Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: “The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.” (Proverbs 20:7)

Probably no other endeavor has more lasting impact than the influence we parents have on our children. We may well quote Proverbs 22:6 , “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it,”or, Paul’s advice to fathers, “bring (your children) up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) We should not, however, interpret that to mean merely “Laying Down the Law.” Actions speak much louder than even well-intentioned words.
Consider Barnabas, The Encourager. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” (Acts 11:23, 24a, NIV.) If our lifestyle follows that of Barnabas, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, setting an example for others to observe, well and good.
If our words are not consistent with our actions, if they see us leading a worldly lifestyle, filled with self-interest, overly competitive by nature, not only in sports, but also in business, politics, and on the highway, we can rightly expect them to follow that example.
A child is stained by people they come in contact with, every bit as much as my hands were stained brown while gathering walnuts (a fall ritual and a badge of honor for me as a boy but the despair of my mother.) The stain would eventually wear off, but, for a time, bore evidence of my brief contact with the walnuts. The stain of our influence, for better or for worse, may forever mark a child
I recently witnessed a beautiful example of proper parenting at the supermarket. A mother and her preschool age daughter were shopping together. The girl wasn’t riding in the cart; she was picking out each item to place in it. As they moved along the isles, the mother would discuss each item on the list, sometimes making suggestions, at other times allowing the girl to make the choice. They worked together. No conflict between a harried mother and crying child here!
I believe that this mother will soon be able to trust her daughter to not only do the shopping, but to make wise selections. To train up a child means developing a trusting, loving relationship, tenderly encouraging and guiding the child a step at a time toward a lifestyle that will last forever.

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Paul wrote: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints - “ Ephesians 6:18, NKJV

Screeeeech!!! You have likely experienced the ear-rending howl of feedback on a P A system when the microphone gets too close to the loudspeaker. Uncontrolled reinforcement of a vibration, whether electronic or mechanical, can result in damage to more than ears.
It has long been the custom to have marching soldiers fall out of step when crossing a bridge, lest the rhythm of a common cadence destroy the bridge. It is not an imagined threat.
The Millennium Bridge in England was closed after dangerous swaying resulted when people walking on it fell into a common rhythm, each reacting to the movement of the other.
Perhaps you have encountered the ‘waltzing washing machine’ during the spin cycle with an unbalanced load. All from one thing reinforcing another, making it bigger and bigger.
Not all reinforcement is bad, however. All of your electronic gadgets depend upon oscillators that require feedback or reinforcement to operate - radios, TV’s, cell phones, even the microwave that cooks your food. Like fire, the concept of reinforcement is something that we need to understand and use for beneficial purposes.
People known as behavorialists use reinforcement techniques extensively. “Who ‘dat? All of us. If we reward desired behavior, and punish undesired behavior, we are utilizing feedback, making use of the technique of reinforcement. Parenting, teaching, coaching - try to make the good better and reduce the undesirable choices by positive feedback and reinforcement.
The optimist has an outlook that adds good things to any situation. The pessimist can twist everything into a downward spiral. The severely depressed person adds bad to bad, even to personal destruction.
Remember the commercial line, “Bet you can’t eat just one?” One leads to another, which leads to another, which . . . !
Habits are formed by feedback. Want to change something in your life? Reinforce the things that add to positive results. Change the rhythm! Think back to the statement about soldiers dropping their cadence. We develop a ‘cadence’ in our mental attitudes and in our habitual behavior. We can not achieve change in our lives unless we identify the ‘cadence, ‘ and make changes accordingly.
The mind is a powerful thing. We become what we think. Meditation is a thought process, advocated by some, that includes developing a ‘mantra,’ a formula of invocation or incantation to reinforce concentration on a desired outcome.
Consider the beneficial aspects of prayer. Believe it or not, prayer works! Prayer has the added result that God becomes a factor, bringing benefits to both the person praying and to the person prayed for.
April 22, 2007

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Concern For Children
* Scripture: Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31a, NKJV

Solicitude, an attitude of attentive care and protectiveness; could aptly be defined as that time between when you hand your child the keys to the car, and when you hear the door safely close upon his or her return.
There are a lot of mixed emotions involved with the parenting of a child at any age, but it is especially difficult to watch without emotion as they step out into the wide, wide world on their own. There is pride in this moment, of course, on realizing what they have accomplished in their few years, but tempered by both the fact that this is one more step closer toward leaving the nest, and that there are many dangers and trials awaiting “out there.”
Each person, even as a child, is an individual, and though we do our best as a parent, we do not have total control over their thoughts or actions, nor should we. It is far better to lead them with lines of love than to bind them with chains of compulsion. The scriptures are filled with such admonitions, including the “Love” chapter of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13. Paul also counseled the church at Ephesus concerning love within the family, between husbands and wives, and between parents and children. (Ephesians 5:22-6:4)
Jesus summed up the Commandments, Laws and Prophets with these words: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31, NKJV)
All that about love having been said, perhaps we need to step back a little and look at children as ‘neighbors.’ Read again Jesus’ words. We “own” neither our neighbors nor our children. As full-fledged individuals, neither are extensions of ourselves. True, we have a special responsibility to, and relationship with, our offspring, but they are not possessions to be used at our whim, nor as avenues to vicariously attain goals that perhaps eluded us. I have witnessed examples where parents forced children into activities the children did not desire, have read too many stories of abused children, and observed cases where people probably treated their neighbors better than they did their own children.
What do we wish for ourselves? Certainly, we wish to love and to be loved, to be safe from harm, and the freedom to express ourselves as an individual.
While Jesus especially showed concern for little children, he expanded the “neighborhood” in the parable of The Good Samaritan . (Luke 10:25-37) And Jesus replied, “Go and do likewise”
February 6. 2005