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Good Parenting Series

    Bringing up children The godly vision for Our Children " Then she made a vow and said," O lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me, and not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child ,then I will give him to the lord all the days of his life," 1 Samuel 1:11.

    A mother who has a godly vision for a child is a mother who can fulfill God’s mission in this world. Children are all the beautiful gifts from God and God’s love is re-emphasized through our children. We as parents are the potters to mould them and make them into beautiful instruments for God’s purpose. Even before the child was born Hannah had a vision for her son it was a godly vision, that her son would be dedicated for God all the days of his life. We all have a vision for our children but only if that vision fulfills God’s purpose our Christian life would become more meaningful. How do we train our children to be useful for God and man?

    God has a vision for all children he wants them to grow to know him and to Love him. He plans about the future and he leads the children in the path as a shepherd leads his sheep. God has bestowed all children with wisdom, intelligence , beauty and love moldings them into useful person is in the hands of the parents.

    Mothers have to first thankful to God for the beautiful gift he has given. The parents should unceasingly pray to God for the children and see that they spend time in prayer, Bible reading, and worship. We give all the material comfort to our children for their physical growth we should also see that are our children growing spiritually? do they have a personal relation ,a personal time with God.

    The home is the first school of the child where the children see the parents should become good examples of "Love",'' Forgiveness, Sacrifice, Sharing, Caring, Humility and Kindness. All these good virtues will make the children good human beings. All the Christian values -Family Prayer, worship God’s word will make them spiritual beings. When the child has good human values and spiritual values they turn out to be useful instruments for God’s purpose. Our home is the only place where we can train our children to live a righteous life. Every child should be thought that "the greatest purpose and joy of life is not being served but to serve and live for others.

    " Do we have a vision for our children as Hannah had? If yes then we are fulfilling our Christian duties. If no then we have to rededicate our lives and try to make our homes a better place so that all our children will live with a godly mission in this earthly life and be useful to others.    

- Elizabeth Anil

THE WORLD CELEBRATES

Fathers Day

Fathers Day’s origin starts from the ancient Roman Festival Parentalia, which was a time of remembrance, commemorating departed parents and kinsfolk. This annual festival was also a family reunion when relatives feasted together. Father’s days most influential promoter was, Mrs. John Bruce Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Her own Father, William Jackson Smart, had accomplished the amazing task of raising six children after his wife died at an early age. The sacrifices of her father on their eastern Washington farm called to her mind the unsung feats of fathers everywhere. With the support of her minister she proposed the idea of Fathers Day on the 3rd Sunday of June. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson co- operated in a Father’s Day Celebration by pressing a button in his Washington office which unfurled a flag in Spokane. President Calvin Coolidge wrote “ the widespread observance of Father’s day is calculated to establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children, and also to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.” In 1972 the day was finally established when President Richard Nixon signed a resolution putting Father’s Day on the same continuing basis as Mother’s Day. Giving gifts and greetings for fathers, grand fathers, uncles, brothers, sons other relatives and friends are widely sent. Father’s Day has become another happy occasion for family dinners and gatherings. In 1936, the National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York and the committee has been selecting a Father of the year “based on outstanding achievement.” The award has gone to Dr. Ralph Bunche, General Douglas Mac Arthur, and Presidents Eisenhower and Truman, among others. Observing the day included wearing a red rose to indicate a living father and a white rose for a dead one. People in Pennsylvania in 1924 adorned themselves with dandelions by saying “the more it is trampled on the more it grows”

    The journey of Fatherhood provides unique and lasting joys. Cradling a baby in his arms, a father experiences the miracle of life and an unbreakable bond. Fathers imagine a world of possibilities awaiting their children and contemplate the privilege of helping them reach that expanse of opportunity. As kids grow and mature, they look to their Dad for a special kind of love, support and guidance. By providing these necessities can bring great happiness. Fathers help teaching right from wrong and instill in their kids the values that sustain them for a lifetime. As they encounter new and challenging experiences, children get the guidance and counsel to help them through difficult times, help them make right choices by serving as strong role models. Honest and hardworking Fathers are an irreplaceable influence upon their children.

    In the Bible at two places we see how a father son relation is compared with the Lord himself. Psalms 103:13 says “Like as a Father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him” Again in Malachi 3:17 we read “ I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him”

-Annie Varughese