Stop bashing the kids!

“One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.”

Matthew 19:13-15 NLT -- http://bible.com/116/mat.19.13-15.nlt

I am surrounded, every day, by the hope of the world. This hope can frustrate me immensely, they challenge me, they make mistakes, and they view life with jaded eyes. But, I love them and they do provide me with hope. They also are the true definition of compassion and kindness. I love it that nothing is easy with them and I like the way they challenge the status quo. What I don't like is the way they are constantly bashed by some people. Bashing young people is not new. Adults in the sixties hated our clothes, hair, and what we fought for. Adults of the 70's,80's, and 90's all hated the trends of young people. It's always been that way. We have this rose colored-view of how life was when we were young. Things haven't changed much. Kids are kids. Sure they play video games when we played tag. They watch Netflix when we went to the movies. The things they spend there leisure time on is different, not better, and certainly not worse than what we did.

Instead of criticizing young people, we need to teach them about Jesus. Instead of attacking there lives, we need to build relationships and show them Jesus. We show them with our own lives, not with words, threats and criticism. We show them with love not judgment. We show them by being Jesus.

Dear Lord, I praise you for the wonderful gift I have been given in teaching kids. I am blessed to be a part of their lives. Help me, Lord, to set an example you would be proud of. Help me to share Jesus by my words, but more importantly my actions. Help me to win their hearts for you! Amen!

Kids!

He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord. (Psalm 113:9 NIV)

Having kids in your home is a great joy. I am so blessed to have three amazing daughters and 7 grandkids. Our latest addition to the family is in a young boy my oldest daughter is adopting, Jordan. Life is never dull and boring when you have kids in the house. That is the way God planned it. Why you want to live a life without kids is beyond me. Yes, they can try your patience, but the rewards go way beyond any possible setbacks. 

I deal with families on a regular basis that don't understand the precious gift they have. These kids may not be abused, but at least on some level they are neglected. Parents get busy, they get tired, they get selfish, they focus on anything but loving their kids. I am greatly saddened by our societies lack of focus on raising our kids. We need to spend time with the kids in our lives. We need to share our faith, our love of Christ, our passion for the kingdom of God, or the next generation will not serve Jesus. We need to set the example for our neighborhood kids, grandkids, and our own. We need to give these precious lives all of our love and attention. 

Praise God for the kids in our lives. Thank You Lord for their innocence and their undying love. Protect our children. Give them hearts for you and your kingdom. Help us to focus on raising kids who love you. We are honored with the challenge and blessed with the opportunity to serve you through our kids!

It takes a village!

Luke 1:54-58 (New International Version, ©2010)

⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
   remembering to be merciful ⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
   just as he promised our ancestors.”
 ⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.⁵⁷ When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.


You've heard the saying "It takes a village to raise a child." Answers.com/WikiAnswers states the following about the origination of that saying:

The phrase is attributed to an old African proverb. Its exact origin seems to be lost in time. In 1994 children's author Jane Cowen-Fletcher released a book, published by Scholastic Press, titled It Takes A Village in which a young African girl searches for her younger brother, only to find the rest of the village has been watching over him as well. 

In January 1996 publisher Simon & Schuster released hillary Rodham-Clinton's It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us in which then First Lady Hillary espoused more the expansion of government than any true wisdom or insight into the nurturing of children. Reviews are mixed on the impact this book has made on society as a whole. 

In May 2001, publisher Harper-Collins released the seventh book in the Lemony Snicket's Unfortunate Events series titled The Vile Village, it was mentioned at the beginning of the book, "It takes a village to raise a child".
Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_said_it_takes_a_village_to_raise_a_child#ixzz182xus1EP

This old proverb is true. Don't misunderstand, the responsibility for raising a child is primarily the parents. But, as in biblical times, we all have a part in raising the children in our community. Right now it is very popular to blame the teachers and education for all the failings of a child. I know first hand that parents play a big part in the success or failure of their kids. But, it is also the community who has to share some of that burden. I have said before that Garrett, Indiana is a great place to live. This community DOES support it's kids. We have a wonderful community center to help provide activities for kids after school. We also have a wonderful park system and pool for the kids. We have churches who provide a variety of youth group activities and numerous youth sporting organizations to help them develop their skills. But, more important than all of these things are the actions taken by the community. If we want kids to be service oriented, the community adults should also be servants. If we want kids to grow up with positive character traits, the adults must exhibit those character traits. If we want kids to aspire to be more than what they are, our community needs to provide opportunities to give them those chances.

When a community comes together to share the raising of it's next generation, they can all celebrate and share the joy. Parents, business leaders, coaches, teachers, churches, and government officials, all have the responsibility of providing for the education of our youth. When they all come together the results are awesome. It takes a village!

