How to Raise Children
By Doug Harrell
Mitchell County
As I sit down to write this article I am watching the rain fall gently on soil that needs moisture. I am thinking about how great our God is, and how blessed we are to live in a country where up until now we have enjoyed being able to worship and give thanks without fear of retribution or prosecution. I am wondering what will take place in the lifetime of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Will they have the same opportunity that I have had to build a life and raise a family, to be able to provide and care for them? I know that throughout time things have changed, sometimes for good and others not so good.
I have lived through times of inflation, high-interest rates, and gasoline shortages in the past and we survived, I feel sure we will again. Even though I have confidence in making it through I wonder if we will pass the point of no return, past the point of our great country recovering. I did not live through the great depression but I remember well my parents talking about what they went through. Have we headed that way again? It seems as though we are entering a perfect storm with wars, food shortages, fuel shortages, and more. I think back on the biblical scriptures that tell us that there will be wars and rumors of wars.
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” Matthew 24:6-10 KJV
As I read this scripture I am thinking about Ukraine, Russia, and China on the world front and the division in our nation on the local front. We are seeing a great turning away from the Christian foundation this nation was built on. We are calling wrong, right. We are demanding that women be allowed to kill their unborn children in the womb. We are claiming that people can be “gender fluid” and that God can ordain two people of the same sex to be untied in holy matrimony. I could write about the corruptness of this mess for many pages but I won’t. I want to write about what we need to do to turn the tide.
The turning point is in our homes, around our kitchen tables with our children, we MUST do a better job in the home if our nation is to survive. I wrote a daily devotion this morning and I am going to post it here in Life Lessons for each of you that read this to think about!
If we don’t teach our children to follow the word of God the world will teach them not to! Think about this for a few minutes, and let the thoughts of the world picture that is ever in our faces and our children’s face! Are you putting a priority on making sure that you are building a base and a foundation in the minds of your children and the minds of the children around you that will enable them to stand up against the world?
It has often been said that our future is our children and this is true, what we don’t think about is that our children’s future depends on the teaching they receive as a child in almost all situations.
. “and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” Deuteronomy 6:5-9 KJV
As the scripture tells us, our days here are but a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow, and I know that this is a dismal thought, but it should impart upon each of us how critical it is to invest in the future generations. The only lasting legacy we leave is the teachings we impart to our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. These teachings also need to include something that in today’s woke world is looked down upon but is truly so critical to their wellbeing!
“Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 KJV
“Withhold not correction from the child: For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, And shalt deliver his soul from hell.” Proverbs 23:13-14 KJV
“The rod and reproof give wisdom: But a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; Yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” Proverbs 29:15, 17 KJV
If we truly love and care for our children and our families, we must first understand that our first responsibility to them is to teach by example. The old saying “monkey see monkey do” is true. Children are great imitators, and they will imitate whatever they observe, yes mothers and dads, they will want to be just like you! Is it a pretty picture?
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 KJV
Make sure you are shining a light that lights the correct path for your family and all those around you, first and foremost those in your own family!
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Doug Harrell is a life-long resident of Mitchell County, Owner of Harrell Hill Farms, a member of Bear Creek Baptist Church, and former publisher of Blue Ridge Christian News. You can find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/doug.harrell.77
You can read more good Christian News from Doug Harrell HERE
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