Building a Charater house!

Building a Character House
I had never heard Mother’s voice like that, and I had never heard her call Father “Charles.” I thought my heart would pound itself to pieces while she was telling him what I had done. Hard as Father could spank, he never hurt me so much with a stick as he did when Mother stopped talking. He cleared his throat, and then he didn’t make a sound for at least two full minutes.
When he spoke, his voice was deep and dry, and I knew he must have been coughing a lot on the way home. “Son, there is no question but what the thing you have done today deserves severe punishment. You might have killed yourself or the horse, but much worse than that, you have injured your own character. A man’s character is like his house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth.”
~ LITTLE BRITCHES, BY RALPH MOODY ~


As I read that excerpt, I can’t help but thinking that we are building today the character houses we’ll live in tomorrow; that what each of us will become later in life largely depends on what we are now. J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) wrote in his book, Thoughts For Young Men, “Youth is the seed-time of full age, the molding season in the little space of human life, the turning-point in the history of man’s mind.” Are we taking that seriously?
We must understand that there’s a tsunami of “advances” coming that will profoundly damage all but the sturdiest character houses. We’ve got to be working now so that when the wave comes, we’re ready for it. Robert Freeman once said, “Character is not made in a crisis—it is only exhibited.” The crisis is coming, what we need to ask ourselves is, “What kind of character will this crisis reveal? Am I strong enough to resist sin? Am I consistent in saying no to temptation? Or do I only get by when there is nothing there to tempt me?”
Remember, the time is coming where it will become more and more difficult to avoid sin and more and more necessary to develop the strength of character to resist it, fight it, and conquer it.

The landscape is changing rapidly. We must turn to God and plead with Him to grant us the grace to strengthen our character now, before it’s too late. What would you think of a soldier who decided to learn to operate his AK-47 on the battlefield? Or of the parents that wanted to teach their baby to walk on a tightrope? You’d think they were crazy, right? But are you hoping to do something equally extraordinary by putting off the development of your character until you’re in the middle of the storm?
It is now that we must become acquainted with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is now that we must make the Bible our intimate guide and adviser. It is now that we must get a clear picture of the evil of sin. If we don’t get serious about these things today it won’t happen. Do not underestimate the power of habit—especially the habits of youth.

J.C. Ryle put it well when he said, “Habits are like stones rolling downhill, the further they roll, the faster and more uncontrollable is their course. Habits, like trees, are strengthened by age. A boy may bend an oak, when it is a sapling. A hundred men cannot root it up, when it is a full-grown tree.”
The prophet Jeremiah made the same point when he asked, “Can the Ethopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may you also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.”
If you can get anything out of this post, please, come away believing that you will become what you are and that you will live in the character house you build today. It will never be easier to serve God than it is right now.

Originally posted August 17th, 2005
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 9th, 2006 at 9:01 am and is filed under The Rebelution. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site

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Out of the mouth of babes

This post was written by another Blogger Spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com It was so well written I had no hopes of saying it better!! If you ever have the chance check out her blog for yourself, it's eye opening, well written and really makes you think !!! I would love to know what you think about this post , so please feel free to comment, if you don't have a blogger Id, post anonymously!!



"I'd love to stay home with my children. I just can't afford it."
I hear the comment all the time from working mothers. My usual response is, "I can't afford not to."
I am willing to only have one car, live in a modest three bedroom house, and go without many things so I can be home with my children.Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels the sacrifice is worth it.
Author and blogger Leslie Morgan Steiner of the Washington Post had the opportunity to speak to her son's third grade class about writing. Currently , Ms. Steiner is writing a book on motherhood, so the topic of conversation turned to what the children thought about their moms working outside the home. Here's a few quotes from the children:"

Wednesday is the only day my mom can pick me up. I dream about Wednesday all week."

"My mom used to go to Africa like, 20 times a year. Now she is home all the time and every day I am surprised to see her in the kitchen when I wake up.

and from her own son came this quote:
I think all moms should stay home with their children.

