Family: The 7 Worst Parenting Mistakes Ever

I'm sure you heard about the 4-year-old girl in Delaware who gave tiny packets of cocaine to her

daycare classmates because she thought it was candy. Her mother, who was arrested earlier this month, said she gave her daughter the wrong backpack and couldn't tell police how 249 packets of cocaine ended up in her possession.

Every week I hear similar stories of children suffering because their parents used horrible judgment. Like the Ebola virus, bad parenting seems to be spreading and the church is not immune. We had better get busy teaching Christian parents how to raise their kids the old-fashioned way, because recent trends are scary.

I made a list of some of the most disturbing trends in modern parenting. I am sure you can add a few more:

1. Whacky names. We joke about the ridiculous names some film and music stars give their kids: Pilot Inspektor, Denim, Camera, Blanket or Diva Thin Muffin. Yet the common people come up with even stranger names for their babies: Facebook, Hashtag, Aquafresh, Cheese, Chlamydia, Random and get this Felony. Do these parents want their kids to be bullied? I'm all for creativity, but if you name your child after a dairy product, social media or a sexually transmitted disease you are setting them up for abuse.

2. Allowing kids to "explore" their gender. Our culture today has gone insane when it comes to gender rules. In some schools, teachers are urged not to "impose" gender on boys or girls but to let them "decide" which gender they are, regardless of reality. And there are parents who insist that their fourth-grade boy be allowed to go in the girls' restroom because he "feels" he is a girl. Am I the only person who believes that the "psychologists" responsible for this trend need therapy themselves?

3. Sexualizing children. Back in my day kids really didn't think about sex until hormones started kicking in at age 13. When I was 9, I was playing with Lincoln Logs, watching Johnny Quest cartoons and learning how to tie square knots. Today, experts say children show sexual interest and engage in sexual behavior earlier than ever. Much of this is fueled by pornography, but television, music videos (think Miley Cyrus' influence on tween girls) and even toys are also to blame. The popular Bratz dolls feature young girls dressed in fishnet hose and miniskirts and wearing heavy makeup. And why did Victoria's Secret produce underwear last year featuring the words "Eye Candy" and "Wink Wink"—and then market them to pre-teen girls? Parents who expose their kids to sexually charged media or clothing simply invite trouble. Learn to put guardrails around the media your child is exposed to.

4. Showcasing kids. At the risk of offending church moms who put their daughters in pageants: Please stop it. We all know there's only one reason a mother would force her three-year-old daughter to wear mascara and tons of hair spray to compete with other toddlers in a beauty contest: It's all about the mothers. The girls are the victims. It has already been proven that girls who are subjected to these expensive pageants suffer from eating disorders and other self-image issues. Forcing your child to live out your fantasies is cruel. (FACT: Did you know that some American families spend more than $75,000 a year on child pageants, and that the entry fees are often priced higher than the awards given?)

5. Not showing affection. I can't tell you how many times I've asked a group of grown men how many of them had fathers who hugged them during their childhood. Often not one hand goes up. The concept of a loving dad who wrestles with his kids or bounces them on his knee has become a fairy tale to many people—and the lack of affection shows up later in insecurity, depression and a host of other psychological problems. Doctors have proven that human beings need seven expressions of meaningful touch every day. Depriving kids of wholesome affection is as serious as withholding food and water.

6. Abandoning your kids. One-third of all children growing up in America today don't have a father in the home. And the U.S. Census shows that this number continues to climb. Children who grow up in single-parent families face higher risk of poverty, and many end up delinquent, addicted to drugs or alcohol or in jail. This crisis represents a huge mission field for churches today, but we can't fight the abandonment epidemic unless we can convince more parents to consider the kids before they break up a family.

7. Giving your kids everything they want. Author Elizabeth Kolbert wrote in The New Yorker two years ago that American kids are "the most indulged young people in the history of the world." The word discipline has become a dirty word in our lexicon. Children today have all the toys and expensive gadgets they want, but they are not expected to share in household chores and don't even want to tie their own shoes or take out the garbage. It's no wonder some 30-year-old men end up living with their parents and playing video games all day: They never learned adult responsibility, so they are stuck in perpetual adolescence.

Ps. 127:3 says: "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord." I'm afraid we've squandered the privilege of raising them. What we need today is a massive movement to reclaim biblical principles of protective love and strong discipline—along with a huge dose of common sense.

J. Lee Grady

You Can Overcome Your Limitations

1. Start working toward your goals every single day:

Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Whatever it is you dream about, start taking small, logical steps every day to make it happen.

Get out there and DO something! The harder you work the better you will become.

2. Start taking full accountability for your own life:
Own your choices and mistakes, and be willing to take the necessary steps to improve upon them.

Either you take accountability for your life or someone else will. And when they do, you’ll become a slave to their ideas and dreams instead of a pioneer of your own.

You are the only one who can directly control the outcome of your life. And no, it won’t always be easy.

Every person has a stack of obstacles in front of them. But you must take accountability for your situation and overcome these obstacles.

