28.628-07:00Guilt, loneliness, low self-esteem and Jesus
When our children were very young, Patricia kept a journal on each one. Here is an excerpt from Billy’s (Will’s) journal:
Praying with Billy the other night, I was thanking the Lord for him, telling God what a blessing he is and thanking God that he loves his brothers and sisters. After a minute, Billy interrupted my prayer: “Mom, I do naughty things.” He didn’t want me to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-38899848949476611132011-03-02T04:16:00.000-08:002011-03-02T04:16:06.884-08:00Waiting on Dad
Throwing rocks at puppies is probably not a good idea. Throwing rocks at puppies when you are standing by a large window is definitely not a good idea. I looked up at the window and surveyed the damage. It didn’t shatter the glass, only made a rock-sized hole. Oh, yeah, and a noise. Oh, and one more thing: my mom was in that room.
So I didUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-12148561908477935962011-02-23T05:57:00.000-08:002011-02-23T05:57:31.600-08:00Boys and Puppies
Mike Stoops, my next door neighbor, had a beautiful cocker spaniel named Sally. When Sally had a litter of pups, Mike and I could not wait to hold them and play with them. I remember lying on the ground with those puppies jumping all over us, yapping and yipping, licking and nibbling our ears and faces as our giggles bubbled uncontrollably from way down deep in our carefree Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-4048945651138685042011-02-09T19:46:00.000-08:002011-02-09T19:46:29.175-08:00Buckeye Blues Take our ParentWisdom Survey here.
When I was in third grade, my best friend “borrowed some buckeyes” from the science cabinet in the back of our classroom. Because we were best friends, he shared them with me. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t look at the teacher. I couldn’t face my parents because they had taught me not to steal. I ended up confessing that I had some of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-54002109317118298452011-02-02T07:02:00.000-08:002011-02-02T07:02:48.521-08:00There’s no future in the middle of the road!
Do you ever feel like the danger and evil in our high pressure, in-your-face world will just run us and our children over? Does our next generation have a chance? What can we do?
The National Study on Youth and Religion (2002 to 2005) may have pinpointed the problem. We parents will have to live out the answer. In her book Almost Christian, Kenda Creasy Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-68925933560195584812011-01-26T04:49:00.000-08:002011-01-26T04:49:43.200-08:00Active Dads, Effective Dads
Not long ago, I sat in church and noticed a young visiting couple having difficulty with their little one. As I watched, the young mother got up once during the worship, once during the announcements, and once during the message—three times— to take her little troublemaker out. Meanwhile, the dad sat there and did nothing. He was passive.
It reminded me of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-77940653673637922902011-01-19T04:35:00.000-08:002011-01-19T04:35:42.130-08:00Is it Easier to Discipline Ugly Kids?
“She’s too cute.” Reason number one that we often do not discipline a little guy or girl is just cuteness. Apparently we must think that discipline will “uncute” them. I have scoured the Bible to find answers to the cute syndrome and I have stumbled on this thought. In Genesis 4, God states this to Cain: “If you do what is right, will not your countenance be lifted up?” Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-53315675125108101682011-01-12T04:11:00.000-08:002011-01-12T04:11:22.628-08:00Glimpsing the Future
Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, we were able to unpack some book boxes and get some of our “old friends” out on the shelves again. In the process, we uncovered a treasure. Patricia had kept journals for each of our children when they were very young. Opening those pages was like stepping into a time machine, recalling memories long forgotten, laughing at the little Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-18780405639369485722010-12-28T19:48:00.000-08:002010-12-28T19:48:08.100-08:00NO DEAD ENDS: a training goal
Haven Hightower is unsinkable. What an incredible quality! Paul had that quality: “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” Nathan Hale had that quality: “I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” And Haven has it.
When Haven was in middle school, she was unstoppable. Her grades were at the top. Her socializing was wholesome and fun. Her Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-85328330846879428342010-12-15T04:11:00.000-08:002010-12-15T04:11:06.166-08:00MERRY CHRISTMAS
We were all Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-179585644103242472010-12-08T06:27:00.000-08:002010-12-08T06:27:53.561-08:00Gifts—“I asked for it; I oughta get it."
When our children were younger and our finances were tight, Patricia and I agreed to buy them three Christmas gifts: a book, clothing, and a toy/game. Although they were disappointed at times because they did not get the “gift” they wanted, they were generally happy and learned to handle those times. On the other hand, we noticed that birthdays (when they received Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-16842468192057746982010-12-01T07:47:00.000-08:002010-12-01T07:47:05.393-08:00TRAINING: Have children; spread God's glory
In Genesis 1, God instructs man, who is created in His image, to “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.” Have kids; spread my glory. Obviously, God wanted Adam and Eve to have children. Secondly, he wanted them to fill the earth with His image. Since he told them this before the fall, it would be God’s likeness and glory that would beUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8847046072216440276.post-3660565936919797602010-11-17T04:13:00.000-08:002010-11-17T04:13:41.165-08:00LONG-RANGE VIEW: Why risk it?
In their day, the Pilgrims were called Separatists because they separated themselves from the Church of England. They met in their homes in secret to read the Bible and worship freely. This was in contrast to the Puritans who remained in the church of England with the hope of purifying it. For the Separatists, this meant that the king and his officials becameUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0