Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Food for Thought for Today



Fathers' Day was just celebrated a few days ago. It reminded me of the article, I wrote in 1968 for our weekly Christian Family Movement (CFM) newsletter. I found these quotes timeless and are still applicable today.

Marriage is an institution, but who wants to live in an institution.

The trouble with most average American is that they expect their children to be above average.

The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.

A mother of 13 children was asked "how in the world can you have time for 13 children" she replied, "when I had only one child, it took all my time, what more can 13 do?

A Chicago psychologist lists these rules for parents to insure their child happiness
Avoid favoritism, do not compare one child to another
Don't be too dominating; don't impose your own ambitions or hobbies
Don't be upset at what your neighbor's children accomplish
Don't remind yourself constantly that you worked harder or had fewer privileges.

An excerpt from Sam Levenson's book "Everything But Money"

The fear of depriving our children has produced the most "gifted" generation of children in our history. We shower them with gifts to prove our love, with the inevitable result that the gift of love has degenerated into a love of gifts.

Are we offering things as parent substitutes? Are we offering presents instead of our presence? Are we giving things because we are reluctant to give time or self or heart?

Some Food for Thought, Indeed!

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