Daniel at School

Daniel’s life and the details surrounding it fascinate me. This man of God, full of deep integrity and wisdom, wrote some of the most detailed and much-studied prophecies in the Bible.

As a teenager, Daniel was uprooted from his home and taken as a captive to Babylon. He ended up in the royal court after the king ordered several young Israelite captives of noble birth to be brought to the palace (Daniel 1:3). Until the time Daniel was taken captive, he evidently grew up in either the royal family or in a very influential home.

Daniel was a young boy when the very godly Josiah ruled Judah. So since Daniel probably grew up in an influential family during Josiah’s reign, he likely was raised with spiritual training and with a godly world view. Read more

More Important Than The President (by Joey Watkins)

Regardless of your thoughts about the recent election, this point in time is unique in our history. It marks the inauguration of the 44th US President.

The President of the United States is a position of immense power, unique prestige, instant fame, and world notoriety.

But you know what? Our role as dads is more important. It really is… Yes, it **REALLY** is.

Presidents come and go. Just think about all the presidents that have served so far in your lifetime. Sure, they make decisions that affect the direction of the country. And this next president will do likewise.

But as dads, we have something that no one… and I mean NO ONE… else has. Read more

Answers To Your Kid’s Prayers

(photo by vaniadasilva)

The best way to explain to our children how God answers or doesn’t answer their prayers is to draw a simple parallel between their asking us for things and their asking God for things.

There are basically three answers children can anticipate when asking parents for something: yes, which may come with some stipulation or adjustment to the original request; no, which is usually accompanied by one or more good reason; and maybe, the category that most parental responses fall into.

• Our children make certain requests of us with the expectation of getting a yes answer – requests for things that they basically already know our will on. For instance, if we always let them have friends over on the weekend, let them watch a certain television show, allow them to have a snack at a certain time, or take them out for lunch after church, they’d anticipate a yes. Read more

Strengthening Your Family’s Christmas Identity

When my kids were younger, every December as Christmas would draw closer, the ride to school in our SUV would get filled up with wacky Christmas songs. We’d take a non-sacred Christmas song like O Christmas Tree or Frosty the Snowman and rewrite the words to the song, often with hilarious results. (What’s a Seattle/Vancouver snowman? Three puddles!) Each year, we would sing the wacky ones we made up in years gone by, and then we’d start working out a line at a time on a new one for that year. What started out as a little bit of drive-time fun became a wonderful tradition. My children’s friends have even learned the wacky songs, and they’ve spread throughout the school.

Quite a few of the things that happened in our family as a result of taking advantage of available moments have become repeats, or when associated with special days, traditions. Read more

Disciple Like Jesus

Here’s another great site with the same mission we have, helping parents disciple their children. The video on the home page is a MUST view. It really shows how precious the gift of life is and how it should be cherished. Also, after viewing it, ask yourself what would be the result if every Christian parent put that much love and effort into their children’s spiritual growth. While you’re thinking about that, check out the article under the heading ‘What’s at Stake.’

www.disciplelikejesus.com

Legends of Christmas

Almost two weeks ago while driving through our neighborhood in the evening, I saw something in a front window of a house we were passing that caused a second look. A Christmas tree already set up – and it was just past the middle of November! The next evening my eyes were immediately drawn to 2 other houses that had their Christmas lights up. Again the following evening, a few more houses were lit up and so on and so on. The Christmas season had begun (well at least in our neck of the woods).

These early birds obviously love this time of year and enjoy extending it out as long as possible. On the other hand, there are also those who find the season stressful and only start to think about Christmas a week before the 25th and then everything is over the day after boxing day.

Christmas can mean different things to different people. For some it’s about snow, pretty lights, decorated christmas trees, gifts, or fun with family and friends. As Christians however, we should never lose sight of the importance and impact of God sending his own son down to earth for us, and then to also die for us so that we would have the privilege to know him, be taught by him, be changed by him, and be loved by him. We should be celebrating Jesus and keeping our thoughts turned towards him and acting out of a heart full of love and thankfulness towards others.

There are many reminders during the Christmas season that help direct our thoughts in the right direction. Our family has a nativity scene in our home that we keep up year round but at Christmas, it gets center stage. There are also many other traditional symbols that most people think are secular but actually have roots in the Christian faith. The Christmas Tree, Stockings and Candy Canes are examples and the traditional legends surrounding them all point to Jesus. They are wonderful stories to tell your children at Christmas time and every time you look at one of them, you can also be reminded of God’s love for you. Do you know the stories? Not to worry, we have them handy here for you and encourage you to print them off or forward them to your friends. How much brighter and happier our Christmas will be this year as our thoughts are focused on Jesus.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

CHRISTIAN PARENTING DAILY

 

(Recommended book – ages 4 to 8)

THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE started over a thousand years ago when a Monk named Boniface used a small evergreen tree to teach people about God. First God is the creator, he created the tree. Next God is eternal like an evergreen tree is ever green. Also God is three in one, like the one tree forms a triangle and has three points. Soon after that, churches were bringing trees inside to help them teach like Boniface did.

