Category: Family

‘Tis the Season

tis8217theseasonIt was a wonderfully snowy Sunday Morning in early December a few years ago when the Sunday school teacher asked her students, “Does anyone know what Season this is?”  Several children eagerly raised their hands to answer the question.  Our oldest daughter Hannah must have seemed extra enthusiastic as she was called upon to give her answer.  Smiling from ear to ear she proclaimed, “It’s deer season!”

It’s true.  Like so many Southern Iowa natives our house over the years becomes a hunting lodge between the September’s Youth Season and the January High-Power Season.  I must say that I am so blessed to have a wife who does not mind living in a meat locker / butcher shop for a while every year.  Fortunately, in more recent hunts, our friends have allowed us to use their “shop” and things haven’t been so messy around our house.

Some of the men I know would argue that the hunting season is the “most wonderful time of the year.”  While I would agree that it is indeed wonderful I would argue that every event or evening spent with your family is the “most wonderful.”  I have never heard any parents say, “Oh how I wish I would have spent more time at work while the kids were growing up.”  Or, “I really wish we would have had fewer meals together as a family.”  No one in their right mind would ever say, “While my children were young, we played way to many games together.” Or, “My kids always got in the way of my hunting.”

There are several things that I enjoy about the hunting season.  I love being out in the woods with my children.   I love teaching them, walking with them, helping them understand safety, the elements, and just being amazed by God’s creation all around us, together.  I want them to understand how to properly handle firearms, clean whatever game they get, provide for the family, and just what it means to “have dominion” over the earth, as Genesis 1:26, 28 instruct.

This is a wonderful time of the year – for many reasons.  The holidays are a terrific time because they tend to be focused times for the family.  I want to encourage you not to wait until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day!  Make plans to spend a few evenings at home, together, as a family. If you are a hunter, include your family, teach your children, and take advantage of the limited opportunities you have to influence them for God’s glory and their own good!

Clegguart Mitchell

“They’re Birds!”

The month of August is a great time to head out into the timber and check your Deer stand, shooting lanes, and game trails. On one particularly warm day my oldest son Nathan, youngest son Josiah, and myself decided we needed to head to grandpa’s farm in order to do just that! On the way there Josiah asked four or five times “Daddy, can we stop by grandpa’s apple tree?” I guess you can’t check your stand without a few apples to munch along the way.

As we made our way across the field I was in teaching mode. I wanted the boys to notice everything; the direction of the wind, the sounds we could hear, any trails, and any wildlife we could spot on the way in. As we made our way down the hill and across a little hay-field Nathan said, “Dad. Look at all those geese!” I looked up at the sky just in time to see what Nathan was now pointing at. I said, “Wow, there sure are a lot of ‘em up there. But I don’t think they’re geese.” Nathan asked, “What are they?” and I responded, “I don’t know.” At this point Josiah who was working his way through his third apple and had not even raised his head to look up at the sky said, “They’re birds.”

Sometimes the simplicity and complexity of children is just the right dose of reality! Thinking about that day still brings a smile to my face. We knew they were not geese and thanks to Josiah we knew for certain that they were absolutely birds. What a joy and great blessing our children really are to us!

In a study conducted several years ago, sociologists Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck of Harvard University tried to identify the crucial factors in Juvenile Delinquency. They developed a test by which they could predict the future delinquency of children five or six-years-old. Their follow-up tests, four years later, proved to be ninety percent accurate. They determined that the four necessary factors to prevent delinquency are:

  1. The Father’s Discipline: Discipline must be firm, fair, and consistent.
  2. The Mother’s Supervision: A mother must know where her children are and what they’re doing at all times, and be with them as much as possible.
  3. The Father and Mother’s Affection: Children need to see love demonstrated between the father and mother, and have it physically demonstrated to them.
  4. The Family’s Cohesiveness: The family must spend time together.

Deuteronomy 6:7-9 “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Notice that this practice is an imperative: YOU SHALL TEACH THEM. Second, the process is simple: TALK. Not preach, scold, cajole, pound it into them, or dump on them. This is to be a natural a part of our daily life, natural and unforced, it is to just flow into every part of life. The key to this is really whether or not you can see God in every part of life. If you do, so will your children. If God stays at church or when you prepare a lecture, they will compartmentalize Him right out of their social life, private life, sports life, dressing life, recreation life and every other part of their lives. As one great old saint said, ‘There’s no difference between the sacred in the secular’. That’s basically what Moses is saying: Just let God flow into all of life.

Are you praying for your children? Are you teaching them the Word of God? Do you pray with your children? Do you model good choices? How much time and attention do you give to your children?