3. Start actively nurturing your most important relationships:
Bring real, honest joy into your life and the lives of those you love by simply telling them how much they mean to you on a regular basis.

You can’t be everything to everyone, but you can be everything to a few people. Decide who these people are in your life and treat them like royalty.

Remember, you don’t need a certain number of friends, just a number of friends you can be certain of.

4. Start concentrating on the things you can control:
You can’t change everything, but you can always change something.

Wasting your time, talent and emotional energy on things that are beyond your control is a recipe for frustration, misery and stagnation. Invest your energy in the things you can control, and act on them now.

5. Start focusing on the possibility of positive outcomes:
The mind must believe it CAN do something before it is capable of actually doing it. The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing.

Positive emotions are stronger and more powerful. Listen to your self-talk and replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

Regardless of how a situation seems, focus on what you DO WANT to happen, and then take the next positive step forward.

Everyone’s life has positive and negative aspects – whether or not you’re happy and successful in the long run depends greatly on which aspects you focus on.

6. Start noticing how wealthy you are right now. – Henry David Thoreau once said, “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”

Even when times are tough, it’s always important to keep things in perspective. Some might say you are incredibly wealthy, so remember to be grateful to God for all the things He has done in your life.

May God perform a perfect miracle in your life before the year ends!
Amen!

Cast Off Indolence

TEXT: LUKE 19:21-28

Key Verse: “Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?” (Luke 19:23).

A story was told of a young man who rounded off his apprenticeship at a tailoring institute. On his graduation day, he was given some money and two different sewing machines as a settlement. His elder brother also gave him some amount of money to enable him start small, but he wanted to start big like his master. He wanted a whole building as a starting point and different kinds of sewing machines. In the course of his waiting, the money he was given got lost and fire gutted where he packed the two machines and he went back to square one.

Had the boy rented a shop to start with, he would not have suffered so much loss. His mates who put the little thing they were given into proper use are today flourishing in the business.

This was the point our Lord Jesus Christ drove home in the parable in our text. He had told His disciples of a certain nobleman who, prior to embarking on a long journey, called his ten servants and delivered one pound to each of them. On his return, all the servants, but one, gave glowing account of how profitable they had been. They had wisely invested the pound and gained many times over. But this one exception came back to his master with his one pound. If he stopped at handing back the pound to the master and walking away, that would have been bad enough. But then, he verbally attacked his master. He accused his master of always wanting to profit from the efforts of others. His master was furious. Now, the master would judge the servant according to his words, describing the servant as wicked. He then took the pound from the servant and gave it to the man that had gained ten, again stressing a vital point that the more you use your talent, the more profitable you will become.

It is an act of foolishness to refuse to use the talents God has deposited in you. In fact, such foolishness is sinful. It denies God His due pre-eminence in your life. It means you have refused to be useful to your fellow human beings, and above all, you have neglected to obey God.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Do not despise the day of little beginning.

"My Life Is In Your Hands" By KIRK FRANKLIN (Video)

You don't have to worry

And don't you be afraid
Joy comes in the morning
Troubles they don't last always
For there's a friend in Jesus
Who will wipe your tears away
And if your heart is broken
Just lift your hands and say

Oh

I know that I can make it
I know that I can stand
No matter what may come my way
My life is in your hands

With Jesus I can take it
With Him I know I can stand
No matter what may come my way
My life is in your hands

So when your tests and trials
They seem to get you down
And all your friends and loved ones
Are nowhere to be found
Remember there's a friend in Jesus
Who will wipe your tears away
And if you heart is broken
Just lift your hands and say

With Jesus I can take it
With Him I know I can stand
No matter what may come my way
My life is in your hands.

Singles: 8 SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT S*X & LOVE, Be Wise !!

1. Sex is NOT love. Love is not sex.

2. You can have sex and not be in love. You can be in love and not engage in sex.

3. A man may hate you and still have sex with you. Be wise.

4. Using sex to manipulate a man will eventually fail.

5. It is self deception to think that giving him sex will make him love you.

6. True Love will never force you to engage in sex. A lover who forces you to engage in sex is fake and should be avoided.

7. If he tells you to ‘prove your love’ by having sex with him. He is only using you. Run.....he is fake.

8. Making yourself his ‘sex slave’ is foolish, Love will never shame or degrade.

By Joseph.

YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL ! Do you know that?

Several years ago, my family changed location and moved from one state to another - quite far apart. My siblings were not around, so I was the only one who made the trip with my parents. I remember feeling dejected and downcast about the change of location because I was being uprooted from my place of birth where I already established friendship and had connected with lots of people. Being a shy and introverted teenager, I just wasn't sure how to go about establishing new connections because verily verily, in a completely new environment, one needs lots of self-confidence to establish oneself! Also, the teenage period is a period of life where most teenagers struggle to figure out who they really are (physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, etc.) and they need some form of 'time-to-time' reassurance and confidence boost from peers and significant others.

