By GARY ANDREWS
Editor and Publisher

My wife and I are the parents of four wonderful children. The Lord has blessed us tremendously and our children are now adults living in a world that wants to dictate to them.
Reading a story not long ago about a family of ten, that is eight children and two parents, I was reminded through a statement from the father what it takes to be a close knit family. His statement was, “I don’t think parents are slowing down enough to have conversations with their children. It’s not just figuring out how to discipline them, it’s actually talking with them, talk to their hearts; understand and dig deep into their souls.”
This man and his wife are raising their children in a Christian environment through home schooling, training their children how to work with others, the discipline it takes to succeed in the world, and how to love each other.
It would be so good to see other families, even the ones with one or two children, doing the same thing. Being a school teacher my wife sees so many dysfunctional situations when her school children come to school. Family time is a thing of the past and it really takes its toll on these children when they are in public arenas.
The lack of parenting creates an avenue of disrespectful, intolerant, and disobedient children.
As I stated before, my family has been tremendously blessed because we made the opportunities of growing up with our children. As the family with eight children, we made time to talk, play, and listen to our children and their successes along with their problems. This way we were able to advise and discipline as parents should and hold them accountable for their actions.
Parents are needed once again in today’s society. We need to teach our children the difference between wrong and right, tolerance and intolerance, love and hate, and being respectful, especially to teachers, leaders, and elders.
Prayer: Thank you Lord for the parents that I had and their availability to me and their discipline. I pray that I can show the same for the children you have blessed me with. Amen.
(Suggested daily Bible readings: Sunday - Proverbs 16:6; Monday - 2 John 1-4; Tuesday - 2 Corinthians 12:14-15; Wednesday - Exodus 20:12; Thursday - Judges 13:8-24; Friday - Psalm 44:1-3; Saturday - Proverbs 6:20-23.)
Gary Andrews is the author of “Encouraging Words – 30 days in God’s Word” an uplifting devotional book leading into a daily journey. To obtain a copy of his book visit his website at www.gadevotionals.com or stop by the Yazoo Herald for an autographed copy.