parenting Archives - Baptist & Reflector

COMMON SENSE FROM A BASKETBALL COACH

June 14, 2017

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Frank Martin is the men’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina. He is the kind of coach you appreciate if he’s with your team and probably dislike if he’s not. He has a fiery personality and a stare that matches former University of Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summit. If you know basketball, you know exactly what I mean.

Martin sometimes has been criticized for being too hard on his players, but most players who “survive” four years with him usually sing his praises.

Martin made a comment recently about kids that has gone viral over the Internet. He said, “You know what makes me sick to my stomach? When I hear grown people say that kids have changed. Kids haven’t changed. Kids don’t know anything about anything. We’ve changed as adults. We demand less of kids. We expect less of kids. We make their lives easier instead of preparing them for what life is truly about. We’re the ones that have changed.” [Read more…]

MY FATHER’S HANDS

June 14, 2017

By Carolyn Tomlin
Contributing Writer, B&R

The third Sunday in June is the day set aside to honor our fathers — a day that pays tribute to our earthly father. For many people, the man who comes to mind is a grandfather, foster parent, adopted dad, a teacher, or Sunday School leader.

On this day, as all other days, it is important to recognize the contribution our dads made to our families, our communities, and our churches. By observing this day, children have an opportunity to show love and respect to their fathers. Honoring our dads strengthens the bond between the child and father that in turn supports the emotional growth of the child. [Read more…]

A GREAT SCHOOL YEAR

August 11, 2016

By Carolyn Tomlin
Contributing Columnist, B&R

Carolyn Tomlin

As parents, we aren’t perfect. And yes, we make mistakes while thinking we are doing what is right. In conversation with a grandmother, she related this story.

“When our little girl was in elementary school, we thought that eating a good wholesome breakfast was the best preparation for the school day. Therefore, I made sure she had a balanced meal to start the morning. However, my child didn’t want to eat that early. But, we insisted. There were many mornings our 6-year-old left in tears. As a mom, this is one of those things that I wish I could do over. How much better it would have been for her to leave home happy and smiling! Also, I could have let her choose something she liked — instead of traditional breakfast food.” [Read more…]

MY FATHER’S HANDS

June 17, 2016

By Carolyn Tomlin

Carolyn Tomlin

The third Sunday in June is the day set aside to honor our fathers. This day pays tribute to our earthly father. For many people, the man who comes to mind is a grandfather, foster parent, adopted dad, a teacher, or Sunday School leader.

On this day, as all other days, it is important to recognize the contribution our dads made to our families, our communities, and our churches. By observing this day, children have an opportunity to show love and respect to their fathers. Honoring our dads strengthens the bond between the child and father which supports the emotional growth of the child. [Read more…]

HERITAGE OF A CHRISTIAN MOTHER

May 6, 2016

By Carolyn Tomlin
Contributing Columnist, B&R

Carolyn Tomlin

Rudyard Kipling once wrote, “God could not be everywhere, and therefore, he made mothers.

Celebrated the second Sunday of May, Mother’s Day is recognized as a special time we pay tribute to our mothers. Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, recognized as the founder of Mother’s Day, petitioned Congress in 1914 to set aside this date to honor those women to whom we owe so much.

A “mother” is not only the person who gave you birth, but she is the one who cared for you as a child. This may include aunts, grandmothers, foster mothers, or neighbor women who nurtured a lonely child. Some of the best “mothers” I’ve known never had biological children, yet in every sense of the word, they were truly mothers. [Read more…]

ONCE A PARENT, ALWAYS A PARENT

May 6, 2016

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Tony Rankin leads a conference during the Missions Get-Together in Gatlinburg.
— Photo by Corinne Williams

GATLINBURG — Some people have the mistaken notion that parenting stops when a kid graduates from high school or college, says counselor Tony Rankin of Nashville.

Nothing could be further from the truth, he told a large gathering of women who attended his workshop, “Once a Parent, Always A Parent,” at the Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union annual Missions Get-Together held last month in Gatlinburg.

“Getting ready to parent is not a short-term decision. Once you start it, you never stop doing it,” observed Rankin, who has three children, ages 29, 26, and 25. Though all three are legally adults, “I feel like I’m still parenting my children,” he said. [Read more…]

COMBATTING PORNOGRAPHY REQUIRES PARENTS

February 9, 2016

Josh Hussung
Pastor of Youth And Families, Grace Community Church, Nashville

Josh Hussung

Students today are facing a challenge that we cannot relate to, and the sooner we realize this, the better. For many believing teenagers, this challenge is a heavy burden that causes them to feel dread, guilt, and isolation.

Access to pornography has never been so widely available to any other generation in history. Even in the late 1990s my exposure to pornography was limited. Any student with a smart phone has access to millions upon millions of pornographic images at the touch of a screen.

I have worked with adolescents for over 10 years, and have talked with countless students and parents about this problem. [Read more…]

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