Kids Mirror Parents

An American Bible Society study conducted by Weekly Reader Research found that children actually do mirror their parents’ behavior. Parents who attend church weekly tend to have teens that worship weekly, while 78% of parents who never attend worship services have teens who never attend, according to christiannewswire.com. The survey found almost 80% of America’s 30.2 million 12-18 year olds think the Bible is important and 87% of parents agree. Yet, only 11% of teens read the Bible daily.
Pastors Weekly Briefing 3/7/08

Balance

As we are going through the series, "Desperate Households", I have received feedback, that one of the biggest challenges in life is maintaining proper balance. I would agree that it sure can be difficult. I came across this in some of my reading this week, and thought it brought an interesting perspective:

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them -- work, family, health, friends and spirit and you are keeping them all in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls ---family, health,friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life" Brian Dyson, former vice president of Cocoa-Cola, who delivered the commencement address at Georgia Tech in 1996.

Keep moving towards Jesus!

Study: Spirituality a big part of kids' happiness

By Ron Csillag, Religion News Service

Spirituality is a major contributor to a child's overall happiness — even more so than for adults — according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

The study tested 315 children aged 9 to 12, measuring spirituality and other factors such as temperament and social relations that can affect an individual's sense of happiness.

"Our goal was to see whether there's a relation between spirituality and happiness," said Mark Holder, associate professor of psychology and the study's co-author. "We knew going in that there was such a relation in adults, so we took multiple measures of spirituality and happiness in children."

Past studies have shown that in adults, spiritual feelings and higher levels of religious behavior typically account for about 5% of a person's overall happiness, said a UBC statement.

The results of the UBC study came as a surprise: 6.5 to 16.5% of children's happiness can be accounted for by spirituality.

"From our perspective, it's a whopping big effect," said Holder. "I expected it to be much less — I thought their spirituality would be too immature to account for their well-being."

Children in the study were asked to rate statements such as "I feel a higher power's presence," and answer questions including, "how often do you pray or meditate privately outside of church or other places of worship?"

Parents were also asked to describe each child's apparent happiness and spirituality, and teachers rated each child's happiness level.

The study's authors plan to conduct the same research in India to see whether children score similar results in a country not dominated by Christianity.

From, Too Busy Not To Pray, Bill Hybels

"From birth we have been learning the rules of self-reliance as we strain and struggle to achieve self-sufficiency.
Prayer flies in the face of those deep-seated values. It is an assault on human autonomy, an indictment of independent living. To people in the fast lane, determined to make it on their own, prayer is an embarrassing interruption.
Prayer is alien to our proud human nature. And yet somewhere, someplace, probably all of us reach the point of falling to our knees, bowing our heads, fixing our attention on God and praying. We may look both ways to be sure no one is watching; we may blush; but in spite of the foreignness of the activity, we pray."

Let's remember the unlimited potential of a prayer offered in faith.

Think About It...

"Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them." --- Winston Churchill

"You weren't an accident, You weren't mass produced. You aren't an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on the Earth by the Master Craftsman."— Max Lucado

General Colin Powell's Rules

I came across this the other day, and thought it was some sound advice....

1. It ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your
position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done!
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
6. Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone
else make yours.
8. Check small things.
9. Share credit.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision.
12. Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.