The Gift of Love

Furthermore, because human love can be ambiguous, we do not know whether it is safe to give and accept love. It is a risk both to love and to accept love, and all of us, to some degree, are afraid to take the risk. Some people, to be sure, have more courage for it than others. They love more courageously, and are more courageous in their acceptance of others’ love. These people seem to have a power of being that others lack.

The giving and receiving of love implies responsibility for one another, and we may withhold our love and reject the love of others as a way of evading the responsibility of love. We are willing to love up to the point where it begins to be inconvenient to love any more. We like the image of ourselves as loved and loving people, but we would like the benefit without the responsibilities of the role. When the response to our love presents us with demands, we may begin to hold people off. We may say: “Yes, to be sure, I love you, but keep your distance. I am willing to give of myself, but not too much. I need to keep something of me for myself.” By this attitude we are admitting that when we love another we have to give ourselves to him, entrust ourselves to him. Commitment to another person is a courageous act, and it is no wonder that we sometimes recoil from it.

What has been said about giving love is equally true of accepting love, for the acceptance of love also calls for trust and commitment. If I really respond to your love, I will open myself to the possibility of being hurt because your love cannot be completely trusted. Furthermore, if you should really love me, I am not worthy of your love and I do not welcome the judgment of me that is implicit in your love. I shall, therefore, make a cautious response to you and give myself to you guardedly. Then the person who is giving love is made lonely because his gift is not accepted. He, too, begins to withdraw and to dole out his love, which in turn increases the anxiety of the one to whom it is being given. This is an aspect of human fellowship which we need to recognize before we talk much about Christian fellowship. Human fellowship is both heroic and tragic; it is both renewing and destructive; it is both healing and hurtful, but it is indispensable to life. This is our human predicament.

Something is needed to cut into the ambiguity of human love. And this is what Christ does. He draws the confused currents of human love into the unifying stream of divine love, thus making possible a new relationship. As the apostle Paul makes clear, we become new creatures in Christ, and as such, a part of a new creation.

Let us love our children with complete abandon - as though there is no tomorrow. Perhaps we will plant the seeds of healthy love in their lives so that someday they will share their love with others!

Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day

School's Out! Happy Summer Fun!

School is Out! Or soon will be! Kids all across this great land of ours are singing songs of joy with the passing of another school year! Time for some good, clean Summer fun. Playing baseball and soccer. Swimming at the local pool or lake. Running around the beach. Riding bikes and jumping rope. The possibilities are nearly endless.

Having fun this Summer is the perfect way for our children to enjoy a variety of healthy habits! Encourage your children to spend less time in front of the TV or video game and more time enjoying the great outdoors! Maybe if we lead by example they will learn to enjoy the countless gifts nature has to offer! Waves lapping up on the shore. The beautiful melodies from the birds in the trees.

Maybe we can take advantage of the Summer break to help our children develop some well balanced healthy habits. Spending some time at play. And some time reading or writing or creating things. Did you ever make a fort or a submarine out of an empty box? Or draw pictures on the sidewalk for hours on end?

Encourage your children to explore new things - and applaud their wonderful creations! Share a cool glass of lemonade or enjoy a big slice of watermelon.

Air up those bicycle tires and make sure their little headgear still fits properly! Enjoy a nice healthy family adventure on bikes or on foot! Toss some apples and grapes in your back pack and set out for one of your favorite places or even destinations unknown!

These last few days of May are just a wonderful time to spend outdoors. Swimming lessons will start soon at local pools everywhere. Or maybe its not too late to get your little one(s) signed up for a soccer team or baseball. The friendships they develop playing sports can last a lifetime. Hopefully a long and healthy lifetime!

Encourage your child to have fun this Summer! Show them the joys of having healthy fun outdoors! Lead them along the path to better health and fitness. Try these ten tips for better fitness.

Here's wishing you and your children a Happy Summer filled with a whole bunch of outdoor fun and adventure!

A Thought for our Teachers

Almighty God, Thy Word is cast Like seed into the ground; Now let the dew of heaven descend And righteous fruits abound. Amen.

Dear Father in heaven, who in Thy goodness hast given us teachers that they may instruct and train us in all useful knowledge, we pray Thee, bless them with strength and patience so to guide our feeble footsteps that, being warned, nurtured, comforted, and strengthened, we may do all things well-pleasing to Thee and profitable to us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

As Summer fast approaches, Here is hoping that every Teacher will enjoy these last few days with the class of 2009. May all your memories be pleasant and bring smiles to your faces for years to come.

Healthy Habits for our Children

Watching the children as they ran merrily through the park I was surprised to see several of the children seemed kind of chubby. Some rather alarming statistics are emerging about the growing numbers of children who miss out on exercise and a healthy lifestyle. Small wonder. Television and video games take so much time out of many a child's day. One study found that one-quarter of U.S. children spend 4 hours or more watching television daily. Too many children just don't get outside and play very much.

