Tuesday, January 17, 2006

I had a good time yesterday. It started with me spending much of the day with my daughter, shopping, talking and laughing. As someone who breaks out in sweat at the thought of going to the mall, it's fun to go with her because she is so happy being there - looking at clothes, talking about what would go with what and pointing out some of the strange things other people wear. Yesterday, we noticed a younger lady wearing an AC/DC t-shirt. A band from 20 years ago and people still want their t-shirts. It's amazing.

On the ride down to Ft. Worth, we got to spend some time talking about our relationship with God. I never know if anything I'm saying is really getting through and I'm always looking for some spark, some connection to know what I'm saying is making sense. I certainly think she understands what I'm trying to convey and maybe she thinks I'm a little crazy for worrying about her ever ending up in the wrong crowd. Yet it can happen so easily.

I hope some of the things I said yesterday will help her. I hope some of those things will make her want to draw closer to God. I hope she will cherish and fuel that relationship much more than I did in my early years. I'm astounded at what kids are allowed to do today. I listen to a good friend who has high school age children talk about the numbers of his kids friends who use birth control, who drink regularly, who do many things they should not be doing and they do it with their parents consent. I believe that is what scares me the most. It makes me think I need to be more concerned with the parents of my daughters classmates more than the kids themselves.

Pray for our kids. Pray that they will seek God and desire to know Him. Pray that parents will discern what is good and right and healthy for their children and that they will do the things to reinforce the good and abstain from what is bad. We need God-loving and God-fearing families who will raise their children to know what is right and what is good. We cannot allow Satan to make any of us think that tolerance of evil is good.

I'm thankful my kids have a family that is full of Christians who want to live the way God wants us to. I'm thankful my kids have a church family that is there to support them, to help them, to encourage them in the right paths. I pray both of these families will beat back the devil's attempts to get into their lives. I pray God will continue to strengthen both our spiritual and physical families as we raise our children to walk in the light.

1 comment:

Rick Ross said...

Days like you described make for such good memories -- both for dad and for daughter.

Being on this side of the "raising kids" thing, I assure you that the time you invest today will be SO rewarding.

I love you kids, and will pray for them.