So, there I was, in our new location, alone with parents, and no friend or sibling to interact with. One afternoon, I set out to run an errand for my mum. As I walked down the street, lonely stranger, shy and self-conscious, I felt like fish out of water. I kept walking, not even trying to make eye contact with no one, and then, out of the blues, one of three guys who had just slightly walked past me spoke loudly to my hearing, "She's pretty." He turned to one of his friends and said, "Tell her she's pretty." They offered me smiles, which I returned with a shy "Thank you," and went on their way. Wow! Someone here thinks I'm pretty! I walked on the clouds all the way to where I was sent and back home. You may have no idea, but that simple compliment did me a whole world of good - it simply made my day a lot better and raised my self-confidence a notch higher!

So, what's the story really about? Compliments! Compliments are good. I do not think there is anyone who does not like to be complimented. Compliments have a way of boosting self-confidence, even self-worth in individuals. For instance, if you are not sure how you look in your new dress, or how nice your new pair of shoes fit, or how well your new hairdo frames your face; if you are feeling self conscious about the make-up you just tried on, all it takes is a nice, little compliment and you are as sure as dawn! Compliments put smiles on the face, happiness in the heart, and a leap of joy in the soul. Compliments feel good!

It's no secret that the three-fold ministry of the devil is to kill, steal, and destroy. He goes about this in many ways. One of the ways he accomplishes his mission is by flooding and attacking our minds with corroded messages and feedback from our immediate environment (people and things around), which spring a chain of ugly reaction in us. With shattered confidence, we feel inadequate, feel less than worthy, feel like we're not good enough; gloom becomes our friend; we become scarred, dejected, helpless, and hopeless; we mope around; we barely make it through a day; we scramble for just about anything that will get us a little seemingly positive attention; and we grapple everything that seemingly feels good. The list is endless. Truth be told, the devil has dealt horribly and horridly with so many!

Well, I have come to pay you a simple compliment - YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL! Take a quick look at the Mirror of life, the Word of God:
"God said, "Now we will make humans, and THEY WILL BE LIKE US"..........so God created humans to BE LIKE HIMSELF; He made men and women........God looked at what He has done. All of it (including YOU) was VERY GOOD!" Genesis 1:26a, 27, & 31a (CEV – emphasis mine).

“And I praise You because of the WONDERFUL way You created me. EVERYTHING You do is MARVELOUS! Of this I have no doubt.” Psalm 139:14 (CEV – emphasis mine).

Did you see that? Do you understand what the Bible is saying here? You RESEMBLE GOD!!! Do you now believe me when I say you're beautiful? God is the MOST BEAUTIFUL and you look just like Him! Oh, what blessedness!!! By beautiful, I do not refer to the physical beauty alone, I'm talking 'bout the total package, inside out! Don't listen to the lies of the devil – whatever lie he's feeding you with – you're simply beautiful! You have the image of God, the likeness of God, the mind of Christ; you can do ALL things through Christ; you are a royal priesthood, a peculiar person; you are unbeatable, unstoppable, unshakable, un-molestable! You can accomplish what you set out to accomplish because you carry God's fragrance. You are F-I-N-E!!!

"He watches you. His eyes are on the sparrow. He knows all the pains you've been going through. Do you know you're the APPLE of HIS EYES? Do you really how BEAUTIFUL you are? The Spirit of the Lord lives and dwells in you. All over the world, NO ONE looks like you. You can put a smile on your face. YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!" (A Song)

Friends, permit me to say, once again, that you're beautiful - so very beautiful. Let this truth sink in deep inside of you. Today (and everyday), raise your head and shoulders high, walk tall and straight, and say to yourself (and of course, the devil), "I AM BEAUTIFUL." Now if you're convinced, join me, let's shame the devil as we sing this song:

"I am fearfully made. I am wonderfully made. I belong to God. I resemble Him. That's why the devil trembles whenever he hears me singing. I am God's own, the apple of His eyes."

By sister Ayotunde

JESUS IS THE REAL THING

Another parable He put forth to them saying, " The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way". -Matthew 13:24-25

You know something is popular when you start seeing It's imitations everywhere. When someone comes up with a new design for sad something, it isn't long before everyone starts producing a fake version of it.

In the same way, whenever there is a genuine work of God, we can always exoect to see the devil's imitation.

If there is a path that leads to God, there will be other paths that lead away from God. If there is a way that leads to heaven, there will be a way that leads to hell.

Jesus told the story of the wheat and the tares, in which a man went out and planted a field of wheat. But in the night, his enemy came and planted tares among the wheat.

Tares actually resembled wheat in the early stages if growth. If you were to see the two plants side by side, you would not be able to notice a difference.

But after a period of time, the tares would show itself for what it really was. Tares were just worthless weeds whereas wheat provided nourishment.

Not only were the tares an imitation of the real wheat, they were also vicious that they tried to actually displace the wheat from the field.

Our world offers so many imitations for the soul that is seeking for salvation. And the fact that there are so many imitations only confirms there is an original.

Jesus is the one true and original Saviour of the world. Put all your trust in Him.

Prayer: I acknowledge You Lord Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Scriptural Reading: Matthew 13:24-32