Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
3. A six-year-old came home from school one day with a note from his teacher in which it was
suggested that he be taken out of school as he was "too stupid to learn". His name: Thomas Alva Edison.
4. If you have a boy who just can't learn in your class, don't despair. He may be a late bloomer. It
has now come out that Dr. Wernher von Braun, the missile & satellite expert, flunked math & physics in his
early teens.
6. Children are natural mimics. They act like their parents in spite of all our attempts to teach them
good manners.
7. Little girls are one of the nicest things that happen to people. They are born with a little bit of
angel-shine about them; & though it wears thin sometimes, there is always enough left to lasso your heart,
even when they're sitting in the mud, or crying temperamental tears, or parading the street in mother's best
clothes.
8. Socrates said, "Could I climb to the highest place in Athens, I would lift my voice & proclaim--
fellow-citizens, why do ye turn & scrape every stone to gather wealth, & take so little care of your chill, to
whom one day you most relinquish it all?"
9. Dr. James Dobson, a child development specialist, says that children are sometimes permanently
harmed by people's attitudes towards their looks. Even at age 3 or 4, children can tell if they are beautiful or
ugly. One of his patients was a 36-year-old man who told him: "I was 5 years old when I realized I was
ugly, & I've never been the same since."
Unhappily, most people treat children as they were beauty contest contestants, giving warmth &
praise to the good-looking & ridiculing or neglecting the fat, skinny, or whatever child. The result for the
latter is lifelong self-doubt & feelings of worthlessness. Nicknames like "Bucky Beaver", "Pee Wee" or
"Birdlegs" can cause harm for life. Instead of exalting beauty, brains or accomplishment, the specialist
urges adults to teach children to emphasize virtues such as diligence, patience & honesty.
"It's tough to buck the values of society as it is now." Dr. Dobson admitted, "but teaching a child
spiritual values is at least a good place to start."
10. Newspaper columnist Abigail Van Buren has composed a "Parent's Prayer" in which she
stresses the practical side of raising children. Says "Dear Abby":
"Oh, heavenly Father, make me a better parent. Teach me to understand my children, to listen
patiently to what they have to say, & to answer all their questions kindly. Keep me from interrupting them
or contradicting them. Make me as courteous to them as I would have them be to me. Forbid that I should
ever laugh at their mistakes, or resort to shame or ridicule when they displease me. May I never punish
them for my own selfish satisfaction or to show my power.
"Let me not tempt my child to lie or steal. And guide me hour by hour that I may demonstrate by
all I say & do that honesty produces happiness.
"Reduce, I pray, the meanness in me. And when I am out of sorts, help me, O Lord, to hold my
tongue.
"May I ever be mindful that my children are children & I should not expect of them the judgment
of adults.
"Let me not rob them of the opportunity to wait on themselves & to make decisions.
"Bless me with the bigness to grant them all their reasonable requests, & the courage to deny them
privileges I know will do them harm.
"Make me fair & just & kind. And fit me, Oh Lord, to be loved & respected & imitated by my
children. Amen."
11. A little girl can be sweeter (& badder) oftener than anyone else in the World. She can jitter
around, & stomp, & make funny noises that frazzle your nerves. Yet just when you are about to scold, she
stands there demure with that special look in her eyes.
12. A girls is innocence playing the the mud, beauty standing on its head, & motherhood dragging
a doll by the foot.
13. Juvenile delinquency is a situation that results when parents do not get to the seat of the
problem.
14. The Rev. Sam Harney, pastor of Grace Brethren Church of Toppenish, Washington, gave
mothers in his congregation large wooden paddles & warned them about sparing the rod & spoiling the
child. He warned, "The time is come to leave the Dr. Spock philosophy of child raising & return to the
Biblical principle of 'train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from
it."
15. A perfect example of minority rule is a baby in the house.
18. God borrows from many creatures to make a little girl. He uses the song of a bird, the squeal of
a pig, the stubbornness of a mule, the antics of a monkey, the spryness of a grasshopper, the curiosity of a
cat, the slyness of a fox, the softness of a kitten, & to top it all off, He adds the mysterious mind of a
woman.
20. People who say they sleep like a baby undoubtedly don't have one.
21. A rich man died & left no heirs. When his household goods were auctioned off, an elderly lady
dressed in shabby garments was the only one to bid on the picture of the dead man's son. It had been greatly
cherished by the wealthy father because his only child had died at an early age. But the crowd that had
gathered for the sale showed no interest in it. When the woman who bought the portrait was asked why she
wanted it, she said she had been the boy's nurse many years before, & had loved him dearly.
Later she examined the picture closely & noticed a bulge in the heavy paper on the back. Making a
small cut, she removed an envelope which turned out to be the man's missing will. The document very
clearly stated that he wanted to leave his property to the person who still held dear the memory of his
beloved son.
22. Discipline is what you inflict on one end of a child to impress the other.
23. Some parents being with giving in & end with giving up.
24. By the time some parents get around to putting a foot down, the child already has his on the
accelerator.
25. Applied child psychology was more effective when the applicator was a small strap.
27. Teacher to mother about her child: "Don't believe everything he tells you about me & I won't
believe everything he tells me about you."
28. A five-year-old girl in the Andean mountain area of South America was carrying her baby
brother on her back. A tourist asked her, "Isn't he heavy?" "No," she answered, "he's my brother."
29. When a child is old enough to know that he has sinned, that child is old enough to know that
he needs to be saved.
31. It is good to remember that Washington was one of ten children, John Wesley of twenty-one
children, Shakespeare one of eight, Sir Walter Scott one of eleven, Benjamin Franklin was the tenth, Lyman
Beecher, father of Harriet Beecher-Stowe, was one of thirteen & the most puny baby of them all. Tennyson
was one of twelve, & Catherine of Siena one of twenty-two.
33. If you don't firmly program your children's minds with truth, someone else will do so with
half-truth, untruth, & unimportant truth.
34. A judge who has been involved in a great many family cases said: "We adults spend far too
much time preparing the path for our youth & far too little time preparing our youth for the path."
35. At four they know all the questions; at fourteen they know all the answers.
36. I went to do some evaluation of a teacher of kindergarten kids--at the teacher's request. For the
fifty minutes I was there this teacher tried to lecture. Finally, the bell rang, & she cranked out the memory
verse. Afterwards she sighed, "Boy, I got over the lesson."
When she came to see me, I said to her, "Did it ever occur to you that you're really competing
against the Holy Spirit?"
"I certainly don't intend to do that."
"But did it ever occur to you that God made this child with an attention span of about four to five
minutes? And all the time you kept saying to the child, 'keep quiet,' 'sit still' & God kept saying, 'Wiggle.'
And what did he do? He listened to God every time."
About 85% of the discipline problems in school, in church, in home, come because we do not
understand the pupil with whom we are working.
37. Some years ago in the state of New York, there was a poor little outcast girl by the name of
Mag, just like any one of myriads in all the country round about. How much do you suppose it would have
taken to have saved her? How much money? How much human service? It was not expended. She sank
into vice.
Seventy years passed, & somebody who knew that Mag went bad tried to find out what had been
some of the results of her badness. They found she had had 1,200 descendants in the seventy years. They
found that, as far as known, 280 of these were paupers & 148 were criminals. They found positive proof
that her descendants, by their vices, had cost the State $1,308,000.
If she had been saved, with an expenditure of ten, twenty five or a hundred dollars, don't you think
it would have been good economy financially? Was there ever greater folly from a financial standpoint than
to let Mag go down?
38. With the young mother busy elsewhere in the house, the father had undertaken the task of
feeding little Becky in her highchair. The sloppy procedure went along about as expected, & after various
starts, half-starts & accidents, he finally called out to his wife, "Becky just finished the strained prunes, but
I think she wants some more. Should I give her a second coat?"
39. Perhaps parents would enjoy their children more if they stopped to realise that the film of
childhood can never be run through for a second showing.
40. In the early French revolution, the schoolboys of Bourges, from twelve to seventeen years of
age, formed themselves into a Band of Hope. They wore a uniform, & were taught to drill. On their
holidays, their flag was unfurled, displaying in shining letters the sentence, Tremblez, Tyrans, Nous
Grandirons! (Tremble, Tyrants, we shall grow up!) May we hear the shout of confidence & courage, uttered
by the young Christians of today, as they say, "Tremble, O enemy, we are growing up for God!"
42. If both horse & mare trot, the colt will not amble.
43. If we paid no more attention to our plants that we have to our chill, we would now be living in
a jungle of weeds.
45. Great ideas & fine principles do not live from generation to generation just because they are
good, nor because they have been carefully legislated. Ideals & principles continue from generation to
generation only when they are built into the hearts of children as they grow up. (Dr. George S. Benson)
46. While reviewing Jam.4:8, Joy, age 3, quoted, "Draw a line to God & he will draw a line to
you."
47. The best inheritance a parent can give to his children is a few minutes of his time each day.
48. All anybody expects of an adolescent is that he act like an adult & be satisfied to be treated like
a child.
49. People who handle other people's money are required to account for every cent. Are children
less valuable?
50. Jesus put a child in the midst; others put him in the basement.
52. One reason for juvenile delinquency is that many parents are raising their children by remote
control.
53. All television is educational television. The only question is, what is it teaching?
54. The kind of person your child is going to be, he is already becoming.
56. Mohammed Ali summed it up neatly during his Friday visit at Children's Hospital in
Newington, Conn., when he said, "What I like about the children is: Kids are exiles from Heaven. You can
see God in children because they haven't had a chance to come into evil. That's why the first thing they do
when they come onto Earth is cry."
57. Campbell Morgan, the famous preacher, says: "When but eight years old I preached to my little
sister & to her dolls arrayed in orderly form before me. My sermons were Bible stories which I had first
heard from my mother."
58. Childhood is like a mirror which reflects in later life the images presented to it.
61. Let every father & mother realise that when their child is three years of age, they have done
more than half they will ever do for its character.
62. Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for
these only gave them life, those the art of living well.
63. Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh & radiant possibility.
64. Many a boy is the kind of kid his mother tells him not to play with.
66. In vacation Bible school little four-year-old Mary insisted on placing her hand on the top of her
head while the group said the pledge to the American flag. When her teacher asked her why she did this she
replied:
"Well, that's where my heart is. Mother always puts her hand on the top of my head & says, 'Bless
your little heart, Mary.'"
67. The Sunday school teacher asked a little girl if she knew who Matthew was. The answer was
no. The teacher then asked if she knew who John was. Again the answer was "no". Finally the teacher
asked if she knew who Peter was.
She answered: "I think he was a rabbit."
68. Money can build a house, but it takes love to make it a home.
69. Six-year-old Bobby's report card showed excellent marks except in deportment.
"Bobby," said his mother, "the teacher has a note attached that says you were a little boisterous."
"Well," answered Bobby. "It would have been a bit hard to be girlsterous!"
70. Children need love, especially when they do not deserve it.
72. Our children need our presence more than our presents.
73. For parents to see a child grow up without Christ is a far greater dereliction of duty than for the
parents to have children who grow up without learning to read or write.
74. It is emphatically not a Christian duty to let a child "make up its own mind" without first
informing, guiding & encouraging him.
75. Godly parents do not inflict upon their children the cruelty of telling them that they should do
"just as they please".
76. Little Susan, four years old, returned from sunday School with her offering money.
"Why didn't you give your money in the offering today, dear?" her mother asked.
"Because our teacher told us that if we love Jesus He comes & lives in our hearts. And you told me
never to put money in my mouth. So I didn't know what to do. If I gave my money to Jesus I would have to
swallow it."
77. If you make children happy now, you will make them happy twenty years hence by the
memory of it.
80. It was the maid's day off & the lady of the house was doing her own marketing. On her way
home she happened to meet the maid who was wheeling a baby carriage which contained a smiling set of
twins. Stopping to pet the children she casually asked the maid, "And whose children are these?"
"Mine, ma'am."
"Yours, Sally, why I always thought you were an old maid."
"Well, ma'am, I is. But I ain't a fussy old maid."
81. Howard Maxwell of Los Angeles had a four-year-old daughter, Melinda, who had acquired a
fixation for "David & Goliath" & demanded that he read it to her night after night. Mr. Maxwell, pleased
with himself, tape-recorded the story. When Melinda next asked for it, he simply switched on the playback.
This worked for a couple of nights, but then one evening Melinda pushed the storybook at her father. "Now
honey," he said, "you know how to turn on the recorder."
"Yes," said Melinda, "but I can't sit on its lap."
84. In animated conversation, the adults of the family & their guests around the dinner table had
completely forgotten for the time being the presence of four-year-old Dorothy, who had been automatically
excluded. After a time she tentatively plucked at her mother's sleeve, & asked, "Remember me?"
