Freedom Fighters

Teaching The ABC’s to Your Children

03/21/201603/20/2016Leave a comment

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. ~Proverbs 22:6

Now that we are the second half of life’s journey, we now get to invest in the lives of our grand kids. Some of you are there. Some of you are in the child-rearing stage of life.

Here is a very helpful list of how we can teach the ABC’s to our kids and grand kids from Christian counselor, Glenda Hotton:

Always be on time.

Be a model of honesty.

Care about their hurts.

Do acts of kindness.

Every day give plenty of hugs and kisses.

Forget past offenses.

Give occasional “token gifts” of love.

Have a happy disposition – “a merry heart.”

Invest quality time.

Jump for joy when they bring home good grades.

Keep looking for the good and positive.

Listen to their cares and woes and excitement.

Make adjustments for physical pain.

Never criticize in front of their peers.

Only say word that edify.

Put on the heart of patience.

Quietly discipline in private.

Recognize each child is creatively, uniquely different and specially gifted.

Spend time reading to them and listening to them read.

Take care of yourself.

Understand the age-appropriate behavior of each child.

Voicing – teaching them to share facts, thoughts, ideas, dreams, opinions, intuition.

Welcome their friends.

X-ray to the need of the heart.

Yesterday doesn’t have to dictate today.

Zoom in on good behavior.

Did you notice that this list is what WE need to do for them? Not what they need to do for us. It’s a long list – but well worth your consideration and mine. Think about it!

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 80; Proverbs 20

Click Here to Download our 2016 Daily Bible Reading Plan

Daily Quote: A man ought to live so that everybody knows he is a Christian… and most of all, his family ought to know. ~Dwight L. Moody

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;

The future of the wicked shall be cut off. ~Psalm 37:38 (NKJV)

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Where Are All The Statesmen?

03/14/201603/13/20161 Comment

Good morning on this new week of Freedom Fighter’s. We don’t take it lightly that you make the choice to dial in to read our blogs each day. Thank you for partnering with us on this journey.

I am really looking forward to November 9th. I am not sure how much more I can take of the debates and all of the craziness that is happening this year with the presidential election.

This Freedom Fighter is not one that is going to attack either party as far as their political agenda, nor is it intended to endorse a candidate.

My disappointment and dismay is really on the use of the candidate’s words. Political rhetoric is one thing – I get that. But we have a bunch of men and one woman who spend more time using their words to insult, tear down, name call and now even use words that are unfit for the President of the United States of America.

Interesting that you don’t hear sound bites from other world leaders talking about their genitals on national television. We have become the laughing stock of the world in so many ways, but the garbage coming from the mouths of these potential presidential leaders has reached a new low.

I have talked about the use of our words many times in my blogs. I constantly battle this in my own life. Stuff flows off my tongue so easy and then I quickly regret what I have said, often times in jest, wishing that I could suck back those words – only to realize that it is too late.

Hurtful names stick. They can stick for a lifetime. They can change the course of someone’s life. And as believers, we need to remember, and remember often that our words make an impact on the hearers.

Words reveal what is going on in our hearts. In fact, Charles Swindol says that our words are the dictionaries of our hearts.

Sad to say, but in some circles, our use of words has filtered down to the pulpit. I know I am getting old when I cringe when Pastors use words from the pulpit that sound like the verbiage from TV. Maybe I am old-fashioned, but is the word “crap” and “suck” appropriate from the pulpit in order to be relevant?

The Bible has much to say about our words. It makes it very clear that our words need to be different than the worlds. Jesus was forceful in the use of his words – He definitely used descriptive terms to call out the Pharisees and Sadducees. But then I am sure there are some that have Jesus drinking at parties that would try and tell us He probably used bad words too in order to reach the crowd.

My prayer will continue to be, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 74; Proverbs 14

Click Here to Download our 2016 Daily Bible Reading Plan

Daily Quote: If we can keep ourselves pure within, we will be pure in our speech and in our actions as well. ~Chris Tiegreen

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ~Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

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Affirm Your Children – Learn From My Mistakes

03/07/201603/06/20161 Comment

Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master. Ephesians 6:4 (The Message)

I have learned so much from watching my grown kid’s parent. I realize how many terrible mistakes I made when my first four kids were growing up.

One of the most important lessons I have learned is that it is really important to affirm your kids. But let me explain.

My Dad loved me dearly and I knew he loved me. But one of the things he didn’t do was affirm my brother and me. He did affirm us to everyone else. He told everyone how proud he was of our accomplishments, and how thrilled he was that we were following the Lord. He just rarely or hardly ever told us.

When Zach came along, our surprise fourth-late-in-life child, I did a terrible job in always pointing out all the things he was doing wrong. He didn’t do this right – he didn’t do that right. Our relationship was really moving in the wrong direction.

Finally my wife had the boldness to tell me that I needed to make a change or I was going to lose him. I really believe that was the turning point in our relationship. I began to point out all the things he was doing right, making sure that I told him when he did something special, thanking him for the things he was doing that were good vs. nagging about all the stuff he was not doing or not doing right. I can’t say I am there 100%, but I am moving in the right direction.

I have several friends in ministry who are doing an amazing job. Their Dad’s brag on them to me all the time, but these men have never told their son’s that they are doing a great job. I have challenged these men to make sure that they take the time to affirm their sons to them – not just to everyone else.

Elisa Hoffman and Carol Kuykendall in their book, “What Every Child Needs,” challenge us to do the following in affirming our kids:

1. Praise selectively. Affirm the positive often.

2. Praise immediately. Praise them when you catch them doing it right.

3. Praise specifically.

4. Praise intentionally.

My guess is that you are probably saying to yourself, I get it. Most of my Dad’s generation parented like he did. And I am almost certain they were doing exactly what their Dad’s modeled for them.

So here’s the deal – whether you are in the middle of the parenting years, just getting started – or maybe your kids are grown. It’s not too late to start affirming your kids.

They might think you have some kind of terminal illness and that’s why you are doing it after all these years. But in the end, you will be giving one of the greatest gifts you could ever give your children. This one important task will be passed on to the next generation and could change the whole course of history.

Think about it.

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 67; Proverbs 7

Click Here to Download our 2016 Daily Bible Reading Plan

Daily Quote: The sooner you treat your son as a man, the sooner he will be one. ~John Dryden (1631-1700) British poet, dramatist and critic.

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:

“In returning and rest you shall be saved;

In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

But you would not, ~ Isaiah 30:15 (NKJV)

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