July 2012 Issue
yourself to be used to do something good or loving for another. Allow your offspring the gift of seeing your ability to love others in action. They’ll often offer to help. I pray continuously for the inner strength, the help to become ever more determined to endure character building trials and to accept His will. We all have them. I strongly recommend one to read or listen to the gospel and try to learn to place your trust in Jesus, all of it. Focus. Find a nice quiet place outdoors, perhaps a park under the shade of a tree near a pond and open your heart in preparation to receive Jesus’ truthful words. Pause to ponder and listen to the silent wind whispering through the leaves. Before you know it hours will have passed in a blink of an eye. Always ask questions while seeking the Truth in all things. Give everything and everyone you encounter what I call the “God test.” Start by asking yourself if what you are encountering at any given time is a good thing for everyone. If it isn’t, reject it. Remember sometimes trouble can’t be avoided and is necessary for us to learn and grow. Be prepared to stand your ground and never willfully lie. Sometimes it helps to recall the “lessons” of the past to gain strength. You know the ones, those long ago forgotten difficulties designed to crush us in their time. Yet we survived and then we promptly went to work trying to forget the pain, do so, and then are doomed to repeat the same mistake. Stop! Forgive the offender (it may be one’s self) and hold onto the memory of the pain. It reminds us not to play with “fire,” what not to do. And they serve as reminders to teach how to recognize His constant good presence and workings. Keep in mind He is gracious and good. He often allows other people with good hearts to be vessels do His Will for Him. Oh, to be so blessed to be one of these. Become proactive. There is no gain in any relationship with a child by remaining
© July 2012 The Wordsmith Journal Magazine
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sitting on the high fence separating one from the other. Leave your worries behind with Him and jump off to continue your wonderful journey, climb down if you must and go play. Just get moving; for what we do know is precious time is short. The children will be grown before you know it and they will begin their own journey with what you have taught them. Always put your priorities in order. There are times the earning of money must take a back seat. The purchase of new things can wait. Other things can’t. Some things must be given the highest priority. Our children are one of these “high priorities.” They need our time, our love, and our personal displays of affection more than a new game console of distraction, more than any material thing. Especially when they are young and impressionable. We need their loving attention as well. Each of mine have taught me a lot. To sum it up: The best thing we can invest in our children is our personal time. There is a time to do good work, a time to play hard, a time to expose the heart to love. Time spent with a child combines all three of these and is well spent. It’s up to the individual to discover the balance. I have found the best legacy to give your children is one with no end, one filled with joyful life rooted in a Good Memory. I cannot stress the following too much. Always spend as much time as possible with the family and/or child: Focus. Focus. Focus. Keep God first. And stay focused. Continuously search for the proper balance with everything. MN- Complete this sentence. “This Father’s Day, more than ever, I would like my sons to know……..” RH- I thank God each day for the privilege of being your dad. Each one of you is a fine example of the best a man could hope to have as a son. You have brought great joy and pleasure into my life, never trouble and
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