” Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18, ESV)
Will the next generation of children be characterized as undisciplined, selfish, unloving people as they grow into adults? There are many parents out there who have grasped hold of today’s popular methods of parenting which promote themselves as progressive intelligence, and evolutions in parenting. Some of these parents are only a short ways into their parenting journey and are already seeing the warning signs. Instead of a child growing in wisdom and good character qualities, they grow in foolishness and selfishness. The child is quickly learning how to manipulate their parents and become the rulers of their family. The parents are dumbfounded as to how they arrived in such a place, and as a result, they do not enjoy their children as they aught, and some, perhaps openly or secretly, begin to hate having children.
Jenn and I consider the Bible to be divine wisdom, the Words of God, perfect for teaching parents (2 Tim 3:16-17) to deal properly with their children. Consider the qualities of God: good qualities, perfect in every way (Ps 18:30). So it is natural to expect that His instruction for parents is going to be perfect in every way. Now consider the qualities of the average psychologist; they have a finite understanding of the subject and their authority on the subject is not tried and tested—it is common to discover that their methods were completely wrong and disastrous. So, who’s advice would you rather follow? The answer is obvious, trust God, not man. God instructs parents to take discipline seriously (Prov 29:15, Prov 22:15, Prov 23:13-14, Prov 13:24), and it is for the good of the child; but again, the important question is, who’s advice do you have your faith in: God or man?
The results of parenting gone bad seems to have made it’s way into cartoons and books. Parents are depicted as frazzled and with little control over the children; the children rule the household. Daniel Zalewski wrote an article in the New Yorker titled, “The Defiant Ones”, where he makes very astute observations of this very thing. Albert Mohler further discusses it in an article on his blog.
Parents would do well to buck the cultural trends in parenting; trends that tout themselves as evolutionary, advanced, and modern. Rather, parents should embrace methods that go deeper into our spiritual being; methods that are godly, holy, and divine; methods whos source is not from the mind of man, but from the mind of God.
Yes, we finally purchased our first T.V. at the Lombardi household. Our previous television was a hand-me-down from my parents. It was a Mitsubishi 28inch tube television from the 80’s—-that’s over 20 years of use! Occasionally it would show strange colors and then minutes later return to normal. It was about time that T.V. was retired.
Our new T.V. is actually used; a 5-year old Sony tube television. I know what you are thinking—-a tube television! Why would I go out and buy another tube television?! Well, firstly, it was cheap; and secondly, it is one of the best and last tube televisions every made by Sony—-34 inches of HDTV capable of high resolution 1080i with an HDMI input. I found it for $300 through Craigslist from a man who originally paid $2,200; and perhaps we’ll get a good 15 years of use out of it!
The color is incredibly rich and vibrant and unlike LCD’s the viewing angle is a true 180 degrees; you can sit on any side of the room and see the screen clearly without any image wash. The darks are pitch black and the brights seem to be bursting out of the screen; a video of ships on the dark sea, with the stern light seeming to explode with light on the screen—-truly incredible. Come on over and watch some old technology with us!
Since the kids were so well behaved at the torturous motor vehicle show, we treated them to some time at the Children’s Discovery Museum. We now have a family pass that allows us to bring guests, so call my wife if you are interested in a play-date at the Discovery Museum. It is nice to be able to drop-in at the Discovery Museum without having to drop $40 for entrance fees. We can simply stop-in for an hour or two and leave; I think it’s a good deal if you have young kids.
They like this good ol’ fashion firetruck much better than any of the high-tech vehicles at the motor vehicle show; they can climb and touch it to their heart’s content.
The Children’s Discovery Museum features different exhibits; this is the circles exhibit with a circular boat. They provide the hats and scarves and oars so the kids can pretend.
This pretend pizzeria is the last place for most people. Usually you’ll find exhausted adults littering the sides of the room while the kids busily work at creating and serving pizzas. Matthew took a liking to serving this young boy. It’s fun to see them immerse themselves in this pretend-work atmosphere. Some of the kids are very professionally taking orders, preparing food, and serving as if they are are actually working. Click here to see all the photos in the gallery.
We visited the BAE Diveresified Motor Vehicle show back in June. It was a very interesting hodgepodge of vehicles. We had thought the kids would love seeing all the interesting vehicles, but they were acting like it was torture and boring, so we brought them to the Discovery Museum later.
The above vehicle is the replacement for the hummer and it certainly looks like it will provide better protection compared to the hummer.
You think I can submit this photo to the auto magazines? The housewife pushing a stroller in front of the exotic car is bound to sell subscriptions. Click here to see all the photos in the gallery
