Tag: Parenting

Collage with “WELCOME: ALL NEIGHBORS,” neighbors sharing food, painting a mural, and meeting together

A Milestone Worth Noting

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“The father of a righteous son will rejoice greatly, and one who fathers a wise son will delight in him.” (Proverbs 23:24 – CSB Read the chapter)

If you are doing the math and puzzling over why we have jumped from chapter 10 to chapter 23 in our journey through Proverbs, bear with me because there’s a method to my madness today. I remember being in a conference one time with a guy who had written a book about parenting when he still had young children at home. Fortunately, this was many years later, and he was looking back at his effort with some wry humor at how much he had learned since then. I feel the same. In eighteen years of ministry, I have never preached a sermon about parenting. Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it more than once or twice. Perhaps I will yet someday when I don’t have anymore children at home, and I can be more properly reflective of the whole endeavor. Well, today I am officially a third of the way there, and I can’t help but be a bit reflective.

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Toddler sitting with arms crossed in timeout while parent watches with hand on forehead

Summer Reruns: When Happiness Isn’t Enough

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In this post from 2020, a reflection on parenting proves to be an invitation to a broader reflection on God’s commitment to seeing us become more fully who He made us to be. The challenge here is that He made us to be perfect reflections of His holiness and righteousness. Perhaps you have noticed, but we are not a particularly holy or righteous people on our own. Getting us to that point takes some work on His part. It is work He is willing to do, but it is work that we are not likely to enjoy, especially if we are very committed to the sin currently standing in the way of our reaching that point. Our happiness isn’t God’s goal. Our holiness is. Let’s look back together today to see some of what this means for us.

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Father and son sitting on blanket under tree reading a book

Growing in Wisdom

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“Listen, sons, to a father’s discipline, and pay attention so that you may gain understanding, for I am giving you good instruction. Don’t abandon my teaching. When I was a son with my father, tender and precious to my mother, he taught me and said, ‘Your heart must hold on to my words. Keep my commands and live. Get wisdom, get understanding; don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth. Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you. Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you. She will place a garland of favor on your head; she will give you a crown of beauty.’”
‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

The fourth of God’s ten words to the Israelites that were to serve as the foundation for all their interactions with Him was a call to honor their fathers and mothers. As Paul would later point out, this was the first command with a promise: that they would enjoy a long and fruitful life. The obvious question this command begs is how—how do we honor our moms and dads? Well, one good way is to show them the respect of listening to their counsel. Let’s do a little exercise in that together today as we get into chapter four and the fourth time Solomon has called his children to listen carefully.

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Morning Musing: Proverbs 22:6

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“Start a youth out on his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

For a nation that is supposedly reeling from superhero fatigue, filmmakers don’t seem to be getting the message. This summer we have been treated to a number of big budget action movies, several of which have fallen in the superhero genre. And they’ve mostly done well. Thunderbolts* (which I haven’t seen yet) was a moderate success, especially as compared with more recent Marvel releases. Fantastic Four (which I also haven’t yet seen) scored Marvel’s biggest box office opening weekend of the year and seems to have been a hit with both audiences and critics – a rare treat for any superhero movie. But of all the summer box office hits this year, only one of them really hit the mark of super. Let’s talk about Superman.

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Morning Musing: Psalm 127:3

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“Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, offspring, a reward.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As the old saying goes, a broken clock is still right twice a day. For the better part of a generation, Disney has been one of, if not the, primary entertainment-producing companies in the world. But in recent years, they seem to have forgotten that they are in the business of making money, not pushing a particular cultural agenda. As a result, they haven’t been making money quite like they once were. But for all of their cultural tone-deafness, there are some signs they are starting to turn a corner and remember that one of their primary audiences is families. One of the latest such signs came in the recently completed and final season of What If?…

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