Dads, if your kids like relatively healthy and fairly inexpensive food for snacks, let them eat as much as they want.
Dads, take every opportunity to point out to your kids how smart their mom is.
Dads, if you ever make a statement that you are not absolutely certain about, let your kids know this. This will make you more trustable and show them that there is no shame in not being certain.
Okay, I know what you’re thinking: A poem. Oy.
Do me a favor and read it. Like just try the first fifteen lines or something.
(and yes, I’ve added this to my Family and Vacation Spot Poetry Post)
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Where to Picnic in Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Okay, say you’re on your way to Montana
It’s been a long drive
And you want to stretch your legs
And you’ve got a little extra time
And you’ve got your picnic food
And they’ve let you through the gate
It didn’t cost much because your Mom got the Senior Special discount entrance.
Good for the rest of her life
Good for your whole family
Because everyone else gets in free!
So now you’re in.
Here’s my advice:
Eschew The Designated Picnic Area
Eschew it, I say!
It’s a little half open/half wooded spot by the river.
You’re not in this park to see a little half open/half wooded spot by the river.
No.
Drive deeper in.
At the Fork, take a right.
Going on the south side of the loop.
Keep an eye out for Prairie Dogs and Buffalo
Do you have a map?
Do you see where it says “Ridgeline Trail?”
Go there.
It’s a wide spot in the road. Park There.
Okay, here’s the hard part.
Once you have your food in hand,
Head up the trail.
It is quite steep
But only for three minutes.
And at the top is a bench.
It’s a pretty good place for a picnic.
Better than most.
But don’t stop there.
No.
The Ridgeline trail heads south and a little west.
Don’t follow it.
Yet.
Head to the left of the trail.
Make your way to the edge of the “Ridge”
It’s just sixty seconds, I promise.
And there, lay your picnic blanket
Watch out for cacti.
And you may want to keep young children in hand.
It might be a bit of a tumble if they stepped too far.
In that spot,
You will have a vista that allows miles of vision.
Look.
Wonder.
Praise God.
And that high distant spot off to the right that the trail heads to?
It isn’t that distant.
And not that high.
Take the trail.
Ten minutes tops and you’re there.
You will experience wonder again.
Wonder you would have missed if you’d stayed at the bench.
Or the designated picnic spot.
Sometime the difference between pretty good and amazing is just one minute’s walk.
I am grateful for the fact that my parents spanked my siblings and me as I was growing up. The interesting thing is that while I’m aware that I was spanked as a child, I don’t really remember any specific times.
Except one.
It is one of my earliest memories. It happened at church, when I was maybe four or five.
There was a boy at our church who was perhaps a year or two younger than us. As a five year old, I was aware that the adults found him cute. This really bothered me. I was jealous of him. I didn’t think anyone deserved to get this much attention – well, no one besides me. So I didn’t like him.
One Sunday morning, as our family was getting ready to leave, I saw that he was walking by me. I can clearly remember the location (for those who know Calvary Church – the drinking fountain near the northeast corner). There weren’t many others around, so I did what any sinful selfish five year old would do. I stuck out my foot and tripped him. He fell. It hurt.
And then I looked up and saw my Dad down the hallway. He had seen me do it.
If ever a child deserved a spanking, at that moment I did. And I got one. I don’t remember the pain. I remember the humiliation. Because my Dad spanked me at church.
But my humiliation was not only due the public nature of my punishment. It was because I saw my sin. I saw what my sin made me want to do. I think I began to see the foolishness of being jealous when another person was being honored. I saw the pride that was in my heart.
I’d like to say that this spanking cured me of being bothered if all praise didn’t come to me. I’d like to, but I can’t.
I can say, at the very least, that the spanking began to teach me what was happening in my soul and the evil that was there. And that it needed a cure. I wouldn’t be surprised when I get to heaven, to find out that my Dad’s choices that day played a big role in my eventual salvation.
Dads: Help your child see what’s in their hearts.
You know that uncomfortable feeling you get (at a social gathering) when a couple starts arguing with each other?
Dads, consider this: Is it possible that your kids feel like this every time you snip at your wife?
Or do you assume that they are thinking, “I love that my parents are showing me healthy ways to disagree with another person.”?
We went to Yellowstone a few weeks back.
Neither Debbie or I have seen real mountains since our oldest was less than a year old, so we were looking forward to this aspect of our trip. From the moment we drove over the hill in Billings and I pointed into the distance and said “I think those are mountains,” Debbie continuously remarked at how much awe they inspired in her.
It was a great experience to stay at nice a log cabin in the Valley heading into Yellowstone from the North and as we headed over passes and looked out over the expanses, we reveled in the hugeness of what God has created.
So on our way out, we were going to take the advice of two people who knew about the Yellowstone area and leave through the Beartooth pass. But when we got there it was . . . closed. So we went south through Cody, and it wasn’t until we were a few minutes east of Cody that I noticed that I could no longer see the mountains.
I mentioned this to Debbie and she grieved as she realized that she didn’t get a last look at the Rocky Mountains. I felt sad for her.
Now while were weren’t going to let this ruin our vacation, it still was a dark moment.
Until I looked ahead on the map. Hmmm. What are the “Big Horn Mountains”?
Are they significant?
It turns out, they are!
We had a pleasant time as we drove through the TenSleep Pass and as it turned out, we got 1000 feet higher than we had been so far.
Debbie was satisfied. I thank God for how it worked out.
I thought you all might be interested in a post I wrote over at our Fighter Verse Songs blog. Go read it!
If you don’t like the primary message of yesterday’s post, how about this secondary takeaway?:
Unless your child has been diagnosed with something, complaining about their behavior gives those who disagree with your parenting style ammunition against that style.
This is just one more reason not to complain about your kids.
I’ve just considered one of the parenting proverbs in a new light.
Proverbs 13:24 says:
Whoever spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
I’ve always read this to mean something like “If you don’t discipline your child, you are acting in a way that is unloving towards your child”.
But . . .
Do you ever hear parents complaining about their children? You hear them talking about how the child is snotty, or not controllable, or has a mind of her own, or always disrespectful*. And then you watch them and see that the parent doesn’t believe in using negative consequences.
This past month, I’ve been hearing (you probably have been, too) about a new book called “Go The <naughty word**> To Sleep”. The back cover describes it as ‘Profane, affectionate and radically honest’. Now I can imagine that this is a very funny book. But one reason it has struck a nerve is parents don’t like their children (at least with respect to this subject). And many times kids get this way because they aren’t punished.
So I wonder if you could (and even should) read ‘Whoever spares the rod hates his son’ in this way: If you don’t discipline your child, you may grow to dislike him.
Read this way – it’s a warning. I think we should read it as a warning.
* I am aware that there are unruly children who are are well disciplined. I am also aware that a proverb is not a promise.
** Yes, the Queen Mother of swear words.
Responsible Father 