CHILDREN

Most of the children I see are in church!  I watch Bob and Bill carrying their grandkids around.  I see my assistant's grandchildren stop to visit and run into her arms.  I watch the many young couples in our church family handling their kids.  I get pictures of my own grandchildren at least once-a-week from our daughter!

This past Sunday Amy Orbin and Holly Swartz brought our children onto the platform to lead us in several worship songs.  Our people were delighted by the animations of these precious, little ones!

I'll be dedicating a little guy named Brock this Sunday!  I sat down with his Dad and Mom two weeks ago to emphasize the importance of their role in teaching him about God and faith!  As a result, Mom headed right out to buy a book of Bible stories!

Some of our parents have been attending a special class led by mature parents who have raised godly children.  It's been an amazing opportunity for learning!  Some of the things these families have in common:

• they ate at least one meal a day together
• the moms prayed with the children every day
• they had family fun nights every week
• the dads actively played with the children daily
• the parents cultivated and commanded respect
• they gave gifts and rewards sparingly

Psalm 127 tells us that children are a gift from God!  They need our protection, love, and guidance! 

If you cross the path of a child today, stoop down, look into their eyes, and have a brief conversation with them!  If you do this, you'll make God smile!