Gotta have faith.............

[Cane Pole]

I wuz surfing the Tv this morning and I jes happened to stop on a preaching channel. What the preacher said truly is factual.

Kinda went like this:
Parents need to teach their children faith at a young age. If the children are not taught faith at a young age, they will believe in anything when they get older.

I ain't no religious nut, but boy, ain't this the truth. The "anything goes" generation is upon us and I don't like it.

[crappiequeennc]

I agree with that 100%...

[shadow]

I use to have a saying that Cordell Cotten said. It went something like this...
1.Teach your kids to love god 2. Teach your kids to love and respect thier family 3.Teach your kids to hunt and fish and by the time they reach thier teens, no drug peddeler in the world will have a chance to teach them anything!

[reelcrappie]

I took my kids camping and fishing from day one. Now they take me camping and fishing. None of them ever used dope and they still camp and fish. My oldest is 38 years old. Same with church and they still go. Worked for my kids and I don't see why it won't work for others.

[Bowfin]

Too bad they can't learn it in school. My little boy is 5 and he already notices a purposeful avoidance of anything biblical at school. He's been raised in church, he's taught about Jesus and Christian principals in our home, and hopefully he'll take it to school with him and then take it into every aspect of his life as he matures.

Proverb 22:6 Train up your child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

[anchorpuller]

We don't all have to believe the same way, but it's not wrong to teach faith!

My son took a book to school out of his collection. It was something about monsters that lurk under your bed. He was so proud that it was read in class and came home telling us all about it.
My daughter took a children's Bible stories book to school and came home dissapointed because her teacher would not read it to the class. Of course, this did not surprise me, but I don't have to agree with it! Who said that the kids HAVE to believe about Noah anymore than that monster under the bed!??!

Anyway to end my rant, I'll leave you with a nice little story....

__________________________________________________ _______________


A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been
6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.
It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain
gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down
the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of
the Target.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their
hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound
and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world.
Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a
welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all
caught in, "Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.
"What?" Mom asked.

"Let's run through the rain!" She repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated, "Mom, let's run
through the rain."

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl
said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get
wet?"

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you
said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything
but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few
minutes.

Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some
would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore
what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's
life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into
faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's
us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they
darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping
bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed
by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can
take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can
ever take away your precious memories... So, don't forget to make time and
take opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a
season and a time to every purpose under heaven.
I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

[SwampHunter]

Actually the "anything goes generation" has always been around... it was just sweep under the rug.
I believe faith should be taught by the parents. But I also believe the parents should believe in what they teach. Kids ain't stupid. If kids are being taught by hipocrites then they see this. I was raised in a "Christian" home but they taught me more with their actions than they did their words. I was fed the BS lines about love, but all they showed for others was hate. Anyone that was no of our color was hated with a passion. Anyone that did not think like my parents was hated. It was OK to do things as long as someone outside the house didn't see them do it and we was never allowed to speak of it. If you went to church you saw the others that acted the same way. You might have seen Brother So and So with another woman the night before church in the back alley. But come Sunday morning he was in church teaching the ways that you should follow.
If a person doesn't believe in what they teach, then they are there to gain something else besides followers of God. If they are there for other reasons then I have no use for what they are selling and I don't want that peddled to my child.
I'm glad they took religion out of schools. Parents should be the ones to teach their kids about religion. If we let religion back in school then we should let all religions in. It would take up alot of teaching time to go through the many religions that should get recognized. Although, that might actually be a good thing though and our kids can learn lots about other cultures. And on a daily basis they would be reminded that they are not the only peas in the pea patch and their ways aren't the only ways. Then they might see what God had actually intended for them instead of a one-sided slanted view.
Teach faith to your kids, but more importantly believe in what you teach. Without believing in it yourselves, then your kids WILL see this and will follow anoter path... or worse yet... your own path of teaching in false beliefs.