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”  3 John 1:4

Clegguart Mitchell

Not Always Easy

I love my wife and I am not ashamed to say it!  She is my best friend and I am her best friend.  We will be happily married for nineteen years this August and I can honestly say that we have grown closer to one another with each passing year.  She is my sunshine, my delight, and my treasure.  My name is Clegguart Mitchell and I approve this message.

God has been so kind to bless us with six children; and a new baby due in December!  The children range from almost three up to fourteen years.  We love to go golfing, fishing, hunting, and playing all sorts of games together.  Yes, each child is different and has his or her own personality, preferences, and problems.  But I can honestly say, I love every one of them in their own personal uniqueness and I would not trade any one of them for anything in the world!

As a husband I have no problem loving and honoring my wife.  As a dad my chest puffs up with the best of them when thinking and speaking of my children.  As a man accountable to God for leading in my home and shepherding my family, well, life is not always easy.  I am so thankful that God’s Word spells out so simply and so clearly what God’s design and desire are for me!  Now, you may be single, a single parent, childless, or even a grandparent. God has written down His design and desire for you no matter where you are in life!

Parenting is not always easy.  A young pastor fresh out of Seminary and newly married preached a sermon that he called “The Ten Commandments of Child Rearing.”  A couple years and one child later he changed the title to “Five Biblical Principles for Parenting”.  A few years and another child later he re-titled again to “Three Suggestions for Parents”.  As you may have guessed after ten years and three children he was no longer in the ministry, he was selling used cars.

Sometimes raising children is just hard.  In one bookstore I counted over sixty titles on “Family” and most of them did not agree!  Mark Twain had an interesting idea about parenting.  When you are faced with one of those hard moments consider what Mr. Twain said.  His philosophy was: “When a kid turns thirteen, stick him in a barrel, nail the lid on top and feed him through the knothole.  When he turns 16, plug up the hole!”

It is almost Father’s Day.  Did you know that God actually spells out the stages of personal growth for us Dad’s?  In Psalm 127:1-2 we need a godly foundation; v3-5 we need to trust God for blessed fruitfulness; Ps 128:1-4 we can enjoy a happy family life; and v5-6 we get to reap the joys of a satisfying family when we get older.  God really does have a plan, and friend, He wants to help you!  Read His Word, the Holy Bible, and you will be amazed by all that you discover!

 

Clegguart Mitchell

Life in Leon

Just over two years ago I moved my wife and six children, including a new born baby girl, to Leon. We were excited and nervous and looking forward to settling into our new home and new community. With the help of our church family, and so many new friends in the community, it only took a few short months to feel “right at home.”

Obviously with six children, life is never dull in our house. Our oldest is now 14 and our youngest is now two and half. They love golf with dad, baseball with friends, fishing as a family, hunting with Melvin & Annette, and they really enjoy visiting with the folks out at Westview (especially Mr. Dale Miller). Indeed, for our family, life in Leon is just an absolute joy!

When our twelve year old was three he had to use a stool in order to reach the sink in the bathroom. We always knew when Jordan was going to wash his hands because the little wooden stool doubled as a car which he enjoyed driving. He always made “vvv-rooom” and tire squealing sounds as he “drove” the little stool to the sink and back to the end of the counter.

On several occasions when Jordan would “park” the little stool, he would stand straight up and hit his little head on the corner of the hard counter. He would cry out, rub his head, and the tears would flow. On one such occasion I said, “Jordan, Jordan, Jordan, listen to Daddy.” Now pointing at the hard corner I said, “Buddy. This is always going to be here.” He wrinkled his face, sniffled, and kept rubbing his head.

A few days later I heard the little motor sound coming from the bathroom. I stopped in the hall and listened. Then I heard tire sounds, a little thud, and crying. When I looked into the bathroom Jordan was rubbing his little head again. He pointed to the corner of the counter and said, “Daddy. It’s always gonna be there.”

Friends, do you realize that God tells us in Psalm 119:89 that His Word (the Holy Bible) is forever settled in Heaven? In other words, God’s Word is “always going to be there.” Not only does God describe for us how to know Him personally (John 14:6; Romans 10:9-10) but He also explains life in easy to understand words! The Bible is our Source (2 Timothy 3:16-17), our Comfort (Romans 15:4), our Guide (Joshua 1:8; John 8:31-32), and our Strength (Psalm 119:28; Acts 20:32).

Just like a little boy who needed to accept the fact that the counter top would always be there, you and I need to accept the fact that the Bible is “forever settled in Heaven”.  Indeed, God’s Word is “always going to be there”!

 

Clegguart Mitchell