The health benefits of moderate and vigorous physical activity are not limited to adults. Physical activity among children and adolescents is important because of the related health benefits (cardiorespiratory function, blood pressure control, and weight management) and because a physically active lifestyle adopted early in life may continue into adulthood. Even among children aged 3 to 4 years, those who were less active tended to remain less active after age 3 years than most of their peers.

A recent study over in Europe found that school aged children who did just 15 minutes of cardio or aerobic exercise during the school day were less likely to gain too much weight. Bottom line - they were not as likely to get fat!

How simple a habit? Don't we owe it to our children to teach them a healthy lifestyle. Perhaps if we lead by example we can more readily gain their buy-in. We all win when our children get a little exercise each day. If we do it with them - its even more of a win win situation!

Make it fun. Encourage them to have fun!

Aerobic exercises help you and your children increase your cardiorespiratory fitness.

Here's a few examples of activities that you can do with your little ones to help you improve your cardiorespiratory fitness:

• Bicycling
• Swimming
• Skating (Rollerblading)
• Running/Jogging/Walking/Hiking
• Soccer
• Full-court Basketball
• Tennis or Badminton

Allow your child to try a variety of sports or outdoor activities in order to find some he or she likes. Look for programs hosted by a local parks and recreation department. Free or inexpensive Summer camps offer children lesson in basketball and other fun games or activities.

The health benefits of physical fitness are both physical and mental, lowering your risk for many diseases, while helping to increase longevity and improve your self-esteem and ability to manage stress. You'll be more productive and safe at work, and school.

If your family is like ours - and TV time too often exceeds a couple hours of the day - now is the perfect time to start some new healthy habits. Get outside this Summer and start getting in shape fast!

Leading by Example

Who is there that has not experienced at some time in his life those teachings so soft and gentle, yet so forcible, which make the heart thrill, and reveal to it suddenly a world of peace, joy, and devotion?

It may have been but a word read in a book, or a sentence overheard in conversation, which may have had for us a two-fold meaning, and, in passing, left us touched with an unknown power.

It was the smile on the lips of a beloved one whom we knew to be sorrowful, that spoke to us of the sweet joy of resignation.

It was the open look of an innocent child that revealed to us all the beauty of frankness and simplicity.

Oh! if we had but treasured all the rays of light that cross our path and sparkle but for a moment; oh! if we had but engraved them on our hearts! what a guide and comfort they would have been to us in the days of discouragement and sorrow; what counsels to guide our actions, what consolations to soothe the broken heart!

How many new means of doing good!

From First John..

Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?

My Little children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue; but in deed and truth.

Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him:

because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God;

and whatsoever we ask we receive of him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing in his sight.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment.

And he that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he gave us. 1 John 3:16-24

The Purpose Driven® Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? )

Time to Evaluate

Now is a great time to evaluate your children’s school year. Did they meet the goals you hoped for? If not, don’t panic – there’s plenty of time to prepare for the coming school year. Your job is to provide coaching, encouragement, and some discipline.

Schoolwork can easily seem like meaningless drudgery when it’s not connected to real-world outcomes. What does your child most enjoy? Try to tune in to your child’s emotional triggers and find areas of interest that you can use to make learning more enjoyable.

This term’s grades are a done deal. Overcome discouraging grades and get on with developing better study habits over the Summer. Set a few short-term goals that your child can easily reach. Like reading one book each week. Offer rewards for each goal and up the ante if they exceed their goals!

Demonstrate the usefulness of schoolwork by showing how skills learned in school apply to your child’s hobbies or career interests, and help your child to recognize opportunity within adversity.

Build good work habits by scheduling study time in brief, 10 or 20 minute blocks. Staying on top of daily or weekly goals will help your child avoid stress. Encourage them to read or learn about things they are interested in. It won’t seem like schoolwork if they’re learning about stuff they like! Make sure your child has a designated work area away from any distractions like video games, the television, and cell phones.

Work with your child’s teachers and see what areas need improvement. If materials have a way of getting lost, spend an evening creating an efficient and organized place to study. The way to better grades comes much easier with an organized approach!

Help them develop a lifelong love for reading. Let your child see you reading. If they are still young enough – read with them as frequently as you can. You’ll both cherish the time together! Lead by example – your actions speak far more effectively than any words. Learning to read will benefit them for a lifetime!

Step in if your child is spending too much time playing video games or hanging out on Facebook. Encourage balance. Make it easy for them to develop and strengthen their growing bodies! Take them outside and play with them! Your Child's health plays a big role in their success in school and life!

Lead By Example

Some famous writer once noted that children learn more from our actions than our words. Leading a healthy life - full of healthy habits will give our children a foundation for lifelong good health.

If we encourage our children to embrace the same healthy habits they see us choosing then perhaps they will lead much healthier lives! Simple habits - eating healthy foods and getting plenty of exercise - if learned early, will develop into natural parts of their hopefully long lives! Nurture your child's brain with healthy foods and plenty of play time. Let them see you having fun playing sports and getting plenty of vigorous exercise.