Next during the middle ages, the church celebrated Adam and Eve day on December 24th. They would bring in and decorate evergreen trees with apples and twists of bread and use them to teach about the trees in the Garden of Eden and original sin.

Many centuries later, while walking home one winter night, Martin Luther saw icicles hanging off an evergreen tree and reflecting light. It reminded him that Jesus was the light of the world. So at Christmas time, he put up a tree in his home and put candles on it to represent Jesus.

Soon after that, people in Europe began putting up and decorating beautiful Christmas trees much like we do today to celebrate the wonder of Jesus coming to the earth to rescue us from our sins.

Boniface used the trees to teach about who God is and that he is our creator. The Adam and Eve tree taught about man’s fall in the Garden. Martin Luther went on to use lights to help the tree represent Jesus, the light of the world and complete the story. Then others added more decorations in celebration of all Jesus is and did. The tree is a reminder of God, creation, the fall, Jesus and the celebration of our salvation!

 

(Recommended book – ages 4 to 8)

THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS STOCKING began in present-day Turkey about 300 hundred years after Jesus was born. The exact details of the story have been lost, but legend tells us that Nicholas anonymously gave three bags of gold to a man whose daughters could not get married because he had no dowry. The last bag of gold reportedly landed in the youngest daughter’s stocking. Thus the tradition of putting gifts in stockings began.

Nicholas served God his entire life. His many generous deeds demonstrated God’s love and inspired people everywhere to give unselfishly.

Slowly over a period of time his name and appearance changed. In England, Saint Nicholas became Father Christmas. Today we call him Santa Claus, which came from the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas, Sinterklaas. In the early 1800s, the placing of gifts in stockings was moved from Saint Nicholas Eve, December 6, and became part of our Christmas celebration.

Behind the legends that the real Saint Nicholas inspired was the true meaning of Christmas: God gave us his only Son because he loves us. God wants us to show his love by giving to others and caring for them.

 

(Recommended book – ages 4 to 8)
THE LEGEND OF THE CANDY CANE was born over 350 years ago when mothers used white sugar sticks as pacifiers for their babies. Around 1670, the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, bent the sticks into canes to represent a shepherd’s staff. He then used these white candy canes to keep the attention of small children during the long Nativity service.

The use of candy canes during the Christmas service spread throughout Europe. In northern Europe, sugar canes decorated with sugar roses were used to brighten the home at Christmas time.

In the mid 1800s, the candy cane arrived in the United States when a German-Swedish immigrant in Wooster, Ohio, decorated his spruce tree with paper ornaments and white sugar canes.

The red stripe was added to the candy cane at the turn of the century, when peppermint and wintergreen were added and became the traditional flavors for the candy cane. Some sources say that a candy maker in Indiana developed the candy cane as a witness of Christ’s love. While we may never know the full history of the candy cane, we can share in the truth behind its symbol, the truth of Christ’s birth and redemption, and the gift of his love.

Wall-E a Must-C

SYNOPSIS: After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, Wall-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named Eve. Eve comes to realize that Wall-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, Wall-E chases Eve across the galaxy.

GENRES: Kids/Family and Animation

TIME: 1 hr. 37 minutes

RATED: G

 

OUR THOUGHTS ON THIS MOVIE

(Recommended Age Group: all ages)

We really enjoyed this movie, however after seeing the obese humans on their hover couches, a few of us were thinking that perhaps a little exercise would do us some good. Although you can glean that message from the movie, (too much couch potatoing and computer chair potatoing can lead to obesity), that’s not the message of the movie.

The movie contrasts the love relationship between two hard working robots with the humans of the future who have become so linked into entertainment, social media and gaming that they’ve all but forgotten what it’s like to have face to face interpersonal relationships. Wall-E causes a woman’s holographic computer screen to disengage and she seems to see the world around her for the first time. The same happens with a guy named John and when the two of them meet and accidentally hold hands (something the screen writers use as a wonderful symbol of personal interaction and relationship), they look like they’re discovering something foreign but wonderful.

There are some great talking point opportunities in this movie. Here are a few:

Discuss how the movie is not saying that TV, gaming and the internet are bad, it’s saying that interpersonal relationships are better. Discuss why they’re better and what kind of balance we should look for.

Wall-E, after being alone for hundreds of years, recognizes the value of another person’s company, attention and love and he’s willing to put in the effort and work it takes to get it. Discuss how valuable the relationships in our lives can be and how we need to put time, love and effort in if we really want them to be rewarding.

Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love others. Discuss how since God is love and therefore completely unselfish, what he tells us is always for our own good not his. Therefore, the two things that he says are most important, must hold the two greatest blessings as well. Loving growing relationships with God and others (interpersonal relationships) are truly the greatest gifts and rewards this life has to offer.

The movie is a good reminder to us parents as well. Limiting and or nagging our kids about time in front of objects with screens is perhaps not as effectual as teaching them about the wonders of relationships and encouraging them to spend more face-to-face time. If your older kids tell you that they’re doing that through the internet, let them know that that’s great, but not the same. Like Wall-E showed us, if you can’t hold the other person’s hand (connect with them person to person) it’s just not the same level of relationship.

If your kids are very young and they don’t like being moved out from in front of their screened instruments, try drawing them away with some planned relational time with you. Young children learn the value of interpersonal relationships by experiencing the joy of hanging out with their parents and receiving their attention.

This movie is a keeper and would make a great Christmas present.

The soundtrack is also amazing and a recommended purchase for great family music. Here’s what Wikipedia says about the soundtrack.

“WALL-E is the soundtrack to the film of the same name, mainly composed by Thomas Newman and released on June 24, 2008. Orchestration is credited to Carl Johnson, JAC Redford, Thomas Pasatieri, and Gary K. Thomas. Newman previously scored Finding Nemo; almost all other Pixar films have been scored by Newman’s cousin Randy. The soundtrack features excerpts from “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” and “It Only Takes a Moment” (both sung by Michael Crawford) from the Hello, Dolly! soundtrack, and “La Vie en Rose” by Louis Armstrong, as well as an original composition, “Down to Earth” by Peter Gabriel. Also featured are the classical pieces “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and “The Blue Danube”, famous by their appearance on the soundtrack of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Neither Etta James’s cover of the song, At Last, nor Aquarela do Brasil which were used in the theatrical trailers appeared on the final cut of the film or the soundtrack.”

God is trustworthy and faithful

When our children turn to God as their Father and begin to rely on his working in and with them, and in their lives, they need to know that he’s trustworthy and faithful.

It’s impossible to trust someone when you know nothing of his or her character, concern for you, or ability to deliver. To trust someone means that you know, without even having to think about it, that because of his or her character and love for you, that person will always act with your best interests in mind. You know that the person in question is trustworthy. It also means having the confidence that the person you trust is not only able to do what you’re trusting him or her to do but will do it – because that person is faithful. Read more

Kung Fu Panda

SYNOPSIS: When threatened by a evil Master Kung Fu snow leopard, the jungle animals call upon an inept panda to become their Dragon Warrior and save the Valley of Peace.

GENRES: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Kids/Family and Animation

TIME: 1 hr. 35 minutes

RATED: PG for sequences of martial arts action

 

 

OUR THOUGHTS ON THIS MOVIE

(Recommended Age Group: 4+ years)

Okay, we got sucked in by the Kung Fu vortex. This movie is a lot of fun. We don’t recommend it for very small children (3 and under) because of all of the fighting. The fight scenes are a nice combination of serious fighting and cartoon fighting where no one seems to actually get hurt, however they are still quite intense.

One of the Tweeples on our Twitter feed said that he thought that the movie was Star Wars (the force) meets the Matrix, meets cartoon animals. Which brings up a great discussion topic for your family.

The core of this movie’s message is as follows:

• Everyone has a destiny or purpose
• Don’t try and be someone else, or follow someone else’s idea about your purpose
• Your purpose can be discovered through your dreams and desires
• You have what you need to realize your purpose
• You must believe all of this and believe in yourself
• You should apply yourself to the training and/or education that will prepare you
• You should listen to people who want to help you and ignore those who try and demean or discourage you
• You should always remember that character is more important than achievement

Sounds good! However, in typical Hollywood fashion, the person of God and the idea of his involvement in our creation, purpose and lives is completely missing. Without the concept of a personal, loving and involved God, most of these lessons don’t even make sense. How can each person in the world have a special destiny that reveals itself in their hearts and in their circumstances unless God is orchestrating all of that? This is a good discussion question for your older kids. Ask the question and get them thinking.