87. Part of Aaron Burr's reputation for profligacy was due, not doubt, to that vanity respecting
women of which Davis himself speaks. He never refused to accept the parentage of a child.
"Why do you allow this woman to saddle you with her child when you know you are not the father
of it?", said a friend to him a few months before his death.
"Sir," he replied, "when a lady does me the honor to name me the father of her child I trust I shall
always be too gallant to show myself ungrateful for the favor."
91. The question mark & promise & wild possibility that exist in each newborn infant are a
reminder to us of that in ourselves which is godlike--godlike in reason, in apprehension, & in vision. It
hangs above the cradle like a rainbow. There are magic & mystery in that frail bundle of flesh. He has
genius in his tiny head. He can grow & he can learn. The beauty of the World is in his face; he sleeps with
the innocence of snow; he rages with the authority of Jove; & his brave little flower of a fist will grow to
hold the plow, drive the ships, heal the sick, sway the multitudes, & perhaps even point the way to a happy
new World.
94. Good manners require a great deal of time, as does wise treatment of children.
96. Children are a big fulltime job! To be a mother takes the strength of Samson, the wisdom of
Solomon, the patience of Job, the insight of Daniel, the administrative ability of David & also the fight of
David. It takes the faith of Abraham, who was the father of faith & the father of the faithful, & most of all it
takes the love of God!--Dad
97. One day in London, a group of children were feeling the cold & slipped inside a church to get
warm. To their surprise, a service soon began, & the vicar arose to read the lesson. "This man (Christ Jesus)
receiveth sinners & eateth with them."
After the service, a little girl about 8 years old went up to the vicar.
"Please, sir," she said, "I didn't know my name was in the Bible."
"And what is your name, little girl?" he asked.
"Edith, sir."
"No," he said, "Edith doesn't come in the Bible."
"Oh, yes sir," she replied, "you read this afternoon that this man Christ Jesus receiveth sinners &
EDITH with them."
I am the Child.
You hold in your hand my destiny.
You determine, largely, whether I shall succeed or fail.
Give me, I pray you, those things that make for happiness.
Train me, I beg you, that I may be a blessing to the World.
--Mamie Gene Cole
100. From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.--2 Timothy 3:15
101. Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.--Galatians
6:9
102. Provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture & admonition of the
Lord.--Ephesians 6:4
103. It's like that dear woman who had nine children whom we met when we only had one, & we
are marvelled how she could care for nine when one already took all of time, & the woman answered
simply: "That's just it--nine can't take any more!" You think you can't do any more than you're doing
already, but you can with the help of God!--Dad
104. If you had been in the german city of Hamburg at the time when the cherries were ripe, you
would have seen a wonderful sight. Every year at that time there has been a joyous procession of children
through the streets carrying branches of cherries laden with ripe fruit. This yearly parade has been held in
memory of a great victory over 500 years ago--& this victory was won by Hamburg's children.
It all began when news came to the city of a powerful enemy force moving towards it. The spies
who brought the news said that this approaching army was so overwhelming in strength that the citizens
would not have sufficient men to oppose it. "They are coming on fast--they will soon be here!" cried the
messengers. It seemed as if nothing could be done to prevent an appalling massacre.
Then one of the city magistrates had an inspiration. "Let us ask the children to help us," he
suggested. "What is the use of that?" grumbled the other burghers. But the man with the idea gathered all
the children together & enlisted their help.
Presently, all dressed in black, the entire population of the city's children streamed out from the
city gates. Away they went in a long procession moving towards the oncoming army. At last they came up
against the enemy sentries, who were astonished to see them & did not know what to do with them.
"You'd better come to the general, " they decided; & soon the army of children were face to face
with the fierce leader of their enemies.
"Why have you come?" he demanded sternly. And the children managed somehow to stammer out
their plea for mercy for themselves & their families. The general listened, stony-faced, but in spite of
himself his heart was touched, & suddenly he sprang to his feet.
"You have saved your parents' lives," he said. "None of you shall be killed."
Then the delighted children were give a great feast of cherries, for it was the time when they were
ripe; & soon they were on their way home to the city they had saved, waving cherry branches & shouting
their wonderful news. And that is why the children of Hamburg carry cherry branches in the streets in
memory of that great day when they won the victory.
106. How I remember when the children were little!P--It seems odd to think of them grown.
Those were hard days, in so many ways,
But some of the best that I've known!
When the children are grown & gone out on their own,
To the job that Christ calls them to;
You'll be thankful then, for the years you gave them,
And the wonderful joy they gave you!
--By Hart
107. Suffer little children to come unto me, & forbid them not: for of such is the Kingdom of
God...Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.--
Luke 18:16,17
108. Dr. Schweitzer, who was known as the Jungle Doctor, used to give music recitals in order to
raise money to pay for the hospital he built in the African jungle. Someone decided to include a story about
him in a book of hero stories, & asked if he would write a special message to go with it. This is what he
wrote:
"Tell the boys & girls that the truths they feel deep down in their hearts are the real truths. God's
love speaks to us in our hearts & tries to work through us in the World. We must listen to this voice. We
must listen to it as to a pure & distant melody that comes across the noise of the World's doing.s Some say,
'When we are grown up, we will listen. Now while we are young, we would rather think of other things.'
But with the voice of Love, with which God speaks to us in the secret places of the heart, God speaks to us
when we are young so that our youth may be really youth, & that we may become the children of God.
Happy are those who listen."
110. A story is told of a father who took his boy on his knee & told him the story of the lost sheep;
now it found a hole in the fence & crawled through; how glad it was to get away; hot it skipped & played in
the sunshine until it wandered so far that it could not find its way back home. And then he told him of the
wolf that chased the sheep, & how, finally the good shepherd came & rescued it & carried it back to the
fold.
The little boy was greatly interested & when the story was over, he surprised his father by asking,
"Did they nail up the hole in the fence?"
How often we overlook the "hole in the fence!"
115. Train up a child in the way he should go: & when he is old, he will not depart from it.--
Proverbs 22:6
117. I do not ask my son to follow in the footprints that I have made.
My faith in him points out his path in bolder steps which lead beyond the narrow borders of my
way.
Be his more gentle where my feet too deeply trod, & where I faltered, may his step be firm.
A prouder glory parent never won than this
To give the world a good, a manly son.
--Robert H. Lord
118. Learning to guide this child of mine is like the training of a vine.
Numberless tendrils twist & curl wind tightly where I would unfurl & guide their growth.
Try not to force!--So easily the tendrils break & leave remorse.
119. Words of praise, indeed, are almost as necessary to warm a child into congenial life as acts of
kindness & affection. Judicious praise is to children what sun is to flowers.
120. One of the most fruitful moments in my life came when my old zoology professor, Dr.
Stephen Williams of Miami (Ohio) University, told me that he would give any student an A in his course
who asked one intelligent question.
Up to that time I had assumed that intelligence consisted of giving answers. Now I began to see
that the question is as much a part of knowledge as the answer--often the more important part.
Men had assumed from the beginning of time that a heavier object fell faster than a lighter one--
until Galileo said, "Does it?"
It has been 36 years since mold teacher startled me with his pronouncement. For 30 of those years
I have myself been a teacher. Most of the facts he taught me--most of the answers he gave me--have been
forgotten. But I have not forgotten the questioning student is more important than the answering teacher.
121. Somewhere I read of a rough boy who attended a Sunday School & made it tough for every
teacher he had. Finally, after a consultation with the teachers, the Superintendent led him to the door one
Sunday with this curt dismissal: "There's the street. Go, & never come back to this Sunday School!"
He never came back, but they heard from him again! He began a career of crime & bloodshed that
perhaps has never been equalled in modern times. Finally, before a theater entrance in Chicago one
evening, his body was riddled with bullets.
In one of the chicago papers a most unusual picture appeared--only the feet of the dead desperado
showed. The caption under the picture was brief: "These are the feet of John Dillinger!" The editorial
comment was heartsearching: "Who knows where these feet might have gone if someone had guided them
aright?"
122. A little boy & his daddy were looking at a litter of puppies, planning to buy one, & the daddy
asked the boy which one he wanted. The lad pointed to a pup whose tail was wagging furiously & said,
"That one with the happy ending."
123. England's great & good Queen Victoria was being honoured by a great celebration while
visiting a city. On a corner of one street a large stand was built where a great company of children was
assembled to sing for her. That night after all the excitement was over, the mayor received a telegram.
Perhaps he thought it was a compliment about the celebration. But the message was a simple one straight
from the motherly heart: "The Queen wants to know whether all the children got home safely."
The blow, the quick loud word, the tight bargain, the crafty lure, The family usages, the language,
the company, the furniture--the yearning & swelling heart.
The doubts of day-time & the doubts of night-time--the curious whether & how,
Whether that which appears is so, or is it all flashes & specks?
Men & women crowding fast in the streets--if they are not flashes & specks, what are they?
These became part of that child who went forth every day, & who now goes, & will always go
forth every day.
--Walt Whitman
127. After a lecture by the late Francis Wayland Parker, great Chicago educator, a woman asked:
"How early can I begin the education of my child?"
"When will your child be born?"
"Born" she gasped. "Why, he is already five years old!"
"My goodness, woman," he cried, "don't stand here talking to me--hurry home; already you have
lost the best five years."
128. I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians of England.--
John Wesley
129. Demoralize the youth of a nation & the revolution is already won.
130. When we are out of sympathy with the young, then I think our work in this World is over.
131. If you would train your children rightly, train them in the way they SHOULD go& not in the
way they WOULD.
"Though we can't buy things like most can, "We've priceless gifts, you understand!
133. All anybody expects of an adolescent is that he act like an adult & be satisfied to be treated
like a child.
134. It has been said that a college education is nothing but a four-year plan of confusing young
minds methodically.
135. With the World in such a confused state, no wonder babies cry when they come into it.
136. A boy who was so slow to learn to talk that his parents thought him abnormal & his teachers
called him a "misfit". His classmates avoided him & seldom invited him to play with them. He failed his
first college entrance exam at a college in Zurich, Switzerland. A year later he tried again. In time he
became world famous as a scientist. His name: Albert Einstein.
137. If a parent does not punish his sons, his sons will be sure to punish him.
138. You don't know what trouble is until your kids reach the age of consent, dissent, & resent--all
at the same time.
141. We've got Heaven already in our children.they're little bits of Heaven sent down from the
Lord! They were Up there with the Lord before, but He sent them down here to be with us. Isn't that
wonderful?--Dad
142. Children are the greatest child psychologists in the World & they'll pull psychology on you!
They know more about it than you do, you've just gotta keep at least one jump ahead of them.--Dad
145. I think our children have a great feeling of security as long as they feel our love & our care &
concern & they have the Lord. It doesn't matter whether we move tomorrow or turn things upside-down or
upset the fruit basket or play musical chairs or whatever, they wouldn't feel the least bit less secure because
they know they've got a Family & they have the Lord & they're perfectly happy no matter what happens. In
fact, children actually LOVE change!--Dad
146. Children can always adapt & they can always cope, the Lord will always be with them & help
them!--Dad
149. Children are really a joy to old men. (Prov. 17:6) There's just something about them! The old
are the past & the young are the future. We're leaving, they're just coming, so I think it's that link with the
future that causes grandparents to feel a strong attachment & a great love for grandchildren.--Dad
151. In our Family we have the most marvellous opposite of anyone to really teach & train our
children right. The Future depends upon what you're teaching your children now & how well you're
teaching them now.--Dad
154. Children are the future forever! They are the Future for the years of the Endtime & also for
the Millennium! For the next 10 years & for the next 1000 years! They are going to be the Future, & what
works on them now, they're going to be teaching others later, teaching others to teach others.--Dad
158. Our children are as much missionaries as their parents, sometimes more so!--And a tool in the
hand of the Lord to win hearts & win souls & distribute the Word as much, if not more, than some of their
parents! So don't belittle the children, they're our fulltime missionaries too, let's face it!--Dad
159. He was only three years old when his father died. "So that", he said, "I grew up under the care
of my blessed mother. She developed my early talent for drawing, & encouraged me in my visits to the
machine-shops of the town." Robert was a poor pupil at school, however, & the teacher complained to his
mother. Whereupon Mrs. Fulton replied proudly: "My boy's head, sir is so full of original notions that there
is no vacant chamber in which to store the contents of your musty books." "I was only ten years old at that
time," said Fulton, "& my mother seemed to be the only human being who understood my natural bent for
mechanics.
160. Parents have always sought advice on rearing their children, & they still do. Back in 1853,
Mrs. Abell had the following to say.
"Remember that children are men & women in miniature, & though they should be allowed to act
as children, still our dealings with them should be manly, & not morose; recollect, also that every look,
word, tone & gesture, nay even your dress makes an impression.
"Never correct a child on suspicion, or without understanding the whole matter, nor trifle with a
child's feelings when under discipline.