Keeping mentally fit isn’t that different from staying in good physical shape. In fact the two go hand in hand. Your mental health can be inextricably tied to your fitness level. In the end – it’s really just about lifestyle. If you exercise regularly, you’re already on the right track! Medical research experts suggest that up to a quarter of the blood pumping through your body is delivering performance enhancing oxygen to your brain as you exercise.

Food choices are vital to your brain’s overall health. Start by cutting the unhealthy fats from your diet. The brain actually benefits from healthy omega-3 fats. Cholesterol buildup can reduce the oxygen supply to your brain by almost 20 percent over time. Load up on foods rich in antioxidants, such as strawberries or red beans, to nurture brain cell health.

Add cold-water, wild caught fish like salmon to your diet. Eating fish helps reduce inflammation, increase memory, and help your brain send and receive messages efficiently. Eat lots of leafy green vegetables like spinach. Spinach is rich in folate which is known to enhance your brain’s processing power! Spinach even provides a little calcium too!

Another way many people stay sharp is to try new things. Learn a new language. Try a crossword puzzle or even Sudoku. Give your brain a workout with new and different mental challenges. Entertain the little ones with fun games they can learn from. Word games and math games.

And play outside as often as you can. Teach them to love nature and have fun in the great outdoors! Kids who play outdoors and get plenty of exercise tend to have healthier self esteem. What better lesson might we share than teaching our children to have fun?

If you are a smoker, quitting smoking will be the best step you can take to improve not only your health but theirs as well.

Give your children the greatest gift any parent could possible teach - show them how to lead a healthy life!

Lessons for Success

A group of researchers years ago polled a hundred or so CEOs asking what qualities or pursuits might better a child's chance for success. A common trend in their answers was honesty. Honesty is learned easier when taught in a loving way. Honesty comes naturally in a loving environment.

Isn't everything better with love? Children first experience the love of God through their experience of their parents’ love, and that parents in loving their children are loving God, since we love God by loving one another. Love simply has to be the greatest gift any parent can share.

“Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.” —
1 John 3:18

and from First Peter -

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?

1 Peter 3: 8-13

A kind word, a gentle act, a modest demeanor, a loving smile, are as so many seeds that we can scatter every moment of our lives, and which will always spring up and bear fruit.

Become a Better You: 7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day

Friends

From an old French Book:

"There must be moderation in all things, even in the love we share with our friends, the care we take to shield a friend from trouble.

This recipe for friendship consists of but four simple rules, very clear, very precise. Behold them:—

1. Always leave my friend something more to desire of me. If he asks me to go and see him three times, I go but twice. He will look forward to my coming a third time, and when I go, receive me the more cordially.

It is so sweet to feel we are needed, and so hard to be thought importunate.

2. Be useful to my friend as far as he permits, and no farther.

An over-anxious affection becomes tiresome, and a multiplicity of beautiful sentiments makes them almost insupportable.

Devotion to a friend does not consist in doing everything for him, but simply that which is agreeable and of service to him, and let it only be revealed to him by accident.

We all love freedom, and cling tenaciously to our little fancies; we do not like others to arrange what we have purposely left in disorder; we even resent their over-anxiety and care for us.

3. Be much occupied with my own affairs, and little, very little, with those of my friend.

This infallibly leads to a favorable result. To begin with, in occupying myself with my own affairs, I shall the more speedily accomplish them, while my friend is doing the same.

If he appeals to me for help, I will go through fire and water to serve him, but if not, then I do both myself and him the greater service by abstaining. If, however, I can serve him without his knowledge of it, and I can see his need, then I must be always ready to do it.

4. Leave my friend always at liberty to think and act for himself in matters of little importance. Why compel him to think and act with me? Am I the type of all that is beautiful and right? Is it not absurd to think that because another acts and thinks differently to myself, he must needs be wrong? No doubt I may not always say, "You are right," but I can at any rate let him think it.

Try this recipe of mine, and I can answer for it your friendship will be lasting."

The Greatest Gift

Of all the lessons we teach our children, our most beloved youth - perhaps love is the greatest! Whoever coined that infamous phrase - "Love makes the World go round" - was surely onto one of life's greatest secrets. Love of one's self. And that fine art of sharing your love with others. Is there any lesson more worthy of unending reminder?

Found this excerpt in an old volume of French devotions:

The young are seldom forbearing, because they so little understand the frailties of poor human nature.

Oh! if you could only witness the terrible struggles passing in the heart of that friend whose vivacity annoys you, whose fickleness provokes you, whose faults sometimes even make you blush....

Oh! if you saw the tears that are shed in secret, the vexation felt against self (perhaps on your account), you would indeed pity them. Love them! make allowances for them! never let them feel that you know their failings.

To make any one believe himself good, is to help him almost in spite of self to become so.

To a young child - love is often spelled "T I M E". Maybe if we somehow make time for our children and listen to them, and smile with them. Maybe if we comfort them when they are sad and encourage them when the need an uplifting thought. Maybe if we share our love with them, just maybe they will share this love with yet another.

What a wonderful world we live in. Here's hoping your and your little loved ones will experience the greatest gift ever passed down to us!

"But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.

I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. "
Psalm 71: 14-18