[GlenC]

Actually the "anything goes generation" has always been around... it was just sweep under the rug.
I believe faith should be taught by the parents. But I also believe the parents should believe in what they teach. Kids ain't stupid. If kids are being taught by hipocrites then they see this. I was raised in a "Christian" home but they taught me more with their actions than they did their words. I was fed the BS lines about love, but all they showed for others was hate. Anyone that was no of our color was hated with a passion. Anyone that did not think like my parents was hated. It was OK to do things as long as someone outside the house didn't see them do it and we was never allowed to speak of it. If you went to church you saw the others that acted the same way. You might have seen Brother So and So with another woman the night before church in the back alley. But come Sunday morning he was in church teaching the ways that you should follow.
If a person doesn't believe in what they teach, then they are there to gain something else besides followers of God. If they are there for other reasons then I have no use for what they are selling and I don't want that peddled to my child.
I'm glad they took religion out of schools. Parents should be the ones to teach their kids about religion. If we let religion back in school then we should let all religions in. It would take up alot of teaching time to go through the many religions that should get recognized. Although, that might actually be a good thing though and our kids can learn lots about other cultures. And on a daily basis they would be reminded that they are not the only peas in the pea patch and their ways aren't the only ways. Then they might see what God had actually intended for them instead of a one-sided slanted view.
Teach faith to your kids, but more importantly believe in what you teach. Without believing in it yourselves, then your kids WILL see this and will follow anoter path... or worse yet... your own path of teaching in false beliefs.

I do not disagree with most of this. It all starts at home with the parents. Always has and always should. However, sounds to me like you had a bad experience with church. And that is sad :-( Satan is alive and well this day and age. I truely believe those you met in church as a child were planted there by satan. By you meeting those it ruined your idea/preseption of a Christian. There are hypocrites in EVERY church and denomination. The thing is Christians are not perfect, they are just forgiven (saved). There was only one perfect persont to ever walk this earth and that was Jesus Christ. We can all just strive to be like him.

[SwampHunter]

I do not disagree with most of this. It all starts at home with the parents. Always has and always should. However, sounds to me like you had a bad experience with church. And that is sad :-( Satan is alive and well this day and age. I truely believe those you met in church as a child were planted there by satan. By you meeting those it ruined your idea/preseption of a Christian. There are hypocrites in EVERY church and denomination. The thing is Christians are not perfect, they are just forgiven (saved). There was only one perfect persont to ever walk this earth and that was Jesus Christ. We can all just strive to be like him.

Bad experience with church? More like bad experience with man's organized religion in general and that's with all of the religions.
Yep and Satan does plant lots of folks in church and every where else. Of course these folks are easy to spot, because they always use excuses why they don't do better. One of the biggest reasons is not being perfect like Jesus. Nope, a person is not going to be perfect, but if they truely believe in God and Jesus they will do better than what they are doing and not keep commiting the same sins over when they know they intend on it. It's like the drunk that says, "Lord if you let me make it through this night I will never drink again." Knowing full well that they intend on drinking again and again. And they as "Christians" think as long as they ask for forgiveness that it will be alright in the end. I don't think God will be used like that.
In fact one of the Ten Commandments is pretty clear about it. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Knowing how jealous God is I doubt he will forgive someone for knowingly commiting the same sins over and over and using him and his name for their own vanity. God's pretty clear about the laws of being accepted into his kingdom.
When God said that we would be forgiven of our sins he was saying that he would forgive us of our sins that we commited before accepting him as our savoir. When you take the Lord's name you are supposed to be past the sinning stage and on the path to following God and doing as he wishes.
Nobody said this stuff was easy. If it was as easy as everyone lets on, then anyone can accept the Lord and move right into Heaven after they die. The gates of Heaven are very narrow and very few will get in. God is pretty clear about this.
Sad that most folks only teach the easy parts of religion and leave out the main ingredients that make it all worth while. In fact God states that we are to follow his rules and not our own. Lots of folks following their own rules. I pray for them every day.

[Cane Pole]

I am sure glad I was raised in a loving family. I sure miss my mom and dad. I never doubted anything the told me. They gone now, but I still got a loving sister and brother. We are products of a loving, caring family.

Faith comes in many forms. Religion is just one of them. My faith in my parents inspired me throughout my life. I don't believe in all the hell and damnation I here about. Most of it is manmade lyrics. Nothing to do with faith whatsoever. Scare tactics for recruitment into cults.

I have my beliefs and I sure don't need any help with my faith. I am from and have a good ,caring, loving family. Everybody loves Tom.