"Be always mild & cheerful in their presence; communicative but never extravagant, trifling or
vulgar in language or gesture. Never trifle with a child, nor speak beseechingly, when it is doing wrong.
Always follow commands with a close & careful watch, until the thing is done, allowing no evasion, & no
modification, unless the child ask for it, & it be expressly granted.
"Never speak in an impatient, fretful manner, if you have occasion to find fault.
"Never disappoint the confidence a child reposes in you, whether it be a thing placed in your care
or a promise.
"Always give prompt attention to a child when he speaks, so as to prevent repeated calls, & that he
may learn to give prompt attention when you call him.
"Even in sickness, gentle restraint is better for the child than indulgence.
"Never try to impress a child with religious truth when in anger, or talk to him of God, as it will
not have the desired effect. Do it under more favourable circumstances.
"Improve the first ten years of life as the golden opportunity, which may never return. It is the seed
time, & your harvest depends upon the seed then sown.
"Selfishness that binds the miser in chains, that chills the heart, must never be allowed a place.
"Never reprove children severely in company, nor hold them up to ridicule, or make light of their
failings.
"At the table a child should be taught to sit up & behave in a becoming manner, not to tease when
denied, or to leave his chair without asking. A parent's wish at such a time should be a law, from which no
appeal should be made.
"There should never be two sets of manners, the one for home & the other for company, but a
gentle behaviour should be always required.
"Never say to a child, 'I don't believe what you say,' nor even express doubts. If you have such
feelings, keep them to yourself, & wait; truth will eventually be made plain."
161. "Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so:--
Little children ask no more,
For love is all they're looking for,
And in a small child's shining eyes
The Faith of all the ages lies--
And tiny hands & tousled heads
That kneel in prayer by little beds
Are closer to the dear Lord's heart
And of His Kingdom more a part
Than we who search, & never find,
The answers to our questioning mind--
For Faith in things we cannot see
Requires a child's simplicity
For, lost in life's complexities,
We drift upon uncharted seas
And slowly Faith disintegrates
While wealth & power accumulates--
And the more man learns, the less he knows,
And the more involved his thinking grows,
And, in his arrogance & pride,
No longer is man satisfied
To place his confidence & love
With childlike Faith in God above--
Oh, Father, grant once more to men
A simple childlike Faith again
and, with a small child's trusting eyes
May all men come to realise
That Faith alone can save man's soul
And lead him to a Higher Goal.
--Helen Steiner Rice
162. An old sexton in a cemetery took special pains with the little graves. When asked why, he
said, "Sir, about those larger graves, I don't know who are the Lord's & who are not, but, you know, it's
different with the children."
My literature comprises
The books my children know
And old tales I remember;
From childhood long ago.
165. They say, "Well, you really pay for having children."--But I'd say that we RECEIVE much
more than we pay! The kids are the pay-off! They're worth it all! One of the most wonderful things we have
in this life are children.--Dad
166. It seems that Satan first makes friends with the parents to make it easier to get their boys &
girls.
168. The birth of a baby is God's vote of confidence in the future of man.
169. Everyone needs recognition, but one can carry the need too far--like the little boy who says to
his father, "Let's play darts, I'll throw, &you say, 'Wonderful!'"
170. My mother-in-law, a schoolteacher, had constant difficulty with one of the boys. She tried
every method she knew--reasoning, kindness, sternness. Not knowing what else to do, she applied a ruler to
the palm of his hand.
One day when she was about to raise the ruler to strike, the thought flashed to her mind, "I'll
reverse this. I'll let him strike the palm of my hand." Surprised, the boy gave his teacher a smart blow.
Never again did she have the slightest trouble with him.
Who can count the multitudes who, knowing of Christ's suffering on the cross, have repented of
their sins saying, "He suffered there for me"?
God's divine power saves us when we repent of our sins & realise that Jesus cared enough to be
bruised in our stead for our sins.
171. Many years ago a farmer had an unusually fine crop of grain. Just a few days before it was
ready to harvest, there came a terrible hail & wind storm. The entire crop was demolished. After the storm
was over, the farmer, with his little son sent out on the porch. The little boy looked at what was formerly
the beautiful field of wheat, & then with tears in his eyes he looked up at his dad, expecting to hear words
of despair. All at once his father started to sing softly, "Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in
Thee." Years after, the little boy, grown to manhood, said, "That was the greatest sermon I ever heard." The
farmer lost a grain crop, but who knows but that that was the turning point in the boy's life? He saw the
faith of a godly father in practice.
172. A widow, left with five little boys, was honored at a banquet. She had reared the boys to be
noble, upright men. "Explain to us how you did it," asked the toastmaster. She said, "The secret lies in an
occasional pat on the back. It gets positive results if given young enough, often enough, & low enough!"
173. A knowledge of the Bible without a college course is more valuable than a college course
without the Bible.
174. I really believe our children today are our greatest & most important job of all! You say,
"What do you mean, Dad? I thought it was to go into all the World & preach the Gospel to every creature. I
thought it was being a missionary out in the foreign field winning Hindus & Muslims & trying to get folks
saved!" Yes! But your own kids are PART of it!--They are your PERSONAL responsibility. "To the Jew
first." (Rom.2:10)--Your own family!--Dad
175. Nothing is harder on a grandparent than having to watch a grandchild being disciplined.
176. There is an old story called "Not One to Spare!" There was a very poor family who had five
children, & somehow a very rich old couple became acquainted with them & they fell in love with the
couple & their children. They themselves were childless, so they offered to adopt one of the children. They
said, "We'll bring up your child in wealth & give him a good education, he'll live in a wealthy home &
inherit all our riches! We want to adopt one of your children for o your own."
So the father & mother discussed which one they should give up, & they went into the bedroom
where the children were sleeping: "Let's see, could we give this one? Or should we give that one?" When
the rich couple came back in the morning & asked, "Which one are you going to give us?", the parents
answered, "We're sorry, but we don't have one to spare!"--Dad
177. A child's ear is a delicate instrument that can't hear a parent's shout from the next room, but
picks up the faintest tingle of the ice cream man's bell.
178. The generation that criticises the younger generation is always the one that raised it.
179. Too often an abandoned child is one who is still living with this parents.
180. Watch the kid who's cutting classes at school--he may be in training to be a congressman later
in life.
181. Some kids are like ketchup bottles. You have to spank their bottoms a few times to get them
moving.
182. All children don't disobey their parents. Some are never told what to do.
183. When children are seen & not heard it's apartment to be through binoculars.
184. Children always brighten up a home. They never turn out the lights.
185. An unusual child is one who asks his parents questions they can answer.
188. It now costs more to answer a child than it once did to educate his father.
190. There are many "bright children" who should be applauded with one hand.
191. Children may tear up a house, but they never break up a home.
192. Children are very much like airplanes; you hear only of the ones that crash.
193. Most kids can't understand why a country that makes atomic bombs would ban firecrackers.
194. Some children are running everything around the house except errands.
195. One important way for us to help our children grow up is for us to grow up first.
196. If you are disgusted & upset with your children, just imagine how God must feel about His!
197. Children are a great deal more apartment to follow your lead than the way you point.
198. A baby may not be able to lift very much, but it can hold a marriage together.
199. If brushing up on manners doesn't help some children, the brush should be moved down a bit.
200. Children need strength to lean on, a shoulder to cry on, & an example to learn from.
201. You can get any child to run an errand for you--if you ask him at bedtime.
202. Maybe children could keep on the straight & narrow if they could get information from
someone who's been over the route.
203. If you don't want your children to hear what you're saying, pretend you're talking to them.
204. It's extremely difficult for a child to live right if he has never seen it done .
205. There's nothing thirstier than a child who has just gone to bed.
206. A boy is the only thing God can use to make a man.
207. A "brat" is a child who acts like your own but belongs to your neighbour.
208. Most children seldom misquote you; they repeat what you shouldn't have said word for word.
210. It's very difficult to teach children the alphabet these days. They think V comes right after T.
211. Parents are embarrassed when their children tell lies, but sometimes it's even worse when
they tell the truth.
212. Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his
advice.
213. As the gardener is responsible for the products of his garden, so the family is responsible for
the character & conduct of its children.
214. A lucky farmer is one who has raised a bumper crop of good boys.
215. Children often hold a marriage together by keeping their parents so busy they don't have time
to quarrel.
216. There are still a few old-fashioned mothers who would like to tuck their children in bed, but
they can't stay awake that late.
217. Who said kids aren't obedient? They'll obey any TV commercial about buying a new toy.
218. You have to give American parents credit--they know how to obey their children.
220. Where do kids get all those questions parents can't answer?
221. Efficient school teachers may cost more, but poor school teachers cost the most.
222. The guy whose troubles are all behind him is probably a school bus driver.
223. The child who knows the value of a Dollar these days must be terribly discouraged.
224. The trouble with teaching a child the value of a Dollar is you have to do it almost every week.
225. A boy loves a dog because it's the only thing around the house that doesn't find fault with
him.
226. It used to be when a boy couldn't learn at his mother's knee he found himself over his father's.
227. Teaching children to count is not as important as teaching them WHAT counts.
229. Psychiatrists tell us that discipline doesn't break a child's spirit half as often as the lack of it
breaks a parent's heart.
230. When adults behave like children we call them juvenile; when children behave like adults we
call them delinquents.
232. One of the problems of juvenile delinquency is children running away from home. It is
entirely possible they may be looking for their parents.
233. Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes a lasting impression.
234. Our little "knew disciple" is a special event for us, conceived & born in Indonesia where we
have been missionaries for six years. After five years of marriage & never being able to get pregnant, I
finally did! Indonesian people believe that if a woman cannot conceive, if she will adopt a child, God will
bless her with more. When we adopted Samuel, our friends told us I'd become pregnant. I knew if I would
just be faithful to try my best to be a good mother to Samuel it would only be a matter of time. And I
became pregnant just before his first birthday. We hope this testimony will inspire others who have not
gotten pregnant yet. In God's time He will do it, for He truly is the God of all flesh & nothing is too hard
for Him!--Daniel & Miriam, Indonesia.
235. Themistocles had a son who was the darling of his mother.
"This little fellow," said Themistocles, "is the sovereign of all Greece."
"How so?" said a friend.
"Why, he governs his mother, his mother governs me, I govern the Athenians, and the Athenians
govern all Greece."
236. You can scrape the baby out of the womb, but you cannot scrape the baby out of the mind.
237. A century ago men were following with bated breath the march of Napoleon, & waiting with
feverish impatience for news of the wars. All the while, babies were being born in their own homes. But
who could think about babies? Everybody was thinking about battles.
In one year, 1809, midway between Trafalgar & Waterloo, there came into the World some babies
who were destined to be stars of greatest magnitude--Gladstone, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Tennyson, &
Felix Mendelsohn. But nobody thought of babies, only battles. Yet which of the battles of 1809 mattered
more than the babies of 1809? We fancy that God can manage His world only with big battalions when all
the while He is doing it by babies. When a wrong wants righting, or a truth wants preaching, or a continent
wants opening, God sends a baby into the World to do it!
239. The mythical country of Boruvia has a law requiring all babies to be named within an hour
after birth. One day, a woman was rushed to the hospital, where she delivered twins. At the same time, her
husband was rushed to the hospital unconscious with a head injury received on the job. When the man
came to, he was informed that his wife had delivered a boy & a girl two hours before, & his brother had
given them names. "Oh, no, not by brother," groaned the man, "He's such a practical joker. What did he
name them?"
"He named the girl Denise," replied the nurse.
"Oh, I like that name," said the man, obviously relieved. "What did he name the boy?"
"Denephew."
240. Human babies are such illustrations of spiritual babies! They're the only babies that are born
absolutely helpless. No other baby animals of any kind are born as helpless as human babies. Nearly all
farm animals are born to be able to immediately stand up & start walking, almost in a way able to take care
of themselves except for their mother's milk!--But not us!--Ha! And not our spiritual babies, who
desperately need the milk & the Word & are dependent upon us for their very growth.--Dad
243. More children are spoiled because the parents won't spank Grandma.
244. My mother was a firm believer in pre-natal influence, & she was such a believer in it she
practiced it! When I was still unborn in her belly she took me around to all kinds of art galleries to see
beautiful paintings & to symphony concerts to hear beautiful music, as well as reading the Bible & hymns
aloud to me & going to church, anything she thought would be good for me & make a good impression on
me & be a good influence on me.--Dad
245. You're a little angel because you love Jesus & you flew down here from Heaven to be with us,
& you're gonna fly back up someday again. You were up in Heaven with Jesus. But then you had to come
down from Heaven & go into the darkness of Mommy's tummy, & then come out of the darkness into His
Heavenly light! Isn't that pretty?--Dad
246. He blocks out babies' memories of their pre-existence in Heaven so that they don't have to
worry about it. It won't make them feel so bad about being in this World if they don't remember how
wonderful it was in Heaven--Paradise lost! --Dad
247. Isn't it wonderful to watch a baby learn & grow? Did you know even while he's still in his
mother's tummy the baby is learning?--He's hearing sounds, voices, music, recognising voices, even
recognising music!--Dad
248. A small boy invaded the lingerie section of a big California department store & shyly
presented his problem to a woman clerk. "I want to buy my mom a present of a slip," he said, "but I don't
know what size she wears."
