family

We have enjoyed the past two weeks with family. Tim and Suzie, along with our grandchildren Sage, Eden and "Zeke", were here last week and the week before that, Jeff, Jeanette and our grandson, JJ, spent ten days with us.

Camilla ("Milla) and Owen (above) are our grandchildren via TJ and Jennifer, my daughter. TJ and Jen celebrate an anniversary this week and I thanked TJ in a note for his gift to our family--a great husband to Jen, and a "donor" of two wonderful grandchildren to us!

In just a few weeks I will begin sharing a series at Grace entitled, "Scriptural Foundations for a Strong Family". As childrens and teens head back to school in August and September, I am reminded of the enormous responsibility we have as parents and grandparents. Proverbs 4:23 is the verse that grabs my attention, "Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." We may subconsiciously focus on behaviors in attempting to mold and shape our children's lives, but the emphasis must be on the "heart", an inclusive reference in the Bible to the intellect, emotions and will. All of life flows from these.

There is much speculation about who ought to do the molding and shaping--schools, churches, parents (think of it...) --and even the suggestion that children should be able to "free-form" their own lives with little or no adult "interference".

"Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it", writes Solomon (Proverbs 22:6). I am thankful for my family--for godly parents and scriptural values that have been forever passed on to me as their legacy. Godly grandparents were a meaningful part of that process as well.

It is true my parents were not perfect and I probably inherited some of their unique qualities. But they saw their responsibility to prepare me for life, and, thankfully, did it well. I wandered away from those principles for awhile, but today I find myself comfortable and content with the values they taught and modeled for me. They are timeless, for they are built upon the foundation of God's Word.

As I look at my grandchildren's pictures scattered throughout the house and in my office, I pray for them; in fact, Beverly and I daily pray for our children and grandchildren by name. Our prayer is that our family will know the life that is described in God's Word as "abundant life" (John 10:10). We enjoy it today because of grandparents and parents who pointed the way for us.