New Year's Resolutions for Parents for 2008

New Year’s Resolutions for parents? First on the list should be to spend more time with your children than you ever have. I’ve been writing a parenting column for my local newspaper for more than ten years now, and basically, I write each and every week the same thing: that parents should spend lots and lots of time with their kids. I’ve just repackaged it and tried to say it a different way each week. But the message is always the same. There is simply no substitute for this. Kids spell love “T-I-M-E”. Maybe I’ll say that one week, then the next week I’ll write that kids need unstructured time with you. Then I’ll encourage you to take walks together or go on trips.
I’ll remind you to look your children in the eye and put down the paper or the computer. I’ll encourage you to eat together as a family several times per week and the benefits of that.
Spending time with our kids earns us the right to pass down our values to them. It allows us to show them what is most important to us. That’s really my message in a nutshell. And that’s my New Year’s Resolution this year and every year. Happy 2008 to you and your family from me and mine.

Christmas Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from Christmas. That's Rodney and Shirley, who came over Christmas Eve for Taco Soup. We call Shirley "Aunt Shay" and she had on a Longhorn's sweatshirt so Jodi took this picture of us (me in my Texas A&M sweater). The kids are checking out their Christmas morning goodies, including these helicopters, which are way cool.

The Stand -- Hillsong United -- Passion Of the Christ Version

This is why Jesus came at Christmas. This is hard to watch (and makes me cry), but it's a great reminder of God's love to us and what our sin did to Jesus that terrible, wonderful day. The blood that ran through the veins of the infant Jesus the first Christmas morning is the same blood he shed for our sins. This is God's gift to us.
As a side note, I love Hillsong United. They are my new favorite worship group.

Harris Family Christmas

Here are some pictures from the family gathering at our place Saturday. We had a great time catching up with our aunts, uncles and cousins. We took a few minutes to share how God has been good to us this year, with each person getting to speak. Then we sang songs and carved the "roast beast". Love to you all!

Home for The Holidays

It's getting more and more difficult to get everyone together for Christmas, but I think it is more important than ever that we do. I'm so blessed to be in a family where love reigns and we want to see each other. I guess I could say I'm blessed to part of a family at all.
My grandparents began a legacy of godliness and goodness and my children reap the benefits. Those kids of mine don't realize how blessed they are. Not yet. But one day they will. One day they will realize not everyone grows up in a family where it is a good thing to get together. Oh, our clan is not perfect, but so many families don't even speak. In some families, the grownups live darkly or selfishly and the kids don't want anything to do with them. Get-togethers are forced, uncomfortable and dreaded. I hear of families that haven't spoken for years. Christmas is about being reconciled - being friends again - and forgiveness allows that.
In this season of joy, how sad it must be to be isolated from loved ones. How sad not to give and receive love from your family members. When we hurt each other, we hurt whole families. And when we refuse to forgive, the hurt continues.
The song "I'll be Home for Christmas" is so sweet and sad when you realize its history. It was written during World War II in honor of those who were stuck in a foreign land fighting for our peace and safety. Of course, we have many men and women from our country in that very situation. Let's remember to pray for them this year.
I write these words because I want families to be strong. I want us to make the effort to love each other, to uplift each other, and to spend time together. I want us to realize that the decisions we make affect those around us, including the innocents. I hope your Christmas get-togethers have a spiritual element. Christmas is not just about getting and receiving material things, it is about love for all people.
When families are strong, our society will be strong. Find your way through the stress and materialism that Christmas has become and use this time of year to strengthen your family. You will spread joy to others and you will receive it back many times over.

Why a Candidate's Faith Matters

Should we care what religion our president practices? Should his personal beliefs be a factor in our decision to choose him? The media seems to be saying today that it doesn’t matter. So what if a candidate is a Mormon – or a Muslim for that matter? That’s personal and has nothing to do with his decision-making as Commander in Chief, they say.
But Christians know better. We know that a person’s faith defines who he is. We know that nothing is more important. That’s the first thing we want to know about a potential mate, business partner, or elected official. It does matter. I don’t care what the media says; Jesus said he was the only way to the Father (John 14:6). If anyone has a problem with this, he can take it up with Him. The Mormons add to Jesus’ Words and say they have a new book and a new way to understand God. That’s a problem for true Christians. Let the media debate, but Christians don’t want someone who practices a cult in the Whitehouse. If Romney is elected, voters are not only endorsing him, but also his beliefs. There’s no way around it. He will push Mormonism further into the mainstream. He will give it credibility it has never enjoyed before. He will make it look like just another denomination of Christianity. But it’s not; it is heretical and cultic. It is a lie. That’s why it’s an issue.
No one is perfect, but I don’t want a person in the Whitehouse whom I know believes a lie about the most important topic there is.

The debate is probably healthy, though. I heard Glenn Beck (also a Mormon) say today that the Bible has been edited over the years. What a lie! The early church fathers were very careful not to change one word of the original manuscripts. If the Bible had modifications or legendary embellishments we would not be able to trust it. (Which is basically what Mormonism teaches.) The good news is we can be assured the Bible we possess contains the true and final Word of God. It is the only book we need to find our way to Him. Let all men be called liars who say otherwise.

Happy Hanukkah!

The Jewish Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, begins at sundown tonight. I was studying it today and noticed something interesting. The Menorah, or candelabra, has a central candle called the "Shamash", or servant candle, surrounded by eight lower candles. The outer candles are to be lit only by the Shamash. The Menorah was designed by God Himself. Now that scientists have corrected the number of planets around our sun, we have eight, the same number! Even Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian said the candles coincided with our solar system. Jewish scholars say the eight candles also stand for the eight days the candle burned in the temple on only one day's supply of oil.
Hanukkah is called the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22), since the temple was rededicated on Kislev 25th, 165 BC, after being desecrated by King Antiochus Epiphanes. Perhaps one reason why early (by early, I mean around 300 A.D.) Christians celebrated Jesus' birthday on December 25th was in reference to Hanukkah.
As you can see from the blog below, I believe Jesus was born on Tishri 15 and was conceived of the Holy Spirit during Hanukkah. The SON is the central candle, the Light of the World, and a servant to all.