"Is she tall or short, fat or skinny?" asked the clerk.
"She's just perfect," beamed the small boy. So she wrapped up a size 34 for him.
Two days later mom came to the store herself--and changed it to a 52.
250. Out of 8000 delinquent children, only 42 attended Sunday School regularly.
251. A mother & her little girl of five were visiting. The little girl misbehaved, and her mother
said, "Sarah, you must not do that." The child soon forgot and did it again. The mother said, "Sarah, if you
do that again I will punish you." Soon the child did it again. When it was time to go home the mother went
for her hat, and Sarah was sad for the punishment to come. A young lady noticed it and said, "Never mind, I
will ask your mother not to whip you." The reply was, "That will do no good; my mother never tells lies."
252. Considering the number of divorces today, it seems that more PARENTS are running away
from home than CHILDREN.
253. It is sobering to recall that fathers bear the title God Himself has chosen as a picture of His
relationship to His people.
254. Babies right away recognise people. I think they're more psychic than adults. Even if they
don't see too well they recognise your voice & your touch & I think they probably even sense your aura.--
Dad
255. The police department of Houston, Texas, issued a leaflet given rules for raising delinquent
children:
Begin from infancy to give him everything he wants. When he picks up bad words, laugh at him.
Never give him any spiritual training. Wait until he is twenty-one & let him decide for himself. Don't use
the word "wrong". It may give him a guilt complex. Do everything for him so that he will be experienced in
throwing all responsibility on others. Let him read any printed matter he can get his hands on.
Quarrel frequently in his presence--he won't be too shocked when the home is broken up. Give
him all the spending money he wants. He shouldn't have things as tough as you had them. AND prepare for
a life of grief--you will have it.
256. A young English boy was called "Carrot Top" by other students & given "little chance of
success" by some teachers. He ranked third lowest in class: grade averages for English was 95%, history
85%, mathematics 50%, Latin 30%.
His teacher's report reads: "The boy is certainly no scholar & has repeated his grade twice. He has
also a stubborn streak & is sometimes rebellious in nature. He seems to have little or no understanding of
his school work, except in a most mechanical way. At times, he seems almost perverse in his ability to
learn. He has not made the most of his opportunities."
Later, the lad settled down to serious study & soon the world began to hear about Winston
Churchill.
257. A child has to learn obedience in the home or he will never learn obedience to the Heavenly
Father.
258. Let thy child's first lesson be obedience, and the second will be what thou wilt.
259. A church bulletin that recently came to my desk tells a modern fable. "Once there was a little
boy. When he was three weeks old his parents turned him over to a baby-sitter. When he was two they
dressed him up like a cowboy & gave him a gun. When he was three everybody said, 'How cute!' as he
went about lisping a beer commercial jingle. When he was six his father dropped him off at Sunday School.
When he was eight they bought him a BB gun & taught him to shoot sparrows. He learned to shoot
windshields by himself.
When he was ten he spent his afternoons at the drugstore newsstand reading comic books. His
mother wasn't home & his father was busy. When he was thirteen, he told his parents other boys stayed out
as late as they wanted to, so they said he could, too. It was easier that way. When he was fourteen they gave
him a deadly two-ton machine, wrangled a license for him to drive it & told him to 'be careful.' When he
was fifteen, the police called his home one night & said, 'We have your boy. He's in trouble.' Screamed the
father, 'It can't be MY boy!' But...it was."
260. Oftentimes when we hear our children talk, we realize we should have been more careful of
what they heard us say.
261. There are too many dads who will tie up the dog at night & let their sons run loose.
263. Fathers give daughters away to other men who aren't good enough so they can have
grandchildren that are better than anybody else's.
264. For a long time, the Mohammedans had been laying siege to the capital of Spain.
Courageously & skillfully King Alphonso led the defense, but by some twist of fate the attackers captured
the king's son.
The besiegers made the most of their hostage. The sultan ordered a gallows built in full view of the
capital. The young prince was forced to stand under the words, "Alphonso, either the city or your son!"
What a decision for a father to make! Anxiously his advisors & officers watched the face of their
king. Will he give up the city & allow the enemy to slay or enslave his people? Or will he give up his own
dear son? They had not long to wait, for King Alphonso decided quickly. Back to the sultan went this
message: "Let my son die, that my people may live!"
266. Lost! A boy! Not kidnapped by bandits & hidden in a cave to weep & starve & raise a nation
to frenzied searching. No, his father lost him. Too busy to sit with him at the fireside & answer his trivial
questions during the years when Dad is the only great hero to a boy, he let go his hold. His mother lost him
too. Engrossed in worthwhile programs, clubs with high aims, she let the babysitter hear his prayers &
abdicated her place of influence.
267. When a man praises discipline, nine times out of ten this means he is prepared to administer it
rather than submit to it.
268. If it had not been for a crooked groceryman, J.C. Penny might have become the owner of a
grocery store rather than the owner of a dry goods chain & the nation's leading merchandiser.
When he was a teenager, Jim worked for a groceryman in Hamilton, Missouri. He liked the work
& had plans to make a career of it. One night he came home & proudly told his family about his "foxy"
employer. The grocer had a practice of mixing low quality coffee with the expensive brand & thus
increasing his profit. Jim laughed as he told the story at the supper table.
His father didn't see anything funny about the practice. "Tell me," he said, "if the grocer found
someone palming off an inferior article on him for the price of the best, do you think he would think they
were just being foxy, & laugh about it?"
Jim could see his father was disappointed in him. "I guess not," he replied. "I guess I just didn't
think about it that way."
Jim's father instructed him to go to the grocer the next day & collect whatever money due him &
tell the grocer he wouldn't be working for him any longer. Jobs were not plentiful in Hamilton, but Mr.
Penny would rather his son be unemployed than be associated with a crooked businessman.
J.C. Penny came that close to becoming a grocer.
269. Doctor Potter tells the story of a young man who stood at the bar of a court of justice to be
sentenced for forgery. The judge had known him from a child, for his father had been a famous legal light
& his work on the Law of Trusts was the most exhaustive work on the subject in existence. "Do you
remember your father?" asked the judge sternly, "that father whom you have disgraced?"
The prisoner answered: "I remember him perfectly. When I went to him for advice or
companionship, he would look up from his book on the Law of Trusts, & said, "Run way, boy, I am busy."
My father finished his book, & here I am." The great lawyer had neglected his own trust, with awful results.
270. Glenn Doman, author of "Teach Your Baby to Read", says, "Parents, in the main, are
unmatched in their potential, & they, not the professionals, should be making the decisions concerning their
children. A reasonably proficient father is a much better combination than a totally proficient professional
like myself."
271. I've made this observation while browsing 'round the town:
Some people bring their children up,
Some people bring their children down.
272. I shall never forget an hour in our home (where there were ten children) when my father sat
there before us, & the college question was up. One of the children said to him, "If you had used the great
brains you have in the law business, instead of being a preacher, we would all have had a chance to go to
college, & you would have had money enough to send us." I saw my dad look out the window. He turned
back with tears running down his cheeks, & said, "Yes, that is the truth. I could have done it, but when you
woke up in hell you would have cursed me far worse than you do now. Children, money isn't everything; &
I will try to leave you an inheritance that is incorruptible, that does not fade away. When I am gone--a poor
Methodist preacher--you will know one thing, & that is that I knew Jesus." Oh, I am glad he didn't sell out
to what his children wanted!
274. we had a friend whose wife sued him for divorce because of his stern strict discipline on his
teenagers. But let me tell you, when she took away those children from this righteous Godly Christian
friend of ours & his strict discipline, God knew what to do! Someone came to their house one cold night &
found the mother & all five of the children dead, suffocated by a gas heater! God removed them all so that
the poor man would have no further responsibility & be no longer obligated to them nor have to support
them nor furnish their home nor pay alimony, & he was free to serve the Lord & he went to the field as a
missionary, thank God!--Dad
275. Everybody has heard of Martin Luther; but who knows the name of his mother, the wife of a
coal miner who often went hungry so that little Martin might attend school?
278. A man was walking along & saw this poor little street urchin sitting all dirty & dedraggled &
hungry on the curb asking for some money to get something to eat. The man asked him, "Where do you
live?" And he pointed to his huge mansion right behind him! "You live there? Are you one of the servants?"
The boy said, "No, I'm the son of the owners." "Well, where's your father?" "He's off on business." "Well,
where's your mother?" "She's at a meeting for the Society of Neglected Children!"--Dad
279. An aged, white-haired mother sat with a smile on her face, waiting for her famous son,
Dwight Eisenhower, to arrive. Someone said to her, "You must be proud of your great & illustrious son?"
Upon which she asked, "Which son?" Each one was equally great to that noble mother.
Said Dwight Eisenhower: "My sainted mother taught me a devotion to God & a love of country
which have ever sustained me in my many lonely & bitter moments of decision in distant & hostile lands.
To her, I yield a son's reverent thanks."
280. I did not have my mother long, but she cast over me an influence which has lasted all my life.
The good effects of her early training I can never lose. If it had not been for her appreciation & her faith in
me at a critical time in my experience, I should never likely have become an inventor. I was always a
careless boy, & with a mother of different mental calibre, I should have turned out badly. But her firmness,
her sweetness, her goodness, were potent powers to keep me in the right path. My mother was the making
of me. The memory of her will always be a blessing to me.
--Thomas A. Edison
281. Years ago, a young mother was making her way across the hills of South Wales, carrying her
tiny babe in her arms, when she was overtaken by a blinding blizzard. She never reached her destination
alive, & when the blizzard had subsided her body was found beneath the snow. But the searchers
discovered that before her death she had taken off all her outer clothing & wrapped it about her baby.
And when they unwrapped the child, to their great surprise & joy, they found he was alive & well.
She had given her life for her child, proving the depth of her mother love. Years later the child, David
Lloyd George, grown to manhood, & without doubt one of England's greatest statesmen.
282. The head of the American family should speak in a loud, firm voice--& she does!
284. The little boy & girl were talking together after Daddy had told them a bedtime story, & left
the room. The little boy said to his sister, "Haven't we heard that story before?--Didn't he just tell us that the
other night?" "Yes", said his sister knowingly, "Of course! But it does Daddy so much good!"--Dad
285. It's a happy home where the only scraps are those brushed off the dining table.
287. Mother is the name for God in the lips & hearts of little children.
289. I was abroad a large air liner some time ago which ran into an extremely severe wind &
rainstorm. Despite the size of the plane & the tremendous power of its four wing motors, the ship was being
tossed violently. A little nine-year-old fellow was my seat companion. It was his first experience in the air,
& he was desperately afraid. Suddenly he looked up at me & said, "Are you afraid?" I smiled & replied,
"No, this is real fun." And immediate change came over the little chap--fear & tension left him. He, too, had
fun.
291. The Lord made parents so they could be examples of His loving discipline & loving rule. I
think He meant their loving care & loving discipline to be training in submission to Him. If all our lives
we've submitted to our earthly parents, then it shouldn't be so difficult to recognise God's authority & to
bow to it & defer to it, & submit to it!--Dad
293. An old schoolmaster said one day to a clergyman, who came to examine his school, "I believe
the children know the catechism word for word."
"But do they understand it? That is the question," said the clergyman.
The schoolmaster bowed respectfully, & the examination began. A little boy had repeated the fifth
commandment, "Honor thy father & thy mother," & he was asked to explain it. Instead of trying to do so,
the little boy, with his face covered with blushes, said, almost in a whisper, "Yesterday I showed some
strange man over the mountain, & the sharp stones cut my feet. The man saw they were bleeding, & gave
me some money to buy shoes. I gave it to my mother, for she had no shoes either, & I thought I could go
barefooted better than she could."
294. The older you get, the more you begin to appreciate some of your parents' problems with you.
I dare say today most of you can look back & be a little bit sorry for how you acted & misbehaved & didn't
appreciate when you had'm. I hope you're letting them know that now.--Dad
295. I hardly know a real father or real mother who doesn't love their child or their children more
than themselves. That's what makes them real fathers & mothers willing to suffer for them, willing to
sacrifice for them.--Dad
296. A busy mother was one day regretting that she could do so little Christian work. "I shall have
only a life of housework to show at last," she said rather sadly to a friend one day. "Why, Mother,"
exclaimed her little daughter, who overheard the words, "all we children will stand up & tell all you've
done for us--everything! I shouldn't s'pose they'd want anything better than good mothers up in Heaven!"
