When Debbie was pregnant with
her fourth child, she already had three lively
boys, so she was constantly asked if she was
hoping for a girl. She answered truthfully, "I'd
be happy either way." But she got tired of
hearing people repeat that phrase "…as long as
it's healthy" Every time she heard it, she
wanted to stop the inquisitive person and say,
"No! I'm going to love this baby—healthy or
not—just the same as my other children."
—Debbie Mannon, Fall 1994
Marriage Partnership, Illustration by Jim L.
Wilson and Tim Wesemann
All of God's children are
precious in his sight and should be in
ours.
CHILDREN
School students will begin
making patrols with police in Hungary during a
month long campaign to change driving habits.
According to authorities, the schoolchildren
will hand out pieces of lemon when police issue
a fine for bad drivers. In like manner, they
will give good drivers an apple. County Police
spokesman Gergely Fulop said, "A penalty coming
from a kid for breaking rules generates a
stronger feeling of guilt among adults than a
simple fine."
—Reuters, Hungary drivers to
get lemons and apples, September 23, 2005.
Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell.
Matthew
18:5-6 (HCSB) "And whoever welcomes one
child like this in My name welcomes Me. [6] "But
whoever causes the downfall of one of these
little ones who believe in Me—it would be better
for him if a heavy millstone were hung around
his neck and he were drowned in the depths of
the sea!"
CHILDREN
A new study has compiled personal interviews,
medical research, and survey results to discover
that having children has many benefits. The
study highlights ten specific areas, including
the obvious tax savings children provide when
filing taxes every year. Health benefits include
lower blood pressure, and better mental health.
Children can spur their parents to seek more
education, and increase their self-esteem.
Finally, having children reminded parents to
slow down and enjoy the simpler things in life,
and overall makes them happier with life.
Looking at data collected worldwide over
the past 30 years, researchers found that from
age 40 onward, couple with three or more
children were generally happier than childless
couples. After age 50, couples with children
reported were happier than those with no
children, regardless of how many children they
had. Author of the study, Mikko Myrskyla said,
“Children may be a long-term investment in
happiness. She added, "Seeing the age trend of
happiness independent of sex, income,
partnership status, and even fertility rates
shows that one has to explain it from the
perspective of the stage of parents' life.”
--10 Hidden Benefits of Having Children,
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/08/05/10-hidden-benefits-having-children;
August
5, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell
Psalm 127:3-4 (CEV) (3) Children are a blessing
and a gift from the LORD. (4) Having a lot of
children to take care of you in your old age is
like a warrior with a lot of arrows.
CHILDREN
Michelle Goldberg wrote an essay for Salon.com
declaring her intention to never have children.
She and her husband were pleased with their
two-person family, with their consuming careers,
constant travel, and many tipsy nights out. They
were afraid that, like people said, parenthood
would change all of that.
As they grew into their mid thirties, and the
biological clock was ticking, they decided to
have a child. After a miscarriage, a second
pregnancy produced a child. Today her attitude
is completely different than the essay of
12-years ago.
“Why, I kept thinking, hadn’t anyone told me how
great this was? It was a stupid thing to think,
because in fact people tell you that all the
time. In general, though, the way people
describe having a baby is much like the way they
describe marriage—as a sacrifice that’s worth
it, as a rewarding challenge, as a step toward
growing up. Nobody had told me it would be fun.”
She continued, “I’d worried, throughout my
pregnancy, that I would resent my son for taking
me away from my work. Instead, I resented my
work for taking me away from my son.”
Michelle and her husband added a second child, a
girl, to their family and are totally happy with
their decision have children.
The Bible is full of the joys of having
children. It is one of the blessings that God
has granted to his creation. --Jim L. Wilson and
Rodger Russell.
Psalm 137:3-5 (HCSB) for our captors there
asked us for songs, and our tormentors, for
rejoicing: “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
(4) How can we sing the LORD’s song on foreign
soil? (5) If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my
right hand forget ?its skill?.
CHILDREN
If
children are a blessing from the Lord,
Americans are missing out. Around 3.85 million
babies were born in 2017. That is the lowest
number since 1987. The only two states with a
fertility rate high enough to sustain the
population were South Dakota and Utah. Two
reasons given for the decrease is that fewer
women live in rural areas where women have
more children, and women who are more educated
tend to either put off having children or
forgo them altogether. I wonder if society’s
attitude about abortion has anything to do
with it?—Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.
Psalm 127:3–4 (CSB)3
Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,
offspring, a reward. 4 Like arrows
in the hand of a warrior are the sons born in
one’s youth.
CHILDREN
A county district attorney
charged three Oklahoma jailers with
cruelty to a prisoner after they forced
inmates to listen to “Baby Shark,” a
popular children’s song, on repeat. An
investigation by Oklahoma County
authorities found that the three jailers at
the Oklahoma County Jail forced
four prisoners to stand handcuffed in the
jail’s visitation room while
listening to “Baby Shark” at high volume for
up to two hours. Authorities
considered this “cruel or inhuman” treatment.
The three jail employees now face
misdemeanor charges.
World, November 7, 2020 p. 18
These are the blessing of having
young children. Parents spend
hours listening to songs like this one, the
shrieks, the laughter of their
children. And we may feel at times that we are
handcuffed to them as they make
noise. Overall, though, children are a
blessing from the Lord. —Jim L. Wilson
and Rodger Russell
Psalm 127:3–5 (CSB)
Sons are
indeed a
heritage from the Lord,
offspring,
a
reward.
Like
arrows in
the hand of a warrior
are
the sons
born in one’s youth.
Happy
is the
man who has filled his quiver with them.
They
will never
be put to shame
when
they speak
with their enemies at the city gate.
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