Blessing Your Children

By Dr Bill Maier

Looking for some creative ways to make your kids feel special? Here are some ideas to consider.

Every year on your child’s birthday, write a letter telling them how much they mean to you.

Mention specific ways that they bring joy and laughter into the world. Write about their gifts and talents, and how you believe that they have a bright future.

Then keep all the letters in an album and present it to them on their 13th birthday.

How about keeping a journal for each child? Write down those funny or bright things they say each day. Make sure you include long passages explaining how much you love them. Then pass the journal on to them when they leave for university or move out of the house.

These are just two great ways to bless your children. And you’ll be giving them memories that they’ll treasure forever.


From TODAY, Voices - Monday, 26-July-2010
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That's okay, Jake

By Dr James Dobson

One of our volunteers at Focus on the Family US tells us about what he saw at a dog show.

As part of the competition, about a dozen dogs were commanded to “Stay!” for eight minutes while their owners left the ring.

About four minutes into the exercise, our volunteer noticed the dog on the end, a magnificent German Shepherd named Jake. By the time his trainer returned, Jake was lying flat on its stomach with its head on its paws. Everyone expected the trainer to scold the dog but, instead, he bent down, cupped its head in his hands and said with a smile: “That’s okay, Jake. We’ll do better next time.”

There’s a lesson here for parents, too. Children are going to disappoint us. It’s an inevitable part of child-rearing. And when they do, our natural reaction is to bark at them and scold them. If we are wise, however, we’ll remember that they’re only children, just like we used to be, and simply say with warmth: “That’s okay. You’ll do better next time.”


From TODAY, Voices - Friday, 23-July-2010
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A battleship vs a lighthouse

Image via Wikipedia

By Dr James Dobson

A lookout on a battleship reported light in the distance, so the captain had the signalman send a message, “We’re on a collision course. Advise you change your course 20 degrees.”

Minutes later a signal came back, “Advisable for you to change your course.” The captain angrily ordered that another signal be sent, “I’m a captain. Change course 20 degrees.”

Again came the reply, “I’m a seaman, second class. You’d better change your course.”

Furious by this point, the captain barked a final threat, “I’m a battleship! Change your course!” The signal came back, “I’m a lighthouse.” The captain changed his course.

It is foolhardy to ignore the beacons that warn us of danger. They come in various forms: Symptoms of health problems, prolonged marital conflict, rebellious children, excessive debt, stress, etc. These are the warning signs of approaching danger.


From TODAY, Voices - Thursday, 22-July-2010
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Home Schooling

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By Dr James Dobson

When our children were young, my wife and I were just intent on seeing that they got a good education. But we only had two real options to choose from in those days — public schools or private schools.

Today, there’s a third alternative, and it’s more than a little intriguing to me. The fastest-growing educational movement in the world today is the “Home Schools” phenomenon. More than 1.5 million American parents and multiple millions more in other countries have opted to teach their children at home.

Most do it for just two or three years, but for some, as long as 12. The movement is now old enough to allow for comparisons, but the results, in most cases, have been remarkable. Universities are now enrolling their first big wave of home-schooled children, some of whom are the brightest and most well-adjusted students on campus.

And standardised tests are verifying the efficiency of home-style learning. Some critics have worried about how home-schooled kids will become socialised, but here again, the apprehension appears groundless.

Admittedly, home schooling is not for everyone, but for those who are willing to pay the price, this third option is an idea whose time has come.


From TODAY, Voices - Wednesday, 21-July-2010
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Servant Management

By Dr James Dobson

We’ve heard a lot about the excesses of executive salaries and perks. But there are some firms that put employees first and the results are very favourable to the bottom line.

Jack Eckerd, CEO of Eckerd Drug Stores, gives this advice to executives: Throw away the keys to the executive washroom. Let everyone eat in the same cafeteria and spend half your time with workers. This form of management has the unlikely name of Servant Leadership.

Remember what happens to an army out in the field. When it comes time to eat in the mess tent, the officers wait until the troops have been fed first. That’s servant leadership. Ken Westner, retired chairman of Service Master Corporation, built his multi-million dollar corporation on this very concept. Before he would assign anyone a job, he learned it himself. He went through training for every position in his company down to running a vacuum cleaner. He cared about his employees and looked out for their best interest.

When an executive puts his employees first, they do better work and are more loyal to the company. As a result, they are better able to give priority to the customer. The company grows, the profits multiply and everyone benefits. That’s what happens when leaders become servants to the people in their charge.


From TODAY, Voices - Tuesday, 20-July-2010
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The Pressure to Conform

By Dr James Dobson

It has always been interesting for me to observe the “herd” instinct in teenagers around the world. There’s just a remarkable sameness to their culture today, no matter where you go. In Australia, Russia, Latin America, and the United States, adolescents tend to dress in similar ways and hold common attitudes.

And why not? They’re watching the same movies and television shows and listening to the same music. The next generation is just being homogenised by this electronic revolution and sometimes the “urge to merge” becomes humorous.

Perhaps you have read the story of a teen choir performing in Miami. In the middle of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, one young woman in the front row passed out. Well, that planted the idea of fainting in 32 other impressionable heads. Minutes later, a boy buckled and disappeared from the back row. And then a girl in the middle took a dive. By the end of the song, 20 kids lay flat on the ground.

Conformity is one of the most powerful forces in the life of a teenager, and today, that impulse recognises very few cultural or geographic boundaries.




From TODAY, Voices - Monday, 19-July-2010
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Have not been posting lately

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I've been tied up with things at home at in the office, that I have not been posting articles lately.

I hope to catch up, and post even the past articles that I think are still relevant.

For, as King Solomon said, "there is nothing new under the sun..."

I've noticed that as well. Things change, and while they do, majority simply are cosmetic changes, not the essence.

Till then!
Au revoir!