Dear Lord, Help us to accept the important responsibility of raising the youth of our community. Help us to be good examples and to take the extra time to show them we care. Help us to share your love, not just with our words, but with our actions as well. In your great and holy name. Amen!

Focus on your Kids!

Luke 1:17-19 (New International Version, ©2010)

¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
 ¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”
 ¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.


Education has taken some real hits lately. Our profession gets the blame for everything. From the standpoint of the media, we make too much money, (in the past few years their are very few industries who have laid off as many as in the education), we are lazy, and the down fall of our society is our fault.  The high drop out rate is completely because we don't teach in an "entertaining" method so kids will want to come to school. In my job, they think we put too much emphasis on sports and extracurriculars. Our society thinks we should be able to make every kid a college graduate with a Doctorate in Mathematics. But, I see one of the largest contributing factors in our poor academic success is the lack of parental support for our students.

As a High School Administrator, i get to see a lot of kids every day who have absolutely no positive parental support. I haven't taken any professional surveys or made in big movie documentaries, but I see kids every day who have absolutely no support from home. I'm not talking about parents who come in and say their kids don't do anything wrong. I'm talking about parents who won't hold kids responsible for doing homework, won't make kids come to school, won't come to get to know the teaching staff, won't enforce curfews to make sure kids get proper sleep, and won't return phone calls when staff call about problems or issues. I'm talking about parents who have let drugs and alcohol take over their lives. I'm talking about parents who care more about their next husband or wife than holding their kids responsible for poor decisions. Just like with teachers, their are some great parents out there and it's not the majority of parents that are like this. But, their are enough like this and worse that it is affecting the success of our educational system.

In this verse, Zachariah is told that his unborn son will "turn the hearts of parents to their children". Even in the time of Jesus, this was an issue. When a society loses the focus of educating the next generation, it is doomed to failure. When we lose sight on this primary goal, the downfall of our nation is not too far behind. As parents, when we commit to having children, we are also committing to raising these kids with all our hearts, soul, and mind. We are not to focus on our jobs, we are not to focus on our career, we are not to focus on our friends, our material needs, or our selfish ambitions. We are too focus on what is best for our kids.

I can't tell you about the hearts of the parents of this country. I can't tell you where the hearts of the thousands of educators across this country are focused. However, I can tell you the focus of Garrett Keyser Butler Schools in Garrett, Indiana. Every single day I hear teachers, administrators, support staff, and coaches ask the question, "What is best for our kids?" We are going to make mistakes in that judgement, from time to time. But, I can tell you we are serious and sincere about doing what is best for our students.  We have a large number of staff who have hearts for God and that helps us focus our hearts on kids. We not only want to prepare our kids for their future, we want to prepare these kids for the Lord.  The job of educating our youth is number one. Everyone needs to work together to make this happen. Parents, Teachers, Community, and Nation!  Together Everyone, Achieves, More!

Dear Lord, Thank you for the gift of children. We know it is an awesome responsibility. We also know that we are not sufficient for the task. But, with your love and guidance we can succeed. We can succeed with our help and with turning our complete attention on our kids. We know your heart is with us. Help us to do as you would have us. We love you and praise your name. Amen!

Teach Your Children well!

Luke 1:14-16 (New International Version, ©2010)

¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.

Do you remember this song?

Kids are a joy and delight in our lives. Maybe everyone doesn't feel that way every single minute of every day. But, now that I look back at those times when I had kids in my home, they were a joy and a delight. I think that's why being a Grandparent is so great. You get the chance to go through it all again and realize the joy and delight of every moment. I wonder if Zechariah really understood what he was being told. I wonder if he could grasp what it meant that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit.

As parents and grandparents we don't know what life will hold for our kids or grandkids. But, God knows. We need to be completely open to what God can do with these young lives. God has a plan for them. Our job is to make sure they are taught about God. God will do the rest. It amazes me how many kids grow up not knowing God, not knowing stories about Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Samson, Paul, and the miracles of Jesus. We don't have any guarantee that our children or grandchildren will follow the Lord. But, We give them a chance if they grow up knowing God.

Everyday of my life, I am so excited to realize that my kids and my grandkids have been taught about Jesus. I have seen God's wonderful hand in their lives and I have seen them grow closer and closer to God. That is so exciting. I see decisions they make and troubles they endure with the hope of God at their side. I am so excited that God is already more than a bunch of great stories. They see him as real and a part of their lives. I don't think my kids will bring Israel back to God, but who knows for sure. I do have hope they will bring others to know him and more importantly, they will pass this love to their kids. They are filled with the Holy Spirit and I delight in them just like Elizabeth and Zechariah delighted in their son.

Dear Lord, thank you for the great gift you have given in our children and grandchildren. Help us to teach them about you. Help us to live our lives so they see you in us. Help them to see your hand in our lives and desire for you to be in their lives. You are great and powerful. We love you and adore you. Amen!