May 2010 Archives

Here is something we are excited about. Over the years we have encountered folks who are eager to tell about how the principles in Shepherding a Child's Heart have made a positive difference in their lives. Now, you have an opportunity to tell others about how Shepherd Press products have helped you as you shepherd your family towards Christ. Just click on this link to upload your own video testimonial to a special viewing platform on YouTube. We will take a look at your submission and if it is one that we decide to use we will send you a coupon for 50% off your next purchase from Shepherd Press. You won't need an expensive camera or production software. Just use your own video camera or the webcam build into your computer. We want to hear your story as you tell it. The video should be three minutes or less. Once your video is done just follow this link to submit your video. You can also see a sample video here  to give you some ideas of what to say.

Once you have submitted your video, please contact us at info@shepherdpress.com to notify us of your contact information. Please subject your email as "Testimonial Video Submission"

I was in the waiting room of a doctor's office this week and the lead story of a magazine caught my attention. The article was entitled Living My Truth. It was written by a popular entertainer and expressed a view of truth that is gaining increasing acceptance in our culture. The idea of a personal truth that can be tailored to fit individual beliefs and experiences is closely connected to the "new spirituality" that has become a popular modern day religion. The concept of living my truth is well suited to justify a broad range of morality and lifestyles. On the surface this mantra appears to be offensive to no one and welcoming of all. This theme is seductive. I can live the way that I wish and still be guided by truth, even if it is only my truth.

The following is an excerpt from the first chapter of my book, Everyday Talk. This post will provide the background for tomorrow's post. Please take some time and look over the principles outlined in the text below.  Our God is indeed a great and awesome God. The way you talk about God and how he runs his world has a huge impact on your family.

Talk is a given. Everyone talks. It's a basic function of life. In order to teach your kids you must talk to them. But there are all sorts of talk. For example, formal discussion (usually a monolog, in reality) occurs when you sit your children down and explain some matter that you think is really important. Then there is talk that gives directions, such as, "Take out the garbage," or "Be quiet," or "Come here." However, Deuteronomy 6 speaks about a specific type of talk that God wants you to have with your children--everyday talk.

A recent study at Yale University has determined that babies, even from birth, know right from wrong.  While this is not a new idea to Bible-believing Christians, it may be unsettling news to those who have accepted the traditional developmental views regarding children. As the author of this study, Dr. Paul Bloom, indicates this marks a radical departure from previous thinking by leading psychologists.  Dr. Bloom notes that such prominent figures from Freud, to Jean Piaget, to Lawrence Kohlberg have long argued that we begin life as amoral animals. Dr. Bloom writes about his findings in a recent New York Times Magazine article called the Moral Life of Babies.  In this article he goes so far as to say that "some sense of good and evil seems to be bred in the bone." Dr. Bloom's studies are significant for at least two  reasons:

God's loving plan brought me and my wife to enter into the covenant of marriage. God's loving plan resulted in five wonderful children from this marriage. God's loving plan was that all seven of us would come to know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  God's loving plan was to provide each of us with opportunities to serve and honor him.  So far, so good.  Everything that has happened to our family can easily be attributed to God's loving care. There have been ups and downs but we have been blessed by God's faithfulness and by God's faithfulness to act according to his word.

Instructing a Child's Heart carries a strong message that parents must be aware of the majority culture and the influence this culture has upon the family. The apostle Paul has a similar concern in 1 Corinthians 15. In the last post we looked at the impact of the culture's focus on parties. This topic may seem too early to address in the lives of children, especially young ones.  After all, your children are in kindergarten or elementary school, not college, where they would be tempted by the "party scene."

It is good to be back with you. As some of you may have surmised, our life as a family has been centered around the surgery and immediate post-op recovery for my wife's brain tumor. The next phase of treatment is about to begin. I have been eager to get back to the blog.  Our family also appreciates the prayers of God's people for my wife, Ruth. I will provide some updates as appropriate. We have been encouraged by the grace and care of our loving heavenly Father. He has caused us to be more in love with him and more grateful for Christ than we have ever been. This has been a blessing to us. And in these last few weeks we have been challenged to see where the real hope lies. Thus, as I finish this series on the hope of the resurrection, I trust that you can see how relevant this hope in the gospel has become to our family.  As my wife has said - God certainly does have our attention.  Hope in the resurrection of Christ has become more precious than I ever thought possible. So, with that thought in mind...