While this is just anecdotal evidence, I'm willing to bet most children would say something similar. Parents are working so hard to to provide their children all of the latest material possessions but clearly the one that money can't buy is time.
Some in the Ms. Steiners comments were quick to dismiss the opinion of the children. Here's one:
My response to Leslie's post is "so what?" Children, wonderful as they are, are basically big bundles of Id. They'd probably also prefer to eat pizza and cheetos for dinner every night, given the choice. Why should the fact that kids would probably prefer to have one or both parents at home full-time mean, as Leslie implies, mean that parents who choose otherwise are putting their own needs ahead of their children's? We spend our entire lives as parents trying to moderate what the kids want against what's best for them. Why should we forget that just because the SAH/WOH issue is emotionally fraught. Sure, Jr. might resent in the short term that he doesn't have a cookie-baking June Cleaver of his own at home, but if the mom would be bored or unhappy without working for income, then would he really be better off?

My answer would boldy be YES.
But this isn't about what the child wants or even what the parent wants. The problem is absent a biblical standard, that is what this argument is reduced to. It becomes a subjective game of what's best for one at the expense of another. Personal happiness trumps personal sacrifice. An honest analysis is impossible because their is no longer a common standard. And anyone daring to say mothers belong home with their chilren is seen as judgemental or, if you're a child, a "bundle of Id".
I have never met anyone who, later in life, would say they wished they spent more time working. But I have met some, who said they wished they had spent more time with their children especially when they were young.Years ago, I heard a radio interview with a couple whose daughter had committed suicide in her teen years. They recalled that they were too busy to see many of the warning signs that their daughter displayed. She wrote a suicide note before she died. It said, "Mom and Dad, you've given me everything to live life with, but nothing to live life for."Our life's decisions should not be based on what's best for the children or what's best for me. There is another way,
But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.
And for me that means choosing home.

THIS ONE IS FABULOUS!!! It was written by an 8-year-old, Danny Dutton of Chula Vista, CA, for his third-grade homework assignment. The assignment was to explain God. Wonder if any of us could do as well?"

EXPLAIN GOD

One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth.He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn't have to take up His valuable timeteaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this.God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your Mom and Dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.

Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church.
Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and people finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind, like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said "O.K."
His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important.
You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.
You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway.
If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.
But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases.
And...that's why I believe in God.

Train up a child....

What comes to mind when you hear the word train?? No, no the big steal monsters that steam down the track...but training something or someone?? I think of hard work, dedication , a sense of purpose and a goal. Ask any athlete what life is like while he is in training.....it's not an easy thing, not many can handle the rigors of training to be the best at any given sport. But the Bible tells us to train our children.....Does that mean taking them to church once a week....maybe even twice a week ?? Does it mean being a good person and hoping they will follow your lead? (NOT that I am demeaning a good example!) The point I am trying to make is ...WE need to be proactive. This training the Bible speaks of is not only for some big game or career.....it is for their very souls!! The Bible says that Satan is like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour.....well to my knowledge if a lion sees a young or sickly prey...that is who he attacks first!

Our children are being bombarded from every side!! T.V., Movies, magazines, music....you name it...Satan has his hands in it all.....and it always looks so good on the out side. You know Satan doesn't need to draw us in to the really "BAD" stuff (i.e. witchcraft, drugs, ect.) all he really needs to do is distract us from the path. We usually do the rest ourselves by becoming lazy, complacent, disobedient, self centered you name it...we do it. Satan doesn't stay away from the children because they are little and cute and helpless...that just gives him all the more reason to attack while they are young. The Barna group did a study and found that 32%of the people who are going to receive Jesus do so before the age of 12!! After 12 it drops drastically it 14% will during their teen years and it drops even more to 4% as an adult!!!

God has given us a huge responsibility !! As parents we need to be proactive! Most parents are more proactive about their child's education than they are about their spiritual lives!! Yes, school is important...but their spirits are forever!! This is a life and death matter!! 80% of the children raised "in church" ....walk away once they turn 18 !!! That's 8 out of 10 will walk away!! If that doesn't scare you...nothing will !!
We need to be taking every opportunity to teach our children.
That means ;
1.taking the time to pray with them
2. taking time to read the Bible and break it down for them
3. helping them to memorize scripture
4. showing them that church is a priority(not that you have to go to church to be a Christian, but I do believe in honoring God and giving Him the first day of the week, and fellowship never hurts!!) IF it's not important to you...it won't be to them either!!!
5.Being active in showing Christs love by doing community serve work, helping the elderly, ect.
Christ needs to be the center of your home, not just something you do on Sundays, not just something you talk about, but something you live!! If you are excited about it...they will be to !!