And the friend answered: "The child is right. Earth will send to Heaven no better saints than the
true Christian mothers who have done their best."
298.
Used to wonder just why Father,
Never had much time to play;
Used to wonder why he'd rather
Work each minute of the day.
299. "What will you have?" asked a waiter of a man who had taken his seat at a table in a
restaurant. "A glass of beer", said the man. "And what shall I get for the little boy?" asked the waiter of the
boy sitting beside his father. "Same as Dad," said the boy. Instantly, the father said, "Give me something
else!"
300. No cowboy was ever faster on the draw than a grandparent pulling a baby picture out of a
wallet.
303. P.H. Chang, Chinese consul-general in New York City was asked to comment on the fact that
there are no juvenile delinquents among Chinese-American youths. He said, "A Chinese child, no matter
where he lives, is brought up to recognize that he cannot shame his parents. Before a Chinese child makes a
move, he stops to think what the reaction on his parents will be. Will they be proud or will they be
ashamed? That is the sole question he asks himself."
305. "They say that man is mighty, he governs land & sea;
He wields a mighty scepter on lower powers than he.
"But mightier power & stronger, man from his throne has hurled,
For the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world."
308. Little Mary Nell was rapidly eating fistfulls of chocolate candy when suddenly her father
appeared, coming up the walk. Cramming the last piece of chocolate in her mouth, she squealed with
delight as she dashed toward her father. She threw herself into his outstretched arms, joyously exclaiming:
"Daddy! Daddy! You're home! You're home!"
Father saw Mary Nell's chocolate smeared hands, mouth, & dress too late! His white shirt was a
mess! His first impulse was to reprimand her. He put her down, however, & laughed heartily! How could
he react differently to the spontaneous outburst of love, joy & armfuls of affection, when he thought, "Did I
not come to the heavenly Father soiled by years of sinful living? Did He not enfold me in His arms of
love?"
309. The young Mother set her foot on the path of life.
"Is the way long?" she asked.
And her Guide said" "Yes. And the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it.
But the end will be better than the beginning."
But the young Mother was happy, & she would not believe that anything could be better than these
years. So she played with her children, & gathered flowers for them along the way, & bathed with them in
the clear streams; & the sun shone on them & life was good, & the young Mother cried, "Nothing will ever
be lovelier than this."
The night came, & storm, & the path was dark, & the children shook with fear & cold, & the
Mother drew them close & covered them with her mantle, & the children said, "Oh, Mother, we are not
afraid, for you are near, & no harm can come," and the Mother said, "This is better than the brightness of
day, for I have taught my children courage."
And the morning came, & there was a hill ahead, & the children climbed & grew weary, & the
Mother was weary, but at all times she said to the children, "A little patience & we are there." So the
children climbed & when they reached the top, they said, "We could not have done it without you, Mother."
And the Mother, when she lay down that night, looked at the stars & said: "This is a better day than the last,
for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today I have
given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth--clouds of war & hate & evil, &
the children groped & stumbled, & the Mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the Light." And the
children looked & saw above the clouds an everlasting Glory, & it guided them & brought them beyond the
darkness. And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."
And the days went on, & the weeks & the months & the years; & the Mother grew old, & she was
little & bent. But her children were tall & strong, & walked with courage. And when the way was hard,
they helped their Mother, & when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; & at
last they came to a hill, & beyond the hill they could see a shining road & a golden gate flung wide.
And the Mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know that the end is better
than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, & their children after them."
And the children said: "You will always walk with us, Mother even when you have gone through
the gates."
And they stood & watched her as she went on alone, & the gates closed after her. And they said:
"We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living
presence."
310. His little arms crept 'round my neck, & then I heard him say,
Four simple words I can't forget, four words that made me pray.
They turned a mirror on my soul, on secrets no one knew,
They startled me, I hear them yet, he said, "I'll be like you!"
--Herbert Parker
311. That is a commandment of the Lord, Jesus quoted it so it's part of His Law of Love: "Honour
thy father & thy mother." (Mat.19:19) He said this is the first commandment with a promise attached. He
said it was the first commandment with promise, think of that. "Honour thy father & thy mother, that your
days may be long in the land & verily thou shalt be fed." (Eph.6:2,3)--Dad
315. It takes great courage & foresight to say to your child, "I don't care what you think of me
now; I'm concerned with what you will think of me a few years from now."
317. Mothers who scold their sons for carrying useless things in their pockets should take a look in
their handbags!
So what if he sleeps
In a little bit late?
He's such a good daddy!
He's such a good mate!
--Seek
319. I remember a little fellow, frightened by the lightning & thunder, who called out one dark
night, "Daddy, come, I'm scared." "Oh, son", the father said, "Good loves you & He'll take care of you." "I
know God loves me & that He'll take care of me", the small son replied, "But right now, I want somebody
who has skin on."
323. "this hurts me more than it does you," remarked the Magistrate, as he fined his daughter
$10.00 for speeding & $3.00 for running past a red light, & then dug into his pocket for the fines.
326. How hurt or disappointed do you feel when your children make a mistake? Oh yes, of course
you feel a little bad, but you expect them to fail & to be bad sometimes or make the wrong decisions, it's all
a part of growing up. You don't get all sensitive or offended because your child does something wrong; you
know they're going to be that way & they're going to do things wrong sometimes, they're not perfect. In
fact, the initial disappointment is all but forgotten in the happiness you feel when you see him learning his
lesson & doing the right thing. When you're learning, you're bound to make mistakes.--Dad
328. Your children are your greatest task! They are your greatest responsibility, the little disciples
that God has given you that you have to take care of & you must train, & they had better be taught well &
reared well in the nurture & admonition of the Lord & trained up in the way they should go, so that when
they are older they will not depart therefrom! (Prov.22:6)--Dad
329. Since the coming of television we no longer have family circles--we have semi-circles.
330. A grandmother is a baby sitter who watches the kids instead of the television.
332. Listen, son: I am saying this as you lie asleep, one little paw crumpled under your cheek &
the blond curls stickily wet on your damp forehead. I have stolen into your room alone. Just a few minutes
ago, as I sat reading my paper in the library, a stifling wave of remorse swept over me. Guiltily I came to
your bedside.
These are the things I was thinking, son: I had been cross to you. I scolded you as you were
dressing for school because you gave your face merely a dab with a towel. I took you to task for not
cleaning your shoes. I called out angrily when you threw some of your things on the floor.
At breakfast I found fault, too. You spilled things. You gulped down your food. You put your
elbows on the table. You spread butter too thick on your bread. And as you started off to play & I made for
my train, you turned & waved a hand & called, "Goodbye, Daddy!" & I frowned, & said in reply, "Hold
your shoulders back!"
Then it began all over again in the late afternoon. As I came up the road I spied you, down on your
knees, playing marbles. There were holes in your stockings. I humiliated you before your boyfriends by
marching you ahead of me to the house. Stockings were expensive & if you had to buy them you would be
more careful! Imagine that, son, from a father!
Do you remember, later, when I was reading in the library, how you came in timidly, with a sort of
hurt look in your eyes? When I glanced up over my paper, impatient at the interruption, you hesitated at the
door, "What is it you want?" I snapped.
You said nothing, but ran across in one tempestuous plunge, & threw your arms around my neck &
kissed me, & your small arms tightened with an affection that God had set blooming in your heart & which
even neglect could not wither. And then you were gone, pattering up the stairs.
Well, son, it was shortly afterwards that my paper slipped from my hands & a terrible sickening
fear came over me. What was habit been doing tome? The habit of finding fault, of reprimanding--this was
my reward to you for being a boy. It was not that I did not love you; it was that I expected too much of
youth. I was measuring you by the yardstick of my own years.
And there was so much that was good & fine & true in your character. The little heart of you was
as big as the dawn itself over the wide hills. This was shown by your spontaneous impulse to rush in & kiss
me good night. Nothing else matters tonight, son. I have come to your bedside in the darkness, & I have
knelt there, ashamed!
It is a feeble atonement; I know you would not understand these things if I told them to you during
your waking hours. But tomorrow I will be a real daddy! I will chum with you, & suffer when you suffer, &
laugh when you laugh. I will bite my tongue when impatient words come. I will keep saying as if it were a
ritual: "He is nothing but a boy, a little boy!"
I am afraid I have visualised you as a man. Yet as I see you now, son, crumpled & weary in your
cot, I see that you are still a baby. Yesterday you were in your mother's arms, your head on her shoulder, I
have asked too much, too much.
336. A gentleman whose wife was delivered of a boy six months after marriage, asked a physician
the reason for this.
"Don't worry about it," said the latter, "this often happens in the case of the first child, but never
afterwards."
337. A mother's patience is like a tube of toothpaste--it's never quite all gone.
338. Rejecting things because they are old-fashioned would rule out the sun & the moon--& a
mother's love.
342. Burdened with the care of a new baby the young mother sent her little brother to the
department store to get some things for the new arrival.
He managed to get everything without too much trouble. The last item on his list was diapers. He
went to the counter where there were sold, stated his wishes, & in the space of a few minutes the salesgirl
returned with a bundle.
"That will be sixty cents for the diapers & two cents for the tax."
"Ah, never mind the tacks," said the youngster, "Sis puts them on the baby with safety pins."
343. A little four-year-old daughter, suffering from a severe scolding from her mother was heard to
sob pitifully to herself, "I wish Mother loved me as much as she does God. she talks so kind to Him." And
immediately one's thoughts flash back to a great man who said, "I owe a great department to the life of my
mother in my early childhood days. She always lived like she prayed."
344. In her book "Odd Patterns in the Weaving", Mrs. Sonia E. Howe in her narration mentioned
something seen when she was still in her teens. A family Russian academician was working a Mosaic, a
copy of an old oil painting which had been in a famous Cathedral. He was putting in tiny pieces of marble,
one by one, to carry out the beautiful design. Sonia Howe, approached him & said, "Is not this fearfully
dull, uninteresting work?"
"No, not at all," the artist replied, "for, you see, it is work for eternity." (1 Cor.15:58)
345. During a blistering hot day, a family was entertaining guests for dinner. When all were seated,
the man of the house turned to his six-year-old son & asked him to say the blessing.
"But daddy, I don't know what to say," he protested.
"Oh, just say what you've heard me say," the mother chimed in.
Obediently, he bowed his little head & said, "Oh, Lord, why did I invite these people here on a hot
day like this!"
346. Agostino d' Antonio, a sculptor of Florence, Italy, wrought diligently but unsuccessfully on a
large piece of marble. "I can do nothing with it," he finally said. Other sculptors, too, worked with the piece
of marble, but they, too, gave up the task. The stone was discarded. It lay on a rubbish heap for forty years.
Out strolling one day, Michelangelo saw the stone & the latent possibilities in it. It was brought to
his studio. He began to work on it. Ultimately, his vision & work were crowned with success. From that
seemingly worthless stone was carved one of the World's masterpieces of sculpture--"David"!
347. Throughout the ages no nation has ever had a better friend than the mother who taught her
children to pray.
349. One way to curb juvenile delinquency is to take the parents off the streets at night.
350. The trouble with the average juvenile delinquent is not always apparent--sometimes it's two
parents!
351. Let's stop criticising the younger generation. If we can't keep up with them we can at least get
behind them.
352. Two little girls were playing with their dolls & singing, "Safe in the Arms of Jesus." "How do
you know you are safe?" asked the older sister. "Because I am holding Jesus with both my hands tight."
"That's not safe," said the other. "Suppose Satan came along & cut your hands off?" The child looked
troubled, dropped dolly, & thought. Suddenly her face shone with joy., "Oh, I forgot! Jesus is holding me;
And Satan cannot cut off his hands, so I am safe."
353. Through Rochester, N.Y. runs the Genessee River, between steep & crooked banks. One
occasion, a gentleman, who lived in the city, had just arrived by train from a journey. He was anxious to go
home & meet his wife & children. He was hurrying along the streets, with a bright vision of home in his
mind when he saw on the bank of the river a lot of excited men. "What is the matter?" he shouted. They
replied, "A boy's in the water!" "Why don't you save him?" he asked.
In a moment, throwing down his carpet-bag & pulling off his coat, he jumped into the stream,
grasped the boy in the arms, struggled with him to the shore, & as he wiped the water from his dripping
face & brushed back his hair, he exclaimed, "Heaven, it is my boy!" He had plunged in for the boy of
somebody else & saved his own.
354. It was Sunday morning. A father sat in his easy chair reading the Sunday newspaper. Then he
said to his boy, "Put down that funny paper. Get ready for Sunday school. "Daddy, aren't you going with
me?" "No, I'm not going with you, but I want you to hurry up & get ready." "daddy, did you go to Sunday
school when you were a little boy like me?" "Certainly I did. I went every Sunday," said the father. Said the
little fellow as he walked sadly away, "I bet it won't do me any good, either!"
