Christians and Halloween

I know many Christian parents steer away from Halloween because of some of its pagan origins. I understand and respect this. But my fear is that my kids will say, "Christian families never have any fun, so who needs it?" I want them to see that we Christians have more fun than anyone. We try to downplay the "evil" aspects of Halloween, but capitalize on the "good" aspects -- like candy, walking in the crunching leaves, parties, cooler weather, football games, and even carving a pumpkin. I know some of you may disagree, but notice I made a "happy" face and not an evil one. Then I reminded the kids that Jesus picks us from the patch, cleans out the junk in our lives, puts a smile on our faces, and puts his light inside for all the world to see.

In other words, I think we Christians should try to seize the seasons and their holidays and turn them for good. I think we should be deliberate in our efforts to have some fun.

Consistent Parenting

One thing I’ve noticed about good parenting is it must be consistent. I think all of us have it in us to be good role models on occasion. But that does no one any good. To be good parents, we must be consistently good parents. We must be consistent in our discipline; we must be relentless in our encouragement and guidance; and we must be consistent in our unconditional love and sacrifice.
Children quickly pick up from us what is most important to us. They are watching us live out our lives one moment at a time. They are watching, and they know our priorities. They know what is most important to us. In other words, our actions – day after day after day – speak louder than our words. Inconsistent parenting may do more harm than good. Children easily see through hypocrisy and lose respect for us if they spot it. We must be consistent.

Mute Math

Have you heard this group? They're a Christian band from New Orleans. The only reason I know this is because I keep hearing them on a Christian Internet radio channel. Their lyrics are not overtly "Christian" at all, which is fine with me because great music is an act of worship if your heart is right. When I hear a song I really, really like I'll usually buy the one song for my MP3. But I heard Chaos, then Break the Same, then Stare at the Sun, then Typical, so I just bought the whole CD. This is good stuff!

Snake Bite!

I was sitting on the patio this afternoon, enjoying a cup of coffee and talking with my wife. Suddenly our dachshund, Jello, who was sniffing around the crepe myrtle tree just off the patio, jumped back. I thought I saw a lizard or something jumping near his face. Jello ran away as fast as he could and I knew something serious had just happened. He didn't yelp, so we weren't sure what it was. He stood at a distance and barked. I think he was warning us.
I went over to investigate and saw a copperhead coiled at the base of the tree. I killed it and began to watch Jello to see if he had been bitten. Soon, his nose began to swell and we found two small blood spots. Sure enough, he had been bitten.

We gave him some children's Benadryl. I dipped it in peanut butter so he would eat it. Then I called our vet, Dr. Stone, and she said we had done the right thing. She said a person would have to go to the hospital, but that Jello should be okay. He's very lethargic and seems pretty miserable. We'll keep an eye on him and give him more medicine every six hours for a while. He's not all that swollen as you can see in the picture. Be sure to keep Benadryl on hand for such occasions.

The Magic of Eating Together

You want your children to be happy, right? I mean, do I really have to ask? And drug and alcohol abuse ravages young lives, right?
So what if I told you that you could help keep them away from these addictions by doing something as simple as sitting with them at dinner a few times each week? It’s true and it’s probably the best deal you are going to encounter today.
Columbia University in New York studied families who eat dinner together and found that teenagers are twice as likely to try marijuana, start smoking, or abuse alcohol if they eat dinner with their families less than three times per week. (This is why they launched Family Day on the fourth Monday in September back in 2001.)
What is so magical about eating dinner together? Well, to do so properly, you have to turn off the TV and walk away from the magazines, paper, and computer. This way, you can look your children in the eyes. Now, engage in the lives of your family. Give your children your attention and see if they will not give you theirs. You have made a conscious decision to spend time with them. You have chosen them over everything else you could be doing. Your children are aware of this at an early age. They have been chosen by you and they know it.
It is a daily decision that parents must make, and each time you choose to give your children your attention, they feel just a little more special. They know how much they really do mean to you because you have proven it once again.
We usually eat during the news hour and my children know I’m a news junkie. So when I choose them over the news, I earn the right to enter their lives and become part of their decision-making. They know I sacrificed for them and that means a lot. Now, when I mention how important it is to say no to drugs – and yes to faith – I’ve earned the right to do so.
The kids know they are holding their parents captive, so they can talk about anything they want. We try to keep dinner upbeat and positive, but we also remember that we are their parents and not their friends. So, we might laugh about something that happened that day one minute, then remind them of table manners the next. We have to referee sometimes, when a disagreement breaks out, but the point is, we are together, engaged in each other’s lives, and purposefully working together to make our family better.
As children get older, this is going to be more and more difficult, so start when they are young and hang on to dinnertime as long as you can. If you can’t do this because of your schedule, find some time each week to give your undivided attention. That’s the point. Life is never simple and we have to work with what we’re given.
Children that feel connected to their families are not looking for something else to fill that void in their lives. Their esteems are healthier, and their power to say no to peer pressure is stronger. They know that whatever they do, they are going to have to look at their parents or guardians across the dinner table.
The magic of the dinner table is not in the eating of the food, it’s the time we spend making eye contact. It’s our choosing them and giving them our ears. Make the choice and see if doesn’t help them in their own decisions later.

The Number One Cause of Death in America

Do you know the number one cause of death in America? You might guess heart disease and according to the National Center for Health Statistics, you would be right. But you would be wrong. You might guess cancer. Sure enough, cancer will take more than a half-million lives this year. Accidents rank fifth at just more than one hundred thousand each year.
The number one cause of death in America is murder. Surprised? Americans murder more than a million babies every year. Estimates are we murder about three thousand, seven hundred every day. In other words, nearly as many humans die in the womb every single day as American soldiers have died in the entire Iraq war. Let me say that again: 3,800 American soldiers have died in Iraq in four years of fighting, but 3,700 unborn children die every day back at home.
This subject is bad enough, but it gets worse. Do you know why those children die? 93% die because they are an inconvenience to their mother. Do you know which mothers are aborting their children? 60% are white and 38% are middle class. America is bad, but the rest of the world is even worse. World-wide, the average is every single woman on the planet will have one abortion.
This is horrible, so why am I writing this? Because I wonder why we think we can ask God to bless us as a country when we are stomping on the Sixth Commandment and up to our necks in an all-out slaughter of innocents. Do we really think God is pleased with us? Do we really think we can get away with this?