Like play-doh - By Carl Johnson

Hey there Blogeroonies,

Good friend Carl Johnson is back at the keyboard tonight.  Please enjoy his post about what he is most passionate about.  Until tomorrow,

Christina



Parents, if you want to give the greatest gift to your children, give them this: Teach them honor. Honor in a family has 3 parts.

First, treat people as special. It is so easy to treat our family members as less special than our friends. We find it easy to violate the dignity that we would afford others. It's easy, because our family is stuck with us. But it's important to reach beyond that, to treat each other better than outsiders.

Second, do more than is expected. As parents, take a moment to write a note to your child once in a while. Teach your children to look beyond the tasks you give them to do. Teach them to look for something extra to do every day. This habit will follow them, and they will find favor with anyone they deal with. Imagine the spouse your child will become with only this one habit.

Finally, have a good attitude. Today I taught the children that attitude is like play doh. You can shape it any way you want. Attitude is your automatic reactions to situations. When you want that candy in the store and Mom says no, do you accept your disappointment, or do you badger or throw a tantrum?

In the end, this is how I packaged it for the kids in my class: Would you rather live in a house with happy parents or angry parents? Would you rather live with happy siblings or frustrated siblings?

We recommend discussing this with your children frequently, but not in the midst of conflict. Discuss it over dinner, or in the car. Make this investment when things are going well, and potential conflict may be avoided.

Carrying honor with them will help them in their future, with teachers, employers, and with their own families. And they will expect to be treated with honor, which will help them choose friends that treat them well.

The Bible only gives two commands to children, honor and obey. The better they learn these as children, the easier the rest of the commands will be for them to live by. Make this investment.