355. What imitators are little children! A small girl watched, with absorbing interest, everything
which was happening at mother's card party. She observed how mother was dressed; how she dealt the
cards; how the women drank cocktails, & how freely they smoked cigarettes! Next day, the little girl
gathered her playmates together to "play party". She dressed herself in some of her mother's clothes.
Slipping into her mother's room, she got mother's package of cigarettes. Returning to her little playmates,
she put a cigarette in her mouth, struck a match, &, in lighting the cigarette, she accidentally ignited the
over-size dress she was wearing. Instantly she became a "human torch!" A few hours later, her little charred
body lay still in death! As she died, she gasped, "I did like mother, & it killed me!"
356. Juvenile delinquency is no mystery. Mama is so busy keeping up with the Joneses & Papa is
so busy keeping up with Mama that neither of them has any time left for keeping up with John & Mary.
357. A boy's mind is a wonderful thing. It starts working the minute he gets up, & never stops until
he gets to school.
358. The frightening thing about heredity & environment is that parents provide both.
359. Before dealing too harshly with our teenagers, let's remember who reared them.
360. I once attended a convention in Atlanta, Ga., & heard a speaker tell this true story in
illustration of her address on stewardship. A woman in the congregation to which the speaker belonged took
her two small children one Saturday afternoon to a matinee to see Maude Adams in Peter Pan. The tickets
were priced at "2.50 each . The children saw their mother open her purse, take out seven one dollar bills,
pile them on the shelf, put a 50 cent piece on the pile of bills, push all under the window, take the three
little pieces of cardboard & lead them into the theater to their seats. The next day she took her little
daughter to church with her. When the offering was taken, the child saw her mother open her purse, take
out a quarter, & put it on the plate as it passed them. As the organ played the soft, religious music, the little
daughter looked up into her mother's face, & said in a clear stage whisper which everyone around them
could hear, "Mother! Church comes a heap cheaper than matinees, doesn't it?"
361. A young father was pushing a baby buggy down the street. He seemed to be unruffled by the
bawling of the baby & softly said, "Easy, Albert! Control yourself! Keep calm!" The baby bawled more
loudly. "Now, now, Albert, keep your temper!" the father went on. A mother, passing by, said, "I must
congratulate you on your self-control. You surely know how to speak to a baby--calmly & gently!" She
patted the crying baby on the head, & asked soothingly, "What's wrong, Albert?" "No, no!" exclaimed the
father, "the baby's name is Johnny. I'm Albert!"
362. Years ago, out in the country, we knew a girl in her teens who had measles in winter-time.
She was put to bed, but was not very sick. Her parents had to drive to town on business. They gave her
strict orders to stay in bed & keep warm, but left her with some misgivings, for she was a willful child &
had never learned to obey. As soon as they were gone she thought of something she wanted from the
unheated upstairs, & in spite of what her parents had commanded, she got out of bed & went up in only her
night clothes. Several days later we conducted her funeral, for she had contracted pneumonia & died. We
recalled the words of a famous children's specialist: "When it comes to serious illness, the child who has
been taught to obey stands four times the chance of recovery that the spoiled & undisciplined child does."
363. A distressed father said to his teenage daughter, "Young lady, either that dress is too short or
you're not in it far enough."
364. To keep a small boy out of the cookie jar, lock it & hide the key under a cake of soap.
365. Many modern dads worry more about their golf swing than they do their offspring.
366. The worst danger that confronts the younger generation is the example set by the older
generation.
367. Some years ago in a manufacturing town of Scotland a young lady applied to the
superintendent of a Sunday school for a class. At his suggestions she gathered a class of poor boys. The
superintendent told them to come to his house during the week & he would get them each a new suit of
clothes. They came, & each was nicely fitted out.
The worst & most unpromising boy in the class was a lad named Bob. After two or three Sundays
he was missing & the teacher went out to hunt him up. She found that his new clothes were torn & dirty,
but she invited him back to the school, & he came. The superintendent gave him a second new suit, but,
after attending once or twice, Bob was again absent. Once again she sought him out, only to find that the
second suit had gone the way of the first.
"I am utterly discouraged with Bob," she said, when she reported the case to the superintendent,
"& I must give him up."
"Please don't do that," the superintendent replied. "I can't but hope there is something good in Bob.
Try him once more. I'll give him a third suit if he'll promise to attend regularly."
Bob did promise, & received his third new suit. He attended regularly after that, & became
interested in the school. He became an earnest & persevering seeker after Jesus, & found Him. He joined
the church. He was made a teacher. He studied for the ministry. The end of the story is that this
discouraging boy--forlorn, ragged, runaway Bob--became Robert Morrison, the great missionary to China
who translated the Bible into the Chinese language, & by so doing, opened the kingdom of heaven to the
teeming millions of that vast country.
368. Old men declare wars, but it is youth that must fight them.
369. One of the advantages of being young is that you don't let common sense get in the way of
doing things everybody else knows are impossible.
370. What kids need today is plenty of LSD--Love, Security, & Discipline.
371. People who wonder where this generation is headed will do well to consider where it came
from.
372. One father was complaining in the presence of another father of the fact that his son was
costing him so much. He had to have money for clothes, books, carfare, lunch, etc. It was a burden.
The other father remarked, "My son does not cost me a dollar. I wish I could spend something on
him."
"Why doesn't your son cost you?"
"Because," replied the second father, "we lost him a few months ago."
373. A minister who was walking along a road saw a crowd of boys surrounding a dog. "What are
you doing with the dog?" asked the kindly minister.
"Whoever tells the biggest lie, he wins the dong."
"Oh, my, my, my," exclaimed the minister, "when I was a little boy like you here I never told a
lie."
There was a moment's silence. "Here," said one of the little fellows, "you win the dog."
374. A small boy observed his mother put a penny on the offering plate at the morning service. On
the way home from church, she freely criticized the poor sermon they had heard. "But, Mother," said the
boy, "what could you expect for a penny?"
375. A boy was in danger of being drowned while bathing in a river. Seeing a traveller on the
bank, he called to him for help; but the man started to lecture him on his rashness. "Rescue me now," cried
the boy: "you can lecture me later on when I am safe."
376. If Shakespeare came back today, a lexicographer claims, he would understand only five of
every nine words spoken. Few modern parents can do that well.
377. It was a dark, stormy night, & a little child, lost in the streets of the city, was crying in
distress. A policeman, gathering from the child's statement enough to locate the home, gave directions after
this manner: "Just go down this street half a mile, turn & cross the big iron bridge, then turn to your right &
follow the river down a little way, & you'll see then where you are." The poor child only half
comprehending, chilled by the wind, & bewildered by the storm, was turning about blindly, when another
voice spoke & said in a kindly tone, "Just come with me." The little hand was clasped in a stronger one, &
the corner of a warm cloak was thrown over the shoulders of the shivering child. The way home was made
easy. The first one had told the way; this one condescends to be the way.
378. some members of the younger generation believe that elbow grease is a petroleum product.
379. At a certain period in the life of every youth, he wonders how such dull parents produced
such a bright child.
380. Our tastes change as we mature. Little girls like painted dolls; little boys like soldiers. When
they grow up, the girls like the soldiers & the boys like the painted dolls.
381. The time to start worrying about a boy is when he leaves the house without slamming the
door.
382. A disgruntled school-teacher handed in her resignation with the following comment: "In our
public schools today, the teachers are afraid of the Principals, the Principals are afraid of the
superintendents, the superintendents are afraid of the board, the board members are afraid of the parents,
the parents are afraid of the children, & the children are afraid of nobody." (Eph.6:1-4; Col.3:20).
383. A small child was taken to a cathedral. She sat watching the sunshine through the windows.
She asked her mother, "What are these people on the windows?" "They are saints," was the answer. Then
the child said, "Now I know what saints are. They are people who let the light shine through."
384. In the nursery the children were talking rather loudly, & mother went in & asked what they
were quarrelling about. "We're not quarrelling, mother," said the eldest, "we're just playing 'Daddy &
Mummy'."
386. If the younger generation doesn't know where it's going, it must be following in its father's
footsteps.
387. Young folks of today have the disadvantage of having too many advantages.
388. Good tools do not make an excellent teacher, but an excellent teacher makes good use of
tools.
389. Kindling of interest is the great function of the teacher. People sometimes say, "I should like
to teach if only pupils cared to learn." But then, there would be little need of teaching.
390. Martin Luther warned, "I am much afraid that the universities will prove to be the great gates
to Hell, unless they diligently labour to explain the Holy Scriptures & to engrave them upon the hearts of
youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution
where they are not unceasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt.
391. The teacher was trying to impress on the children how important had been the discovery of
the law of gravitation. "Sir Isaac Newton was sitting on the ground, looking at the tree," she said, "an apple
fell on his head, & from that he discovered gravitation. Just think, children," she added enthusiastically,
"isn't that wonderful?"
The inevitable small boy replied, "Yes, an' if he had been settin' in school lookin' at his books, he
wouldn't never have discovered nothin'!"
392. "Nobody likes me at school," said the son. "The teachers don't, & the kids don't. The
superintendent wants to transfer me, the bus driver hates me, & the custodians have it in for me, I don't
want to go."
"You have to go," insisted the mother. "You're healthy. You have a lot to learn. You've got
something to offer others. You are a leader. Besides, you are 49 years old. You're the principal, & you have
to go to school."
393. Perhaps the most incisive story about the progressive method is the one about the school
psychologist who is putting a young girl through a series of tests to determine her intellectual fitness.
"Now first," said the psychologist, "are you a boy or a girl?"
"A boy," said the girl promptly.
"Well," said the psychologist, taken aback, "that's interesting. And what are you going to be when
you grow up?"
"A father," said the child.
"But darling," interrupted her mother, "you know better than that. Why do you say such things to
the doctor?"
"Because," said the child in all seriousness, "if he's going to ask silly questions, I'm going to give
silly answers."
395. Little Eldon, fretting at the teacher's assignment asked skeptically, "Do you get paid for
teaching us?"
The teacher smiled, "Yes."
Puzzled, the boy exclaimed, "That's funny! We do all the work!"
396. Dr. Percival, a busy surgeon, was a Christian. He had one daughter, Kitty, whom he loved
devotedly. One day she came to her father & told him she was going as a missionary to China. He said,
"Kitty, I forbid you ever to get out of my sight." At last she gave up plans for going, & married. She had
two darling children.
I lived next door to Dr. Percival. One day he told me that he had to give up his surgeon's license
because of the condition of his eyes. Later he had to have an operation on his eyes. When the bandages
were taken from them, his doctor said, "In two weeks you will be totally blind."
Dr. Percival sent for Kitty & the babies to come. He carefully felt their faces & seemed to get a
mental picture of them in his fingertips. He took me out into the light to "look at his pastor". It was a sad
day in our block, & everyone was weeping.
Months later I went out to lunch with Dr. Percival. I had to help feed him. As he walked home I
could see that he wanted to say something. "Say it, Doctor," I said. He said, "Tucker, I told Kitty that she
could never go out of my sight, but God has taken her from my sight. Wherever you go, plead with parents
to keep out of the way when God calls their children into His Service."
397. A sociable professor with grown children, living near us, was raking his front yard, when a
group of neighborhood children happened by & offered to help. From time to time the professor made
interesting comments & sustained their interest to such an extent that when the job was done each child
said, "Thank you for letting me help."
Next morning early, the professor's doorbell rang. His wife opened the door to a five-year-old girl,
one of the helpers of the previous day. the little girl smiled & said shyly, "Can he come out to play?"
398. When the small daughter of the distinguished sculptress, Sally James Farnum, was asked
which child was her mother's favourite, the little girl, according to Francis Newton in "This Week",
promptly replied: "She loves Jimmy best because he's the oldest; & she loves Johnny best because he's the
youngest; & she loves me best because I'm the only girl!" It would be difficult to find anything which could
more lucidly explain God's all-enveloping love for His children. No matter to what heights you have risen
or to what depths you have fallen, God loves you best because of some characteristic personal quality
which, while it may not be apparent to your fellow men, is known & cherished by your Heavenly Father.
400. Psychologists tell us that it is detrimental to be an orphan; a disadvantage to be the only child;
crushing to be the middle child; & taxing to be the oldest child. Obviously, the only way out of the dilemma
is to be born an adult!
401. The class had been reading the story of Moses. Afterward one boy asked, "Did Moses have
the same after-dinner illness my po's got?"
Puzzled the teacher asked him what he meant.
"Well," he said, "it says here the Lord gave Moses two tablets."
404. Teenagers haven't changed very much. They still grow up, leave home, & get married. The
big difference is that today they don't always do it in that order.
