Good morning on this Saturday, January 7th. I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. We sure did in the Brown household with all of our family being together for a prolonged holiday stay. I enjoyed time with my kids and grandkids which included seeing "Happy Feet 2" and "Kung Fu Panda 2," trips to fun local places, playing games together, and lots of personal conversations. We had 13 in our house much of the time and I think everyone had a good time. It was so much fun watching the little ones filled with such anticipation and glee as they opened their Christmas presents. My daughters arrived early this year to help Barb prepare our annual Christmas buffet on Christmas Eve and we had a lovely Christmas dinner on Christmas day. Cheryl and Tim had to return to Chicago to see patients and clients respectively, then returned to our house in time for New Years, but the grand kids stayed with us during the whole time. There is nothing like spending quality time with the people we love. But to be truthful it is also a blessing when things get back to normal without wall-to- wall people. From the time our first grandchild arrived, Barb and I vowed that we would try to ensure that we would spend time with our away grandchildren at least once a month and our local ones as often as possible. We have generally been able to fulfill that vow and are so pleased to have had the opportunity to play a large role in the lives of our grand kids. Scripture places a premium of importance on the role of grandparents in children's lives. The Bible regularly talks about our children and children's children. In Biblical days extended families (children, parents, and grandparents) frequently lived in the same house and regularly interacted with each other. Grandparents had significant influence on their grandchildren and their gray hair (representing age, wisdom, and life experience) was considered to be a source of honor. Here are some suggestions for being an influential grandparent.
(1) Be a godly spiritual example to your grandchildren
(2) Spend quality time with them
(3) Use teachable moments to impart character and wisdom to them
(4) Discuss and apply Biblical lessons to them whenever possible
(5) Love them unconditionally (let them know that you always love them even if you don't approve their behavior)
(6) Enjoy them - they will be grown before you know it
Tomorrow's sermon is about how to have a godly 2012; please plan on attending.
Mel Brown