Tag Archives: Parenting

Dad Is

 

A dad is a person
who is loving and kind,
And often he knows
what you have on your mind.

He’s someone who listens,
suggests, and defends ~
A dad can be one
of your very best friends!

He’s proud of your triumphs,
but when things go wrong,
A dad can be patient
and helpful and strong.

In all that you do,
a dad’s love plays a part ~
There’s always a place for him
deep in your heart ~

And each year that passes,
you’re even more glad,
More grateful and proud
just to call him your dad!

Thank you, Dad…
for listening and caring,
for giving and sharing,
but, especially, for just being you!

Author Unknown


Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan not only your next Father’s Day, but also other common Holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

My Father

My Father is...My Father….

 

  • Loving: John 3:16
  • Caring: Matt 6:26
  • Forgiving: Psalm 103:12
  • Compassionate: Psalm 103:4-5
  • Giving: Romans 8:32
  • Understanding: Psalm 139:1-2
  • Accepting: Psalm 139:1-6
  • Satisfies: Psalm 107:9
  • Persistently Pursuing: Luke 19:10
  • Reasonable: Isaiah 1:18
  • Pardons: Psalm 103:3
  • Heals: Isaiah 53:5
  • Redeems: Job 19:25
  • Loving-Kindness: Psalm 86:15
  • Renews: Isaiah 40:31
  • Righteous: Jeremiah 9:23-24
  • Gracious: ephesians 1:7-8
  • Sovereign: Psalm 103:19

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan not only your next Father’s Day, but also other common celebrations. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for the next holiday and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Parent Support

The REAL Night Before Christmas
(By Parents)

‘Twas the night before Christmas
when all through the house
I searched for the tools
to hand to my spouse
Instructions were studied
and we were inspired,
in hopes we could manage
“Some Assembly Required.”

The children were quiet (not asleep) in their beds,
while Dad and I faced the evening with dread:
a kitchen, two bikes, Barbie’s townhouse to boot!
And now, thanks to Grandpa, a train with a toot!

We opened the boxes, my heart skipped a beat –
let no parts be missing or parts incomplete!
Too late for last-minute returns or replacement;
if we can’t get it right, it goes straight to the basement!

When what to my worrying eyes should appear
but 50 sheets of directions, concise, but not clear,
With each part numbered and every slot named,
so if we failed, only we could be blamed.

More rapid than eagles the parts then fell out,
all over the carpet they were scattered about.
“Now bolt it! Now twist it! Attach it right there!
Slide on the seats, and staple the stair!
Hammer the shelves, and nail to the stand.”
“Honey,” said hubby, “you just glued my hand.”

And then in a twinkling, I knew for a fact
that all the toy dealers had indeed made a pact
to keep parents busy all Christmas Eve night
with “assembly required” till morning’s first light.

We spoke not a word, but kept bent at our work,
till our eyes, they went blurry; our fingers all hurt.
The coffee went cold and the night, it wore thin
before we attached the last rod and last pin.
Then laying the tools away in the chest,
we fell into bed for a well-deserved rest.

But I said to my husband just before I passed out,
“This will be the best Christmas, without any doubt.
Tomorrow we’ll cheer, let the holiday ring,
and not run to the store for one single thing!
We did it! We did it! The toys are all set
for the perfect, most magical, Christmas, I bet!”

Then off to dreamland and sweet repose
I gratefully went, though I suppose
there’s something to say for those self-deluded-
I’d forgotten that BATTERIES are never included!

 


Get "Creative Sermon Ideas" eBook

Get Help on Your Youth Sermons

Creative Sermon Ideas
This 100 Page e-Book Includes All The Help You Need To Prepare Powerful, Life-Changing Youth Sermons That Will Turn Your Preaching Around And Make Your Youth Sit Up And Listen! Includes 7 Complete Sermons.
–> I want More Youth Sermon Ideas…

Family Hunting Trip

A Father, Mother, and Teenager went hunting together. When a prize buck ran past them, the parents and the youth all fired at the exact same moment and the buck dropped.

However, there was only one bullet hole and they didn’t know which of them shot it. So they took it to the registration center, not knowing who should tag it.

The agent said, “Let me look at the deer. Sometimes I can figure it out.”

He asked a few questions, examined the deer carefully, and declared, “The teenager shot this buck!”

Amazed, they all asked how he knew. Stooping down he pointed out the wound, “See here. It went in one ear and out the other.”

 


Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and a variety of other holiday events. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for the holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

How To Pray For Your Children

What a comfort it is to know that our Lord prays for His own. It is of great comfort to even the very young child to know that his parents love him and care for him so much that they pray to their Heavenly Father about him. The following suggestions might be helpful as you think of praying for your child, for his needs now and in the future.

  1. That they will know Christ as Saviour early in life (Psalm 63:1 and I Timothy 3:15).
  2. That they will have a hatred for sin (Psalm 97:10).
  3. That they will be caught when guilty (Psalm 119:71).
  4. That they will be protected from the evil one in each area of their lives: spiritual, emotional, and physical (John 17.15).
  5. That they will have a responsible attitude in all their interpersonal relationships (Daniel 6:3).
  6. That they will respect those in authority over them (Romans 13:1).
  7. That they will desire the right kind of friends and be protected from the wrong friends (Proverbs 1:10-11).
  8. That they will be kept from the wrong mate and saved for the right one (II Corinthians 6.14-17).
  9. That they, as well as those they marry, will be kept pure until marriage (I Corinthians 6:18-20).
  10. That they will learn to totally submit to God and actively resist Satan in all circumstances (James 4:7).
  11. That they will be single-hearted, willing to be sold out to Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1-2).
  12. That they will be hedged in so they cannot find their way to wrong people or wrong places and that the wrong people cannot find their way to them (Hosea 2:6).