408. I really had a battle all day long, but my High School kids finally got to where they respected
me & appreciated me & some of them even cried when I left! The worst boy in the outfit was handsome,
smart & rich & I had more trouble with him than anybody & I had to keep him in for lunch or for recess, &
that was as hard on me as it was on him! I gave him so many lectures & Bible verses to learn! And when I
was leaving the school he came up & handed me a gift, crying that I was leaving. "On our most uncomely
parts we do bestow the most care." (1Cor.12:23) He was the worst troublemaker of all & I spent the most
time with him & took the most trouble with him. but he knew I loved him, I prayed with him so often!--
Dad
409. admitting one's own mistakes--even when one hasn't corrected them--can help convince
somebody to change his behaviour. This was illustrated by Clarence Zerhusen of Timonium, Maryland,
when he discovered his fifteen-year-old son was experimenting with cigarettes.
"Naturally, I didn't want David to smoke," Mr. Zerhusen told us, "but his mother & I smoked
cigarettes; we were giving him a bad example all the time. I explained to Dave how I started smoking at
about his age & how the nicotine had gotten the best of me & not it was nearly impossible for me to stop. I
reminded him how irritating my cough was & how he had been after me to give up cigarettes not many
years before.
"I didn't exhort him to stop or make threats or warn him about their dangers. All I did was point
out how I was hooked on cigarettes & what it had meant to me.
"He thought about it for awhile & decided he wouldn't smoke until he had graduated from high
school. As the years went by David never did start smoking & has no intention of ever doing so.
"As a result of that conversation I made the decision to stop smoking cigarettes myself, & with the
support of my family, I have succeeded."
A good leader follows this principle: Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other
person.
410. I had gone to the mountains to preach at a little Indian church that Sunday, & I was to show
pictures there that Sunday evening. It was a long rough mountain ride over gravel roads in my old Ford, but
I made it! After the Sunday A.M. service, I ate Sunday Mexican dinner with this precious little Indian
family & their lovely daughter.
But just before the evening church service I phoned home--to tell Mom I had arrived safely up
there, when she said that Ho had suddenly come down with a very high fever & was just lying limp & weak
on the couch, not even moving--almost like he was unconscious!
She said that some people from our church there wanted to rush him to the hospital quickly, that
maybe he was dying, maybe he had polio, maybe this, that or the other!--You know how some people
panic!--So Mom wanted to know, "Do you think maybe you ought to come home?"
But I said, "Honey, I'm here on the Lord's work--& about to have an evening service, I don't think
it is God's will for me to forsake this work. I'm on the wall like Nehemiah, & I don't think it is God's will
for me to come down! (Neh.6:3) I think it's an attack of the Enemy to try to defeat God's work!--So I'm
going to pray right now for him over the phone. You lay hands on him & I'll pray for him, & we'll just trust
the Lord & believe, no matter what happens, that the Lord wants me to go ahead & take care of His Work,
& God will take care of him!"--And so we prayed desperately together over the phone & just put him in
God's hands & hung up, as I had to hurry on to church.--What a test of faith! (1Pe.1:7)
It was a very important preaching engagement at this Indian church, because the Indians were
neglected there & the White people didn't care much about them, & if I had suddenly run out on them, they
might have felt that I thought our little boy's sickness was more important than preaching the Gospel to all
those Indians--a whole tribe! So I just prayed & committed him to the Lord, & trusted the Lord that He was
going to touch him.
So right away after the meeting I phoned Mom back again, & she said that between the two phone
calls his fever had broken & he was sitting up smiling & happy & looking better & feeling better!--The
Lord had really touched him! so it was really a testimony to the little Indian village family too, that the
Lord had really touched him!
I got home somewhere around midnight, & he was sleeping peacefully & the fever was completely
gone!--Dad
411. If human life can be taken before birth, there is no logical reason why it cannot be taken after
birth.
414. A fatal accident, involving the lives of four young people, took place upon one of the nation's
highways. The evidence that the liquor was the culprit was found in the broken whisky bottles among the
debris and mangled bodies of the four youthful victims. The father of one of the girls in frenzied anguish
over the untimely death of his beautiful daughter threatened to kill the one who had provided the four
young people with liquor, but upon going to the cupboard where he kept his supply of choice beverages, he
found a note in his daughter's hand-writing, "Dad, we're taking along some of your good liquor--I know
you won't mind."
415. A boy, 12 years old, was the important witness in a law suit, one of the lawyers, after cross-
questioning him severely, said, "Your father has been telling You how to testify, hasn't he?" "Yes," said the
boy. "Now," said the lawyer, "just tell us how your father told you to testify." "Well!" said the boy modestly,
"Father told me the lawyers would try to tangle me in my testimony; but if I would just be careful & tell the
truth, I could tell the same thing every time."
418. Paul was then a lad of ten. Moody was holding meetings in Denver, Col. Little Paul wanted
so badly to hear Mr. Moody preach. At the door the usher
419. A father, reading his Sunday paper & wishing not to be disturbed by his little girl, but up a
map of the World, gave it to her, & told her to put it together. After awhile she returned with it & every
piece was in its place. The father was very much surprised & said: "Why, how did you do it, darling? You
don't know anything about geography." The little one replied, "There was a picture of Jesus on the other
side, & I knew when I had Jesus in the right place, the whole World would be all right!"
420. A father had told his son he would send him to sleep in the attic, with only bread & water for
his supper, if he broke the laws of the home once more. The child disobeyed again & was sent to the attic.
The father could not eat. He had the boy on his mind & his heart. His wife said: "I know what you
are thinking. But you must not bring the boy from the attic. It would clause him to disobey again. He would
have no respect for your word. You must not cheapen your relation as his father by failing to keep your
promise."
To which her husband replied: "You are right. I will not break my word. To do so would cause my
son to lose his respect for my word. But he is so lonely up there." He kissed his wife good night, entered
the attic, ate bread & water with the boy, & when the child went to sleep on the hard boards, his father's
arm was his pillow.
He who knew no sin suffered for the sinner.
421. Voice over the phone: "I sent my little son, James, to your store for five pounds of apples, & i
find on weighing them that you sent only four & a quarter pounds." The Grocer: "Madam, my scales are
regularly inspected & are correct. Have you weighed your little boy?"
422. "Joseph was the boy who never had a cold neck," the boy told his mother when she quizzed
him about the Sunday school lesson. "How do you know that?" mother asked. "Because," replied the lad,
"Joseph had a coat of many collars."
423. A little waif of the streets was admitted to a children's home. He was offered a new outfit, &
took a boy's pride in getting a new suit, new stockings, new boots. But when they offered him a new capital
he wanted to cling to the old, ragged one he held in his hand. When obliged to part with it, it was noticed by
the kindly Sister that he tore out its lining & stuffed it in his pocket. "Why did you do that?" asked the
Sister. "Because," he said, with tears in his eyes, "the lining of my old capital was part of my mother's
dress. It is all I've got left of her, & somehow it seems to bring her back."
424. a boy once asked, "Dad, how do wars begin?" "Well, take the First World War," said his
father. "That got started when Germany invaded Belgium." Immediately his wife interrupted him. "Tell the
boy the truth. It began because somebody was murdered." The husband drew himself up with an air of
superiority & snapped back, "Are you answering the question or am I?"
Turning her back upon him in a huff, the wife walked out of the room & slammed the door as hard
as she could. When the dishes stopped rattling in the cupboard, an uneasy silence followed, broken at
length by the son. "Daddy, you don't have to tell me how wars begin; I know now!"
425. A man went to steal corn from his neighbor's field. He took his little boy with him to keep a
lookout, so as to give warning in case anyone should come along. Before commencing he looked all
around, first one way & then the other. Not seeing any person, he was just about to fill his bag, when his
son cried out, "Father, there is one way you haven't looked yet!" The father supposed that someone was
coming, & asked his son which way he meant. He answered, "You forgot to look up!" The father,
conscience-stricken, took his boy by the hand, & hurried home without the corn which he had designed to
take.
426. Some years ago, in a St. Louis murder trial, a young criminal said: "My father always said I
was no good. Mother said I'd never amount to anything. The school teachers told me I was no account.
Even my own home town never expected me to be anything but a criminal. I always wondered why, for, as
far as I could see, I was just like other boys, only a bit more independent. The only creature that ever really
seemed to understand or believe in me was my dog. When he died, I became a bum!"
428. There is a tradition that Jonathan Edwards, third president of Princeton & America's greatest
thinker, had a daughter with an ungovernable temper. But, as is so often the case, this infirmity was not
known to the outside world.
A worthy young man fell in love with this daughter & sought her hand in marriage. "You don't
have her," was the abrupt answer of Jonathan Edwards. "But I love her," the young man replied. "You can't
have her," said Edwards. "But she loves me," replied the young man.
Again Edwards said, "You can't have her." "Why?" said the young man. "Because she is not
worthy of you." "But," he asked, "she is a Christian, is she not?" "Yes, she is a Christian, but the grace of
God can live with some people with whom no one else could ever live."
429. The new minister was a bachelor, & when he helped himself to the biscuits for the third time
he looked across the table at the hostess' small daughter. She was staring at him with round eyes. "I don't
often have such a good supper as this, my dear," he told her. "We don't either," said the little girl. "I'm glad
you came!"
430. For 120 years Noah preached the Gospel; tell me, how many conversions did he get? Seven.
Who were Noah's converts? They were his wife & family. The place where the reality of a man's religion is
tested the most is in his own home.
432. A spot is pointed out at Niagara Falls from which a father threw his little girl headlong into
the seething torrent, without having the slightest thought of doing so. He took her in his arms & gave her a
playful swing out over the abyss merely to see if it would frighten her.
The child in a paroxysm of fear, gave a sudden jerk & fell with a shriek into the great abyss. You
say he had no business to trifle with her in that way. No more have you a right to trifle with your soul by
swinging it out in foolish indifference over the great chasm of eternity.
433. Down in Jackson, Mississippi, three boys arrived in school late. It was as late as 10:00 a.m.
They had been fishing. For their excuse they stated that they were delayed because of a flat tire. The
teacher decided to give them a test immediately, so she had them seated apart from one another. She said,
"This test will have only one question, & I will give you thirty seconds to put down your answer." The
question was, "Which tire?"
The teacher was pretty sharp. There is no question as to the result of the test. The boys were shown
to be liars.
434. The boy was standing before the judge of a juvenile court charged with a crime that had
shocked the entire community & had brought grief & misery to his parents. "Where did you get the idea of
committing such a deed?" asked the judge. "I read it," replied the lad simply. The judge hesitated a moment,
then turned & addressed the boy's father, "Did you ever take the pains to examine the literature your boy
was reading?" "Why-er, no--that is, it never occurred to me," responded the man, cut to the quick by the
question. Who was to blame? Do you--teacher, mother, father--realise the tremendous influence on a
character building that is represented by the literature that is falling into the hands of your boys & girls?
435. On an occasion when the teacher let the children "draw" the Bible story they had heard, one
little boy drew the picture of an airplane with a pilot in the front seat. The passengers were a man, woman
& baby. When asked to tell about his picture, he said, "This is Pontius the pilot taking Mary & Joseph &
Baby Jesus on a flight out of Egypt."
436. Mrs. Brown was shocked to learn that Junior had told a lie. Taking the youngster aside for a
heart-to-heart talk, she graphically explained the consequences of falsehood.
"A tall black man with red fiery eyes & two sharp horns grabs little boys who tell lies & carries
them off at night. He takes them to Mars where they have to work in a dark canyon for fifty years! Now,"
she concluded, satisfied, "you won't tell a lie again, will you, dear?"
"No, Mom," replied Junior gravely. "You tell better ones."
438. A little five-year-old girl had been attending the church kindergarten. Each day before the
children were dismissed, the teacher had them sing the Doxology, which the little five-year-old loved to
sing, but in her own words: "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures, here we
go!"
439. One day a mother noticed that her little girl was in her room a long, long time & she had said
she was going in to pray to Jesus. Finally, when the little girl came out her mother asked her what she was
doing in her room for such a long time when she had just gone in to pray.
"I was just telling Jesus that I love Him & He was telling me that He loves me. And we were just
loving each other."
440. A kindergarten-age lad was deeply grieved because his tiger cat had just died. His mother
helped the boy put the cat in a box & bury it. Some weeks later the lad came running into the house
excitedly, urging his mother to go outside with him & look up into the tree. Looking down at the boy & his
mother was a tiger cat a little larger than the one that had died, but marked the same way. "There he is,
Mommy," the boy said. "See? I planted Tiger & he just growed up!"
It is no myth
That a child can unfence
Paradise with
Its innocence.
An eager child
Will breathlessly push
Through jungles wild
In a backyard bush.
It will begin
Exploring for new
Edens in
Each drop of dew.
