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Hello Friends,
Though not terribly hot, July still felt like the tropics. Scattered showers are almost a daily occurrence, keeping the foliage thick, the grass green, and my motorcycle in the garage.
Learning Biblical Principles Through Chores
Mr. Steve has done a bang-up job—not just in teaching our kids different trades and sustainable development practices—but, in other practical life skills that showcase and reinforce biblical principles in the process. Kids really feel good about themselves when they accomplish things. These skills and chores build character and confidence too. That’s why chores are a must for any able-bodied kid. Here’s a report straight from Mr. Steve: “We have been learning about the benefits of rotational grazing for our sheep and dairy goats. It is a method used to be able to move grazing animals around a large pasture, while keeping them contained.We use mobile electric net fencing. With all of the students’ help we pull the fence posts up, gather the fence (as we try to prevent tangles), position it in a new area on the property, and then enjoy watching the animals eat the fresh “salad”. It has brought new meaning to us from the verse “He makes me lay down in green pastures”, as we have noticed that the animals only lay down after they are fully satisfied. The fence is made up of long horizontal nylon strands with thin metal wire woven into it. The vertical strands are a type of soft plastic. Every 10′ there is a metal post (encased in plastic) with a prong at the bottom that we press into the ground with our feet. The fence gets energized with a solar powered low voltage power source. Because of years of use, our old fence was becoming more and more difficult to move, because it was broken in so many places. We tried one last time, and had to use a full bag of zip ties to hold it together enough to be effective. So, it was time for a new fence. A couple of students helped me unbox the new fence, unroll it, and set it up for a trial run. It was very easy for us to see what the fence is supposed to look like because it was brand new. It also helped us to notice where the weak links are by analyzing the new and comparing it to the old. We decided to never pull on the vertical soft plastic parts when gathering it up, because that is where all the breaks happened on the old fence. It helped us understand the way that it should look, and gave all of us a desire to keep it looking that way. To know Jesus Christ (John 17) is the best way to see our Creator’s original and intentional design for us as Children of God. It helps us identify our own brokenness. That’s when we agree to lay aside the old, and move forward in newness of life—His good life living in us. For He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
Summer Graduation
Beth and I over-booked ourselves when we scheduled a visit with some old friends in Abingdon, Virginia, where they have a wonderful ministry working with kids in the public school system. They also have a music ministry—playing in church and other public venues. Anyway, our time with these saints coincided with SHA’s Summer Graduation service, where 8 students would depart SHA back into a world that desperately needs what they now have. As usual, powerful testimonies, soggy eyes, and emotional “good byes” abounded. And, as usual, there always seems to be an electronic glitch that gets fixed only minutes before “show time”. Allison and Joshua, who always do a great job of facilitating these events, reported that all went very well after the glitch was fixed. This was the first SHA graduation service that Beth and I have missed in our 23-year history.
Available
Over the past year, a cascade of endless misfortunes have gotten in the way of my doing the very things that everyone around here has been urging me to do for so many years now. I’m referring to things I have always been doing before succession took place—just a whole lot more of it—things like speaking in churches; sharing parenting insights on different media platforms; finishing parenting books and devotionals I have in the hopper; and, resurrecting License to Parent to the masses, yet in a more economical podcast form. But, that cascade has crippled what would otherwise be an exciting shift in responsibilities for me. So, as I continue to seek out and wait on God to help me build and/or re-build my role from scratch, the only thing I’m immediately tooled-up to do is to share what I know about raising godly kids in today’s systemically-sick culture with anyone willing to listen—but, particularly in churches and in other live face-to-face venues. Resources, for the all rest just aren’t there right now. Working on unfinished books may be the other option; but, there’s still the issue of getting them edited, published, and distributed. So, the most expedient option is sharing our message in different venues—even at home-group gatherings. I’m available anywhere/anytime. It’s all about His Kingdom. Just give me a ring here at SHA.
DINKS
About half of American adults now say they’ll likely never have kids. They’re called DINKs. —an acronym for Duel Income/No Kids. This is a tragedy, not only for these individuals, but for our future society. It’s indicative of a narcissism and short-term thinking spawned by ingesting way too many lies via our digitally-induced dependance and/or addiction to pleasure and entertainment. Largely a worldview, perception, and, therefore, a priority problem, it’s also one that nearly all kids at SHA come to realize, and then conquer, over time. And, they’re often more willing to tackle these “demons” than even their parents are. It’s key to their healing. Yet, two other things heavily play into all this as well. First, people just don’t enjoy kids as they once did—largely due to the undisciplined nature of today’s kids. It seems too many parents now view love and discipline as being mutually exclusive— the devil’s lie, and a premise that undermines God’s ecosystem and old fashion common sense. Consequently, parents are now producing kids they don’t like. And, nobody else does either! Today’s kids have been turned into little self-absorbed idols by those still having them; so, kids rule the roost. But, garden-variety spoiled brats—whether in diapers or in college—make lousy roost rulers. Secondly, too many couples aren’t willing to risk the liabilities of bringing kids into a world where evil and/or insanity abounds and prevails. (Psalm 12:8). Young couples are thinking, “So, I have to endure, and then pay for, the antics of an anarchist in diapers that I loathe being around, knowing he/she will likely gravitate to the warped appetites and practices of all the other little culturally-induced terrorists of cyber-space—and all while I feel hog-tied to do anything about it? No thanks!” It’s hard to blame them. I want parents to know that things don’t have to be this way in their homes. That’s why I’m offering your church or civic group just a taste of what’s bringing SHA kids, and their families, back to their senses and healed. Sure, we all know it’s God and His Word. But, what’s still fuzzy to most Christians—as I’ve observed—are all the everyday ideas and things that we’ve accepted, believed, used, consumed, depended on, and been indoctrinated with—things that, because Scripture doesn’t directly speak to them, we’ve always considered innocuous in our relationship with God. But, the devil is far trickier than that.
As we’ve often said on our License to Parent broadcast, “We don’t give parents answers to the questions they’re asking (your pastor is likely very sufficient for that) as much as we give them answers to the questions they aren’t asking, but darn-sure ought to be!”. It’s hard to find solutions to problems we don’t know we have. Satan is a master at majoring in minors, smoke and mirrors, false premises, semantics, and the full-blown redefinition of terms. And, he’s fooled most of us with all of it. As godly parents, we are ordained to be God’s vessels as the architects of our children’s future by governing our homes in ways that manufacture “little Christs”—kids who will also become even greater architects of our nation’s future, and not just our DNA trophies, household idols, or ultimate pets. It’s our duty to raise our kids in ways that makes other people want to have kids too. Remember, with the gift of a child, comes the responsibility of shaping a future adult. Amen! Call me.