Here’s the same list anchored in what the Bible teaches:

• God has given everyone a destiny and purpose for life, for God’s Kingdom and for eternity
• Don’t try and be someone else, or follow someone else’s idea about your purpose. Talk to God daily about his purpose for you and follow him. There’s no need to envy because God didn’t make anyone better than anyone else just different.
• Your purpose can be discovered through your dreams and desires because God gifted you and equipped you for what he destined you to be. (In other words if God intended for you to be a musician, then when he made you he would have given you the appropriate gifts, personality type, desires etc to match.)
• God gave you what you need to realize your purpose and as you submit to him and follow him daily he will guide you there step by step.
• You must believe all of this and believe that God made you well, loves you and will guide you
• You should apply yourself to the training and/or education that will prepare you. Education and training are God’s ideas and he wants us to diligently apply ourselves to furthering the raw talents he’s given us trusting him to help us learn and grow
• You should listen to godly people who want to help you and ignore those who try and demean or discourage you
• You should always remember that godly character and knowing and following Christ is more important than achievement and things

Grab anyone of or several of these ideas (depending on your children’s age and attention span and start talking. Discussions or devotions of this type can be much more effective when you have something like a movie to bounce your discussion off of.

Here are a couple verses to help your family discussion on these topics:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. (Psalm 139:13 – 18)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5 – 8)

Enjoy your Movie Devotions!

Speed Racer

SYNOPSIS: Story of Speed Racer, who’s Mach 5 vehicle can jump, go under water and clear trees. When he’s not racing, he’s battling villians with his girlfriend Trixie, kid brother Spritle and pet monkey Chim-Chim.

GENRES: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation

TIME: 2 hr. 15 minutes

RATED: PG for sequences of action, some violence, language and brief smoking.

 

 

OUR THOUGHTS ON THIS MOVIE

(Recommended Age Group: 10+ years)

We watched the movie ‘Speed Racer’ thinking it was a kids movie. We are very glad to announce that there were no young children present when this movie was reviewed. It is NOT a movie for kids under 10 years of age. If you watch it with your tweens, we suggest that you make mental notes as you watch and talk with them about it afterwards.

We don’t recommend this movie for children for many little things. Remember, we as Christian parents need to look beyond the surface method of using amounts of violence, nudity, scary stuff and swearing to measure its suitability. Speed Racer contains many little scenes and comments that promote non Biblical ideals and taken together they add up to trouble. For example the youngest boy in the movie is constantly doing what he wants to do without regard to what he’s told. The writer’s portrait this behavior as normal and cute and make the dad look bad for expecting him to actually obey.

We’d normally go further and provide you with ‘What The Bible Says About That’ discussion topics for you to use with your children but since we’re recommending you pass on this one for the kids we’re going to take this another direction.

We actually will recommend this movie to you, parents and young people who will one day become parents. Why? Well first of all, for those of us who are old enough to enjoy a movie while ignoring Hollywood’s lack of Biblical morality and Christian world view, it contains a parenting lesson that we’d like to push a little further.

In the movie the dad, played by John Goodman, has three sons all born about eight years apart. When his oldest son is basically an adult, he makes a decision about his life that dad really opposes. When dad realizes that he is no longer in control and that the son is set on this particular course, dad makes a classic mistake in a last ditch effort to turn things around. He basically says, “If you walk out that door, don’t ever come back.” Ouch!

We won’t tell you what happens (no spoilers here) but the results of dad’s ultimatum are disastrous and he does learn his lesson (in a well scripted way) before the end of the movie.

When our children are young they need discipline, direction, training and consistent boundaries that are all (for the sake of our children) loving but authoritative. When our children become teenagers, our role as parents must change. We need to gradually stop being authoritative and progressively (as they prove responsible) hand our children the control of their own lives. If we do it right, by the time they are ready to leave home, we should be in a supportive and advisory role only.

We may claim that we would never give our child such an ultimatum, but if we seek to control them as oppose to guide them, when they get to an age where they need us to help them make their own decisions, the result is the same. We will push them away from us.

The Bible teaches that children must “leave their parents” and become responsible adults in their own right. We must let go. The best way to accomplish this is to do it very gradually helping our children to mature and take over small bits of responsibility at a time. The process should start when they’re tweens and hopefully be complete before they leave home.

Continuing to use an authoritative parenting method on teenagers will always result in head butting and possibly, in the end, a parting of ways.

Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Once we are God’s children, our Heavenly Father commits to walk with us and help us grow up no matter what. God will never give us an ultimatum that makes us reject him. Love never gives up on someone. So even if we find ourselves at odds with or even extremely against something our older teens or young adults are choosing, shutting them out and attempting to use our affections as a method of controlling them will not work and is not right.

We need to follow God’s loving example and never withhold our love and support. We may need to gently make it clear that we don’t agree and explain why but then move on to let them know that we love them and will always be there for them no matter what.

Enjoy the movie and watch what happens to dear old dad in the end. If you’ve seen the movie then post a comment, if not come back and do it after you’ve seen it.

If you watch this with your tweens and teens spend some time talking about the above parenting lesson. It may be a great opportunity for both you and them to talk about the gradual shift of responsibility and authority. Your kids will always feel like they don’t have enough autonomy. Help them understand that no one gets more authority and freedom just because they want it but because they show themselves mature and responsible enough to handle it.

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