443. The other day I was walking with Nina, our 3-year-old, down strange steps. She was walking
very shakily, so I said, "Nina, watch your steps!" She said, "Daddy, these are not MY steps, they are
somebody ELSE'S steps!"--Hez & Mary.
445. Mark Twain was a distinguished-looking figure in his later years. One day he was strolling in
the park when a little girl pattered up to him & asked if she could walk with him. Highly flattered, Twain
told her stories for an hour, then gave her a nickel & said, "Now run along home--& when you grow up you
can tell your friends you once walked with Mark Twain." "Mark Twain!" echoed the little girl, bursting into
tears. "I thought you were Buffalo Bill!"
446. When he was only nine months old,
And plump & round & pink of cheek,
A joy to tickle & to hold
Before he'd even learned to speak,
His gentle mother used to say:
"It is too bad that he must grow.
If I could only have my way
His baby ways we'd always know."
448. There are three children in my family. If they were to confront a spider web in the garden,
each would react differently. The first child would examine the web & wonder how the spider wove it. The
second would worry a great deal about where the spider was at that particular moment. And the third would
exclaim, "Oh, look! A trampoline!" One reality, three dimensions.
449. A college student in his four years does not make proportionately a fraction of the progress
the well-trained infant does in his first two years.
453. Mrs. Arthur Sulzberger, of the newspaper dynasty, was bidding a granddaughter good-night
one evening when the child remarked, "Mommy & Daddy are entertaining some very important people
downstairs." "You're right," agreed Mrs. Sulzberger, "But how did you know?" "Just listen," advised her
granddaughter, "Mommy is laughing at all of Daddy's jokes!"
454. My sister's young son spent a weekend at a nature camp. When she went to pick him up, he
told her camp was okay, but that they play tricks on you. Asked to explain, he said, "Well, like when they
make you get up every morning for ravioli--& then they never give you any!"
Hours pass
While on the thread of weary, childish breaths
The issue hangs. Then, one comes close to God,
Waiting & watching; & the hoping heart
Seems branded with the clutch of helpless hands
That leave long scars.
456. Bernard Shaw was enjoying a swin in a pool during a stay in South Africa; so were some
boys who knew nothing of the august author. One small boy was "dared" by his playmates to "duck the old
man" for a shilling. He accepted, but when he was close to his victim, panic seized him. Shaw turned, saw
the youngster, & asked him what he wanted. In halting accents, the boy revealed the plot & the shilling bet.
"Well," said Shaw, looking sternly at the youngster, "if you wait a moment while I get my breath, I'll let you
push my head under water." He did, & the small boy swam back triumphantly to collect his shilling.
457. Never a sigh for the cares that she bore for me,
Never a thought of the joys that flew by;
Her one regret that she couldn't do more for me,
Thoughtless & selfish, her Master was I.
458. You can talk about your music, & your operatic airs,
And your phonographic record that Caruso's tenor bears;
But there isn't any music that such wondrous joy can bring
Like that concert when the kiddies & their mother start to sing.
460. The day after the circus came to town, a teacher received the following excuse for the
absence of one of her pupils:
'Dear Teacher: Education, you know, is a lot of things. It is reading & writing & ciphering. It is
"Yes, please" & "Yes, thanks," & 'No, thank you.' It is the washing of our hands & the use of forks. It is
pencils & scissors & paste & erasers & chalk dust. It is the excitement of vacations. It is autumn bonfires &
sleds & puddle-wading.
"Education is a lot of things. It is a brass band blaring & a calliope tooting, Education is a woman
shot from a cannon, a man on a tight rope, a seal playing a tune with his nose. It is sideshow barkers,
clowns, lions, cotton candy, cowboys & spangles. Education is the wonderment of new things new
sensations. It is, in short, a circus!
"That's why Ginger wasn't in your classroom yesterday. Excuse it, please."
461. A comment was made to some of the Combo kids by one of their teachers that if they kept
helping out & doing work & being a blessing, that they'd get to be on one of the higher levels of Space
City. Their reply was, 'Oh that's O.K., we want to be on the bottom where all the fairs are!'--Bileam
462. David, Davida & Techi enjoy very much the MWM Drama tape containing, besides other
stories, the story of 'Sophie, the Washerwoman' in the rich lady's house. After first listening to it the
children were so excited, & Techi right away wanted to hear it again. "Please," she pleaded, "can we again
hear the story of "Soapy, the Washerwoman'?"
463. Davida was searching through the TK book for one of her favourite Letters on the Spirit
Queen of Love. When she found one she said, "Oh, there it is--Our Decoration of Love"
464. David (when 5-years-old) was looking through the encyclopedia one day & found Jesus'
picture included in a group of others on a page about "Famous Men". He was quite disgusted that the book
would group Jesus in with some rather weirdie-beardie types, like Confucius. He asked who Confucius
was, & I read "an ancient Chinese writer & philosopher..." & David said sharply, "Well! God is not the
author of Confucius!"
465. During a Christmas Flannelgraph story, I asked Techi the name of the angel who visited
Mary. "Hark, the herald angel!", she answered.
466. Someone noticed Techi (3) putting her own shoes on & said, "Techi, You put Your shoes on
the wrong feet!" "No," she said, "I put the wrong shoes on the right feet!"
467. One father confessed that he did not realise how dishonest he was until he learned a hard
lesson. His fourth-grade son received a very low mark in spelling. In spite of scoldings & extra study it
seemed his son simply could not bring up his grade. One day the lad told his teacher, "When my dad went
to school he got all A's in spelling." "How do you know?" the teacher asked. "Did he tell you he did?"
"No!" the boy replied, "But I know he did by the way he scolds me."
"The way I scolded my son", the father said, "I conveyed in untruth. The fact is that I, too, had a
hard time in spelling. Then I told my son I also had a difficult time in spelling. Immediately I saw hope
shining in his eyes. From that moment on my son did much better, By giving him the impression I got all
A's I made him feel defeated. By being honest myself I gave him hope that since Dad made it, he could,
too.'
468. At the Newspaper Boys Congress Dinner one little boy kept coming back again & again for
pieces of pit. The coloured lady finally said to him, "Boy, if yo' don' stop eatin' pie, you's gonna bust!" The
little boy said, "Well, lady, gime the pie & get outta the way!"--Dad
469. A little girl in Sunday School was asked by the teacher what else goes with the Armour of
God; there's the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness & what else? The little girl said, "The Axe
of the Apostles."
470. One of my favourite stories concerns the farmer's wife who had a brood of 9 children, She
worked hard & was never ill. One day the doctor commented to her, "How is it that I have patients who
have nervous breakdowns & yet they don't have as much to do as you have?" The farmer's wife looked
wistful as she replied, "Doctor, I've often wanted to have a breakdown but always someone wanted me to
fix a meal."
471. When Mrs. Ruth Hopkins, a fourth-grade teacher in Brooklyn, New York, looked at her class
roster the first day of school, her excitement and joy of starting a new term was tinged with anxiety. In her
class this year she would have Tommy T., the school's most notorious -bad boy." His third-grade teacher
had constantly complained about Tommy to colleagues, the principal and anyone else who would listen. He
was not just mischievous; he caused serious discipline problems in the class, picked fights with the boys.
teased the girls, was fresh to the teacher, and seemed to get worse as he grew older. His only redeeming
feature was his ability to learn rapidly and master the school work easily.
Mrs. Hopkins decided to face the "Tommy problem" immediately. When she greeted her new
students, she made little comments to each of them: "Rose, that's a pretty dress you are wearing." "Alicia, I
hear you draw beautifully." When she came to Tommy, she looked him straight in the eyes and said,
"Tommy, I understand you are a natural leader. I'm going to depend on you to help me make this class the
best class in the fourth grade this year." She reinforced this over the first few days by complimenting
Tommy on everything he did and commenting on how this showed what a good student he was. With that
reputation to live up to, even a nine-year-old couldn't let her down--and he didn't.
If you want to excel in that difficult leadership role of changing the attitude or behavior of others,
give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
472. Remember that story I told you about my Mother? She didn't like bread crusts when she was
a little girl so she just ate the inside of the bread & put all the crusts around under the rim of her plate trying
to hide them from her mother so they wouldn't see how she hadn't eaten the crust, And then her mother
came along clearing the table, picked up the plate & here was this ring of bread crusts! She said, "Nina
Virginia, aren't you ashamed of Yourself? Think of those poor starving Armenians!" She said, "Yes, Mother,
that's just who I was saving them for!" --Dad
473. One businessman to another: "I finally taught my son the value of a dollar. Now he wants his
weekly allowance in Swiss Francs!"
474. David & Davida are both learning about spelling now. David said, "Guess what! I can spell
,cannot'!" I thought he'd play a trick & spell the contraction "can't", but he said "k-n-o-t!"--Sara
475. Susanna (4) said while passing by a hair salon where she'd gotten her hair trimmed: "They do
children's & they do adultery too!"--Isaac Numbers
476. Maria (3) was quite interested in knowing about babies & asked me how they got into my
tummy. So I explained to her that when daddy makes love to Mommy he plants a seed in my tummy etc. A
few days later after we had eaten oranges she grabbed a seed off the table & swallowed it. I asked, "Why
did you do that?" She immediately answered, "I want to have a baby too."
478. Dr. R. A. Torrey told a touching story about a man in Chicago who had a sweet little daughter.
He loved her dearly, but God took the little child away from him. The house was so lonely and he was so
angry against God, that he walked up and down in his room far into the night cursing God for having
robbed him of his child. At last, thoroughly worn out, and in great bitterness he threw himself on his bed.
He dreamed he stood beside a river, Across the river, in the distance, he heard the singing of such voices as
he had never listened to before. Then he saw beautiful little girls coming toward him, nearer and nearer,
until at last it the head of the company, he saw his own little girl. She stood on the brink of the river and
called across, "Come over here, lather!" That overcame his bitterness. He accepted Jesus and prepared to go
over yonder where his sweet child had gone.
479. Our children must know the Scriptures so they can quote them when they're in trouble &
when all they have is what they've hidden in their hearts. That they can't take away from them. It's hidden
in their hearts. It's a bulwark, a defence against the voice of the Enemy.--Dad
480. If you haven't dwelt in the Word, kept the Word & taught your children the Word & made
them examples of the Word, then you have failed. 14 you are not absorbing the Word yourself & living the
Word & preaching the Word & practicing the Word & teaching your children the Word & making them
good examples of the Word, for get it!--Dad
481. Adolescence is of necessity a time of conflict between one's own capabilities and what one is
expected and permitted to do. It is a time if ambiguity. The adolescent is forever being told by the adult
world to 'act his age,, that is, to behave according to his chronological maturity. But he is also being told to
stay out of adult concerns, that is, to behave according to his cultural age. Whatever he does, he is wrong.
He does violence tither to his chronological or to his cultural age. He is, therefore, inevitably a problem to
himself as well as to society.--Peter Drucker
482. Absorbed in his own minor tribulations of coin & conquest, the adult too often forgets that
youth is a jarring time, full of excruciating first experiences & full-blown tragedies. It is a pimple on the
cheek which everyone will see with distaste; it is the clothes which never seem to fit a gangly body; it is the
ultimate disappointment, a broken promise by a parent. It is a training ground for adulthood, a place & time
to try for independence, a place & time to try & fail & succeed.
483. You adults really "adopt" each other in the wedding ceremony, yet feel closer to your mate
than to the blood brothers and sisters with whom you grew up as a child. Use this analogy of your adoption
of your marital partner when it comes to explaining the adoption of your son or daughter.
484. Adults are used to talking, to giving orders, but when it comes to living with Teens, adults
need to listen with both ears and with their hearts.
485. The problem of communicating with the younger generation would be less complicated if
parents knew a little more about what was going on under that male or female hair. One way to find out, I
have discovered, is to act as chauffeur for a group of teenagers. Keep your mouth shut, & within minutes of
starting out you will be forgotten & conversation will go on is though You were an automatic pilot. I don't
know if this is considered an illegal form of bugging, but it is effective.
486. "We lost our first child", said a man in the course of a conversation with a friend.
The other, shocked, cried out, "I didn't know she was dead!"
"Oh, she isn't dead," was the quick response, to which was added sadly, "I was too busy."
487. The only time you grow is when you're sleeping, did you know that? You little ones want to
grow fast, so the more you sleep, the more you grow! Don't forget that! That's the time when you grow,
when you're sleeping.
488. All Hail to the Queen.
-- To the mother who's been
A Heroine again & again!
CHORUS:
All Hail to the Queen!
--To the mother unseen,
All Hail to the mother of men!
491. When you need real understanding, when You need someone to care,
When you need someone to guide you, when you just need someone there,
It's so wonderful) haying a father who's thoughtful, gentle & kind,
A father who's ready to help & hear what you have on your mind.
How wonderful haying a father who cares about all that you do.
How wonderful haying a father like that, a father who's just like you!