Pick one point a month to concentrate on. Within a year, you will have consistently prayed this entire list.

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next Mother’s Day or Father’s Day event as well as a variety of other common, but minor holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

A Father’s Influence

Various studies conducted by Yale, John Hopkins and other groups have documented the following;
The absence of a father is a stronger factor than poverty in contributing to juvenile delinquency.

In 48 cultures around the world crime rates were highest among adults who as children had been raised solely by women. Closeness with parents was the common factor in hypertension, coronary heart disease, malignant tumors, mental illness and suicide. A study of 39 teenage girls suffering from anorexia nervosa showed that 36 of them had one common denominator; lack of closeness with their fathers.

An emotionally or physically absent father contributes to a child’s

  1. low motivation for achievement;
  2. inability to defer immediate gratification for later rewards;
  3. low self esteem;
  4. susceptibility to group influence and juvenile delinquency.

(Again the stats speak for themselves, father’s are important in the lives of their children, and they need to be there not just physically but emotionally as well).

And let me say something up front again, when I say fathers, I am not referring solely to biological fathers; I am also speaking of step-dads as well. Over 40% of all marriages in the US involve a remarriage of 1 or both parties. 1 out of 3 Americans (80 million people) is either a step parent, step child or step sibling. 1 out of 5 children under the age of 18 is a step child. And by the year 2,000 step families (involving 1 spouse who has children) and complex families (in which both spouse have children) will soon be the majority.

Now, If you’re like most men – even those who had a poor or harmful experience with their own fathers – you have a general idea of the kind of father you want to be. You have a picture in your mind of what a model father looks like: you want to be the kind of father: whose children feel secure, confident, loved and accepted whose children save sex for marriage, and remain faithful to their spouse in marriage. whose children develop a reputation as men and women of integrity; honest, ethical, hardworking. whose child might say, “my dad keeps his promises. whose children stand up to unhealthy peer pressure, children who develop healthy friendships,. whose kids say no to drugs and alcohol and risky behavior. whose children quickly admit their mistakes, who are forgiving and patient with others and who enjoy a healthy sense so self- esteem and self confidence. whose children have a hard time picking out a fathers day card (not because they say too much but say too little)

That’s the kind of father we all want to be. That’s the kind of father I want to be. But I know that I am not all I should be. And I know that for me to do this I need a model, I need an example of a father that I can pattern myself after, a father from who I can learn from and imitate.

Source: www.Sermoncentral.com


Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you not only to plan your next Father’s Day celebration, but also ideas for planning activities for numerous other familiar holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Need Washing?

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in “Mom let’s run through the rain,” she said.

“What?” Mom asked.

“Lets run through the rain!” She repeated.

“No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,” Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: “Mom, let’s run through the rain,”

“We’ll get soaked if we do,” Mom said.

“No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom’s arm.

This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?

“Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!”

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn’t hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes.

Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child’s life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

“Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If GOD let’s us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,” Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories…So, don’t forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

Source Unknown

 


Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or many of the other familiar holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for the various holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

George Washington’s Mother

George Washington, “father of his country,” was a Christian gentleman, of whom Thomas Jefferson said, “He was, indeed, in every sense of the word, a wise, a good, and a great man.” George Washington’s father died when
he was just 11, but a Christian mother, Mary Ball Washington, molded his character with Bible reading, and with CONTEMPLATIONS MORAL AND DIVINE by Sir Matthew Hale.

He wrote later: “All that I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual, and physical education I received from her.”

 

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and a variety of other minor holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Augustine’s Mother

Around Mother’s Day we hear the old saying, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” But is that true?

Augustine was a fourth-century scholar who is considered one of the greatest thinkers of all times. He was born under Roman rule in what is now Algeria. His Christian mother, Monica, was married to a pagan who lived an immoral lifestyle. Even so, she gained a reputation as a peacemaker and counselor in turbulent times.

At 23, Monica had her firstborn, Augustine, and she dedicated her life to raising him as a Christian. Despite their pagan culture, Monica won her husband to Christ just before his death, and her mother-in-law as well.

Augustine was 17 when his father died and he was sent to the University at Carthage for a classical education. But Carthage was a decadent place, and he wallowed in carnal pleasures. Monica cried and continually prayed for his soul. When Augustine did come to faith, years later, Monica rejoiced and told him her work was done. One week later she died.

Augustine, who went on to become a great saint of the Church, wrote this prayer:

“My mother, Your faithful servant, wept to You for me, shedding more tears for my spiritual death than others shed for the bodily death of a son. You heard her.”

Source: Mom’s who changed the World by Lindsey O’Connor.

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or other minor holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

America’s Greatest Source of Strength

What is America’s greatest source of strength and inspiration?

According to the U.S. Congress, it’s American mothers. Stay-at-home moms, Congress declared, are “doing so much for the home . . . and [for] religion,” which leads to “good government and humanity.”

Congress use these in 1914 when it created Mother’s Day. The words reflect the widespread belief that full-time mothers were performing a vitally important task.

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next Mother’s Day activity as well as activities for a variety of other minor holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection