A Letter to My Son

This article contains my hopes and dreams for the raising up of my future sons. It is written as a letter from me to them.

My son(s),

I desire above all that you come to a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe, Jesus Christ. I long for you to know the joys of following in His footsteps. To know Christ and make Christ known is the greatest adventure a human being can undertake and if I could impart only one truth to you, it would be this: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” (See Ecclesiastes 12:13)

I desire to raise you up according to Biblical principles using texts from the Bible and the works by Micheal Pearl and Steve Maxwell to craft your training program.

I want to give you a love for reading. Nothing else on earth is quite like the joy of reading a great book. When you open the pages of “Pilgrim's Progress” or “Robinson Crusoe” you are taken on a fantastic journey through the epic struggles, falls, victories, and triumphs of the men of yesteryear. When a great man of old took up his stone tablet, his papyrus, or his quill, he is giving you a treasure drawn from his most precious possession, his experience. The most glorious gift God gives to you in your youth is your strength and the greatest gift of older men is their experience. If you learn from the sayings and writings of older and wiser men, you will gain the glory of both gifts. (See Proverbs 20:29) I hope to inspire you in your early years with the tales of the world's greatest men and their achievements so that one day you can yourself raise to join their ranks.

I would have you come to love history and biographies. Mankind faces similar problems every generation, and if armed with the wisdom of the past, we can overcome the problems of the future.

I would have you be as cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves. I desire to train you to honor those things that are worthy of honor and reject those things which are without worth. I want to train you to discern evil from good and choose to do right. (See Matthew 10:16 and Romans 12:21)

In your early years I want to instill a love in you for music. I want you to hear the Scripture songs of the “Dough-Nut Man” and the songs of family by Steve and Annie Chapman. I desire to hear you humming songs that praise the Lord. I would desire that you learn to make music and sing praise to the Lord with your voice or through piano, guitar, or other instruments. I desire that you learn to cry out to the Lord through prayer and song in times of joy or sorrow. I want to be able to see your face beam with joy at the “William Tell Overture” and your feet stomp with joy at the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” 

I desire that you will possess a “Protestant work ethic.” By this I mean that you learn to love hard work that pursues a great and noble goal. That when the time for godly duty calls, be it for your mother, your family, your education, or your country, you will throw yourself into the fry with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

I pray that God would grant you a vision. By this I mean that God would reveal to you the purpose for which He created you and that you would follow that vision with all your heart. For your grandmother, that vision was one of Homeschooling, of raising godly children at home. It is my goal to continue that vision in your lives.

You should always honor your mother and sisters and be kind to them at all times. It is the job of men to honor, protect, and cherish ladies as God's most beautiful creations and you can do no better than to start with your mother and sisters. The honor men give women is an ancient trust, handed down from the greatest of the knights and cowboys, with its oldest roots resting with Boaz in the book of Ruth and you would do well to follow in their footsteps. 

I would have you boys to be hearty, healthy and fit so that you are ready to embark on whatever missions the Lord may choose to grant to you. I want your minds sharp and your bodies athletic. You are to present yourselves to the world in a manly fashion walking will full strides and erect posture. Nothing in this world looks worse than a slouching man unless it is a wet cat. Your handshake is to be hearty and firm without being hard and painful. A weak handshake is not an honor to a man. Grace of comportment and lightness of foot are to be trained with dancing classes and fencing instruction. Boxing and martial arts are excellent ways to train yourself in quickness of thought and action. Being able to talk about sports and compete in them is an important part of being a man, but that training of the body must be carefully balanced with the training of the mind and soul.

I would desire my sons to be problem solvers and critical thinkers. Too many people in this world have never felt the joy of organizing a project or solving a problem. Chess, Checkers, and Stratego are excellent games to promote this methodical way of thinking. I would desire you to be competent in the prominent technology of your day. In your Great Granddad Standridge's time, he figured out a way to install the first air conditioning unit ever installed in a car in the town of Lexington Oklahoma while in your Great Granddad Henry's day he invented a new cattle gate latch that would open from either direction. In my time it has been building my own computers and repairing other electronics. I would love to see you continue that legacy. In your early years, I hope you can join me in my love of LEGO blocks. Nothing is quite like creating anything you like with your own two hands.

Whatever it is that you come to do my boys, do it with all your might. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:29: “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.” No matter the political climate, no matter the economy, there will always be a place for a man who is skilled in his work.

When talking about movies, reading books, listening to music, speaking with people, I want you to learn to discern whether or not these people are speaking from a Godly or historical perspective or not. I want you to be able to tell good wisdom from falsehood. I desire to talk with you about these things and I am sure your mother will also. That is one thing I will always love about your Grandma Henry's home, is that we could always talk about anything. We could take a topic of any kind and pick it apart finding out the core moral of the idea at hand, and finding out if that agreed with Scripture and history or not.

I hope that you will have a love of nature and of the outdoors. God's creation has so much beauty for one to see if they will only look. A long hike followed by a picnic is great fun and a camping trip is a time of wonder. I desire that you be able to safely load, clean, shoot and care for firearms, knives, tents and other outdoor equipment. I want you to be able to safely ride bicycles, drive cars, operate ATV's, drive a standard, and operate a tractor and any other equipment you may encounter. 

I desire that you know your way around the house. I want you to know how to wash dishes, run a load of laundry, and cook a full meal if need be. While these duties are commonly thought of as a girls domain, he-man soldiers the world over train regularly at these skills and so should you. It will give you an appreciation for the work your mother and sisters do and will make you self reliant.

I would desire that you be a researcher. If you do not know something, I want you to be able to find out that information. I want you to know how to use a library, how to use the Internet, and how to read instructions. 

I want you to have an appreciation for art. Creativity and innovation are invaluable qualities to possess and art is a vehicle for both of these. Whether creating a blueprint for your next LEGO creation or painting a masterpiece of God's creation, I hope art will play a role in your life.

Having the ability to bring order to chaos is a skill that all boys should possess. Battles have been lost due to slipshod handling of something as trivial as a horse shoe nail. King Richard the Third mourned:

"For lack of a nail a shoe was lost."
"For lack of a shoe a horse was lost."
"For lack of a horse a soldier was lost."
"For lack of a soldier a battle was lost"
"For lack of a battle a war was lost"
"For lack of a war a kingdom was lost."
"All for lack of a nail."

Do your best to see that no “kingdom” in which you have a part is lost “all for lack of a nail.”

My son, the desire of my heart is to see you grow up and glory in the service of the King of Hosts. I desire you to have long life and see good days. I would like to draw this letter to a close by quoting a prayer from one General Douglas MacArthur to the Heavenly Father over his son.

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past. 
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.
Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, have not lived in vain.”

I would like to close this letter with my own prayer for you.

Oh Father God, give him courage and strength to overcome all difficulties he may face. Please give him wisdom and ability in the way you would have him go. Please give him clear vision in the path of grace and the will to follow that path to the end. Please prepare Him as a golden vessel for service unto You. I desire that he be pure in heart and righteous in word and deed. Please give his mother and me the wisdom and ability to guide his footsteps in the way they should go. Please let him be a honor unto Your Name. Let him be trained as You see fit above all else. Let Your will be done in his life.

In Your Son's Name I pray,

Amen.

Politics

Gag, wow, the Presidential election of 2008 is well underway and the informational intensity of the race is so high that you need a "news ticker" on your cell phone to sound informed. And who is on the sidelines, watching this race go by?

Little 'ol me.

Yup, the same guy who organized a group of over 100 ECU'ers for Huckabee during the primaries has little to do this election cycle. My heart just isn't in it. McCain has been a moderate FOREVER and has worked against conservative principles before and is likely to do so again. Obama is a much better communicator then McCain and frankly seems to know a lot more about the country and its problems then McCain. McCain dispite his repeated professions of knowledge, just seems out of touch. Bush has not been the most steller of conservative standard bearers, with his budget balloning the national debt to greater highs then ever before, and more and more jobs are leaving us to go overseas. Bush has however, left a positive legacy in his ban of partial birth abortion, his updating of the American military to fight the conflicts of the future, and his conservative judicial appointments have also been admirable.The question now is, where will America go now? Bush has made his mark, now the time approaches for a new hand to take the national tiller.

What honestly is best for the American people?

Nationalized Healthcare - socialist/communist style? Or the private healthcare systems with all of its complex issues? What about this? http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/ellis1.html

Free trade? Fair trade? Protective tariff? Isolation altogether?

Obama is all about change, and that I like, I just don't like the change he is offering. I have a healthy fear of an all powerful, all giving, all supporting, federal government. If we want the government to take up healthcare, take it up with the state, why give the feds that much more power? Huckabee just seemed to have it right, help people out, but don't expand government to the point where individual freedom is endangered. McCain and Obama? Not so much.Huckabee also has a good backing in the ideals behind the construction. Something I have not seen from either candidate who we will cast our ballots for in just a few days...

I am a loyal Republican. I am proud to be a member of the Grand 'ol Party that started with Lincoln, and has been graced with members such as Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. The modern Democratic Party seems to be intent on renewing FDR's term and philosophy. My understanding of history cannot and does not agree that the individual requires government to "save" them from social ills. Government CAN do so, but I cannot help but wonder if at times, government had best stay out of such matters. My recent viewing of the movie "grapes of wrath" caused me to question that belief and frankly my view in the matter continues to flux, but I do know that all that glitters is not gold, and there must be, has to be, grave issues with cradle to grave government parentship of all its citizens. Is your life any longer your own? Does such policy not fly in that face of all that freedom is? Orson Wells "1984" anyone? What about Animal Farm? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_farm Does anyone else see where this stuff can lead? Are we not surrendering our most precious possession, our private freedom, for the eventual slavery of our children? One cannot help but wonder. I know I am young and untried in the higher ways of government, but I can't help but smell a possum in the woodpile somewhere. Somewhere in all of Obama's smooth rhetoric, something is not right. The man seems Presidential, he acts Presidential, maybe he his the utopian savior of the United States so many seem to think he is. Maybe national health care is exactly right in every way, maybe everything should be socialized, but the glaring people, the chink in socialist ideals is that, under socialism, everyone is equal, some are just more equal then others. I just can't get past it, the more government tries to artifially create inequality by redistributing wealth, the worse off we will all become. How much closer will we slip towards Nero's infamous "Bread and Circuses?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_and_circuses

Again, I return to the question, What honestly is best for the American people?

I hear all the arguments for programs that give away "free" stuff, more people gain benifits, only the rich are taxed for it, bla bla bla . The problem is, "rich people" pay our wages, loan us money, and help us on our way up the ladder, and taxing them taxes us all. Employers are not stupid, if they need more money to pay taxes, they cut workers, or cut wages, to make up the money needed. Nothing is free, someone has to pay for it, and if taxes is how you are paying for it, then YOU are paying for it! Or in these days of astronomical spending, your children will actually be picking up the tab, you will likely never earn enough money in your lifetime to pay for all the money spent in Washington.

Whatever happened to common sense? Whatever happened to principles?

For example: If you don't have the money, don't buy the item. But, NOOOO, even our economic system seems to be all about credit. Buying things before you have the money to pay for them. Doesn't that just sound dumb?Anyway, end of the rant. I need to go to bed. I just wish we had two better choices at the ballot box this November. And I wish socialism was not the prevailing "wisdom" being thrown around by both parties.

I just don't feel right about it.

The end.


(The part after the end - ten minutes later)So much for that whole sleep thing...I understand why I am frustrated now. WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO SEES THESE PROBLEMS WITH OBAMA'S AGENDA!!?? The history is there, the backing is there, SO WHY IN BLAZES IS MCCAIN NOT CALLING HIM ON IT???? Why is it left to the lowly undergrade out here to point out problems with Obama's agenda? McCain just keeps sounding like an ineffective verson of Obama. Obama imbraces socialism, and nowhere do I hear ANYONE, certainly not McCain, calling him on it, except Huckabee and Ron Paul. But they are outside voices, right there in center stage, where the debate of these vital government issues will be decided, McCain is dropping the ball! :P :P :P We have got the liberal of liberals on one side, and the guy who is supposed to represent the conservative is not even competing! :P:P:PSo much for my first class tomorrow.Goodnight.

(The part after the part after the end - twenty minutes later)

Here are some quotes that have come to mind since my last goodnight...Reagan would have called Obama on this stuff, so why hasn't McCain?

"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich."~Abraham Lincoln

"A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have."~Barry Goldwater

"We've been creeping closer to socialism, a system that someone once said only works in heaven, where it isn't needed and in hell where they have already got it."~Ronald Reagan

"History suggests that capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom."~Milton Friedman"

As quickly as you start spending federal money in large amounts, it looks like free money."~Dwight Eisenhower

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government for wasting the labors of the people under the pretext of taking care of them."~Thomas Jefferson"

The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal--well meaning but without understanding."~Louis Brandeis

Enough. Good quotes all of them. And wisdom you are unlikely to find in either parties presidential candidate this election. This is what Reagan would be saying if he were running. This is where the conservative standard should be but isn't this election.

fini

Sin and Salvation

I am so sick of cynicism. I am so sick of fake Christians. I am so sick of sin. I am so utterly disgusted with false teachers. I am sick of professors twisting and distorting anything that is profitable to the world. I am tired of scumbag students. I am sick of seeing women walk around with their privates hanging out of their shirts. I am sick of hearing people tell me decency is a myth and corruption is certain. I am sick of attending a college where certain professors are teaching blatant LIES!!!!!!!!!! I am told to realise, that just the "real world", and to look around at the 5 other people on campus who are actually doing something worthwhile. I am sick of a church that tells you you can freely enjoy sin, yet your going to heaven. If I have learned anything from college it is that this world is broke.

Where are our heroes? Where are the great men? Who cares? Who laughs with the crass crowd? Where are the righteous? Are they all in hiding? Are all the good Christians underground? If so, please show me the tunnel, I want to join them! I can feel the corrosive acidity of foulness stealing over a lecture hall, what am I called to do?

Some battles are fought with sword in hand,
with flesh and blood one takes a stand
other battles sometime it seems,
are fought with other means,
with word and wisdom we take our stand,
when courage and boldness we present, our precious Savior a hand will lend.
If embodied with the bravery of Nathan Hale,
with Christ at our side, we must prevail.
Though some engagements they may win,
with God on our side, we will conquer in the end, and in His joy, we will enter in.

Travis "happens" across this song

Wow...that is such a comfort. Just knowing that Jesus has been here before, and He knows whats going on and will be faithful to show me my way through it. If future generations should read this, let it be known that Jesus is able to save. Never let anyone steal that from you.

Success, what is thy standard?

Wealth, beauty, fame, fortune, just what is this elusive phantom we call success? What is the end goal of life? Observe...and discern.

A family of our acquaintance is frankly rolling in money. The entire family seems to enjoy every creature comfort imaginable, they also have been gifted with extraordinary talent in the arts, in athletics, and in many other areas. Many would find it easy to define them as the example of "success." Yet, this family struggles with rebellion, drunkenness and other vices. It would seem that perhaps in chasing "success" they have lost something, the hearts of their children. Is it worth it?

A young girl I know of has been given great outward beauty. She always seems to be dressed "perfectly" and is always current on the latest fashions, yet, it is known that she struggles greatly with depression in her maintenance of her outward looks.

I recently was able to purchase a laptop for a discounted price during Black Friday. Right after making my purchase, I went to a fast food place to get a bit to eat. While waiting inside for my order, I found myself worrying that someone would smash the window in of my car and cart away my new possession. Worry had been added to my life that hadn't been there before, just with the addition of a new earthly thing. What does this tell us about life in general?

As I seek the carer the Lord would have for me, it would be relatively easy to seek a job with a high salary. A patent attorney in Dallas Texas I know of makes $280,000 each year, if one so chose, money could be obtained in large amounts in a carer of that type. With that kind of money, the cars, the house(s), every imaginable earthly dream moves into reality. Yet, at what cost?

It chasing down money a worthy cause on which to sacrifice the souls of one's family? Certainly not. Does great outward beauty remove all thoughts of how people view your outward appearance? It would appear not. Does a nice new laptop add a worry to life? Why, yes it does. So is it these things that we should be chasing in life? Or is it...something bigger?

I believe that money can and is used for good, however, the LOVE of money is the root of all evil as the proverb says. I believe that beauty of the outside fades, but spiritual beauty lasts a lifetime. I believe that laptops are nice, but treasures in heavan are far better. So, as we follow the Lord in His ways of hard work and dillegence, if things like money, beauty, and material things are the partial fruit of that labor, let us remember the things of true value they are the shadows of. In wealth, let us not forget family, in beauty of the outer, let us glory in the beauty of the inner, in times of a laptop, let's remember where are true treasure needs to lie.

The Perversion of (College) Christianity

Hope, refreshment, purity, fellowship, the beauty of dwelling together with those of Christ's mind, all these things are embodied in the spirit of a truly "Christian" Student Union. However, it would seem that the very abyss has found an outlet at the ECU Baptist Student Union. A more putrid mass of sinfulness, lust, and licentiousness I have never encountered. Yes, there are the few who hold to godly values in that place, yet the foul stench pervades and deludes those of virtue. I cannot count the number of times I have entered those doors just in time to hear the latest foul joke, crude phrase, or scandalous statement. Curses of the foulest kind can be heard in abbreviated and extended versions, it seems minds are so perverted any sentence can be twisted to resemble crudeness or twisted subjects. Those lukewarm, backsliding, or just with sick minds seem to be drawn there. Granted, some souls do not participate in these hideous calumnies, yet, they sit and listen as I have, wondering perhaps, why these spouters of bile wish to spread their putrid filth in this place? In all honesty, one can easily meet many unbelievers on campus who are cleaner in their speech and mind then these "believers." WHY IS THIS?

Believers, either get real with God or leave Him be! Quit spreading dung in the place of the Lord! If you want to be purified, call upon Him, seek His face, He will guide you! But if all you are looking for is a heart to pervert, then get out of the Lord's house! Being friendly to seekers of Christ does not mean lending Christ's body to a brothel of scum. Clean up your act! Quit raping innocent ones seeking help with your blasphemous slop! I don't want to hear about sleeping around, cross dressing, cursing, homosexuality, and all that filth! If you have nothing better to say, SHUT YOUR TRAP AND LISTEN TO SOME TRUTH! Get out the word and do some soul searching! Seek the Lord while he may be found! Don't lead others to hell! If your salvation isn't capable of saving you from that filthy darkness, WHAT IS YOUR SALVATION ANYWAY!?!

Place of ministry to students, becon of hope for the godless, call upon God and cleanse your hearts so that your light might shine out! A slave can no more proclaim freedom then a blacked lamp can give light.

Strighten up.

Father God, I ask you to move greatly in your grace and murcy towards the BSU. It has great potential for you if sanctified and whole. I ask you to bring to repentance the doubleminded and the sinners in that place, and refresh and strengthen the godly therein. Let Your holy conviction dwell there and reveal to them YOUR true salvation from sin. Let the power of evil be broken in that place heavenly Father for your Glory in the city of Ada and the college of East Central University. In your Son's name, So Let It Be.

The Destiny of Man

Destiny? The very word sends thrills through my very heart. The fire of passion lights within me, and my being trembles in awe. Destiny...the purpose God Almighty Himself has laid out for His servants, each individuals own private blueprint of life, the perfect use of God's creation in full rapport and agreement with His will.

Marriage to the perfect woman? Children of unlimited character and quality? Reformation of nations? Triumph of good over evil, with the the very banner carried by the likes of Churchill, Washington, Lincoln, yes, Christ Himself. Salvation for billions in the path of Billy Graham. Destiny...the thrill of knowing God is with you. What is it for me?

Fiction and history both deluge forth examples to follow, in the Star Wars universe, can anyone not create a personal likeness that would love to posses in that world? Can a perusal of history fail to produce a role model? In whatever one sees, cannot one find a role to be filled?

Yet, in this world, reality seems to cloud the clear vision of fiction and past fact. The highly defined lines of stories and dreams blear before the eyes of the present and the now. Yet...the inspiration remains...the dream lives on.

What were the heroes of the world thinking at 20 years of age? Washington was busily surveying the wild country beyond the Appalachians, little thinking perhaps that Destiny held for him the honor of heading the birth of a world super-power. Did Jesus know in the carpentry shop the the cross and eternal salvation for all was His quest? Churchill at my age was getting shot at in South Africa, to coin his famous phrase, "Nothing in the world is so exhilarating as to be shot at with no effect." Already his wit had revealed itself. Did Ronald Reagan have any idea what awaited him in his later years? Does a John Doe have any inkling of his life's path? Yet life goes on...

My very soul longs for the glories and triumphs of the men before me, "what am I to do?" is my prayer. The good they were able to do, the people they saved, the advancements they made, all culminating with us, in the here and now. The triumphs, the dreams, the visions, yes, even the defeats, the failings, they all lie at our feet, waiting for us to take them on to our children, and our grandchildren. What they do with them rests with themselves and God, but right now, they are ours to grasp, to hold, to run on this leg of the human experience. Who grasps? Who holds? Who is worthy of this cause?

Will the futile, the frivolous, do these causes honor? Will the stench of godlessness rule our generation? Or will we take up the sword of rightousness and strike the beast to the ground? What will be done? What will I do? What will you do?

Rejection or Acceptance?

Over the past several years, I have noticed a strange phenomenon accruing among the young people in the homeschooling movement in our area. When children are small, a great like-mindedness is present among the vast majority of homeschooling parents. All children should be respectful, obedient, kind considerate, reverent, etc. These principles are in most cases universal and parents enforce them as such. However, as children blossom into youth, and youth rapidly become young adults, standards start to shift. As young homeschoolers grow near the time of "coming of age" homeschooling parents react in a plethora of different ways. Some parents throw the reins to the ground, and let their almost grown kids run wildly about, disgracing with their actions Christianity and the home-education movement. Other families raise their children to this age with no seeming change in behavior.

What makes the difference?

Why does one child follow Christ while another forsakes? Why does one child faithfully await a pure marriage and in the end, receives with great joy, God's partner for their lives, while another jumps ship and commits fornication at the first opportunity?

After I found myself asking these questions, I remembered a resource that shed light upon that very topic. Check it out here. It really helped me out, and I hope it will help you as well.