Topic(s): Christian Life, Family, Pain & Suffering

Many years ago a farmer had an unusually fine crop of grain. Just a few days before it was ready to harvest, a terrible hail and wind storm destroyed it. The farmer and his little son went out on the porch after the storm. The little boy looked at what was formerly the beautiful field of wheat, and with tears in his eyes looked up at his dad, expecting to hear words of despair. All at once his father started to sing softly, “Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.” Years after, the little boy, grown to manhood, said, “That was the greatest sermon I ever heard.” The farmer lost a grain crop, but gained a faithful son.

“Ye are the light of the world. ... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” —Matthew 5:14-16

Right—But Wrong

Topic(s): Father, Family

J. Paul Getty was at one time the richest man in the world. But J. Paul Getty, Jr., rarely saw his father. In fact, he saw him only on rare occasions. When he was in high school, Getty Jr. wrote a special letter to his father. He had wanted to say some very important things to his dad. The letter came back to him from his father with all of the grammatical and spelling errors marked in red pencil. But there was no personal response from his father. Not one word. Getty Jr. summed up that experience by saying, “I never got over that.” A father sets an atmosphere for his children even when he isn’t present.

“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” —Ephesians 6:4

Words to the Wise

Topic(s): Wisdom

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." —James Baldwin

"Remember, your basic assignment as a parent is to work yourself out of a job." —Paul Lewis

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” —3 John:4

The Parable of the Lawn

Topic(s): Family, Father, Parenting

When Mike was three he wanted a sandbox. His father said, “There goes the yard. We’ll have kids here day and night, and they’ll throw sand into the flower beds, and the cats will make a mess in it. It’ll kill the grass for sure.” His mother said, “It’ll come back.”

When Mike was five he wanted a jungle gym set with swings and bars to take his breath away. His father said, “I’ve seen those things in back yards and do you know what they look like? Mud holes in a pasture. Kids digging in their gym shoes in the ground. It’ll kill the grass.” Mike’s mother said, “It’ll come back.”
Between breaths, as Dad was blowing up the swimming pool, he warned, “You know what they’re going to do to this place? They’re going to condemn it and use it for a missile site. I hope you know what you’re doing. They’ll track water everywhere, and you’ll have a million water fights, and you won’t be able to take out the garbage without stepping in mud up to your neck, and when we take this swimming pool down we’ll have the only brown lawn on the block.” “It’ll come back,” smiled Mike’s mother.

When Mike was twelve, he volunteered his yard for a campout. As they hoisted the tents and drove in the spikes, his father stood at the window and observed, “Why don’t I just put the seed out in cereal bowls for the birds and save myself the trouble of spreading it around. You know for a fact that those tents and all those big feet are going to trample down every single blade of grass, don’t you? Don’t bother to answer,” he said. “I know what you are going to say—It’ll come back.”

The basketball hoop on the side of the garage attracted more crowds than the Winter Olympics, and a small patch of lawn that started out with a barren spot the size of a garbage can lid soon grew to encompass the entire side yard. Just when it looked like the new seed might take root, the winter came and sled runners beat it into ridges. Mike’s father shook his head and said, “I never asked for much in this life—only a patch of grass.” And his wife smiled and said, “It’ll come back.”

The lawn this year was beautiful. It was green and alive and rolled out like a sponge carpet all along the drive where gym shoes had trod, along the garage where bicycles used to fall and around the flower beds where little boys use to dig with tea spoons. But Mike’s father never saw it. He anxiously looked beyond the yard and asked with a catch in this voice, “He will come back, won’t he?”

“...his life is bound up in the lad's life” —Genesis 44:30

Put a Sock in It...

Topic(s): Humor, Marriage

A young couple decided to marry. As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had a problem they had never shared with 2anyone, not even each other. The groom-to-be, overcoming his fear, decided to ask his father for advice. “Dad, I am deeply concerned about the success of my marriage.” His father replied, “Don’t you love this girl?” “Oh yes, very much,” he said, “but you see, I have very smelly feet, and I’m afraid that my fiancé will be put off by them.” “No problem,” said dad, “all you have to do is wash your feet as often as possible, and always wear socks, even to bed.” This seemed a workable solution to him.

The bride-to-be, overcoming her fear, decided to talk with her mom. “Mom,” she said, “when I wake up in the morning my breath is truly awful.” “Honey,” her mother consoled, “everyone has bad breath in the morning.” “No, you don’t understand. Mine is so bad, I’m afraid my fiancé will not want to sleep in the same room with me.” Her mother said, “Try this. Get straight out of bed, and head for the kitchen and make breakfast. While the family is busy eating, move on to the bathroom and brush your teeth. The key is not to say a word until you’ve brushed your teeth.”

“I shouldn’t say good morning or anything?” she asked. “Not a word,” her mother affirmed. “Well, it’s worth a try,” she said.

The loving couple was finally married. He with his perpetual socks and she with her morning silence, they managed quite well. For about six months. Shortly before dawn one morning, the husband woke with a start to find that one of his socks had come off. Fearful of the consequences, he frantically searched the bed. This, of course, woke his bride and without thinking, she asks, “What on earth are you doing?”

“Oh, no, “he replied, “you’ve swallowed my sock!”

“Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth” —Proverbs 5:18