The Ten Kidmandments
I. Thou shalt have a daily, growing relationship with Jesus Christ to exemplify His life through your life. (II Peter 3:18)
II. Thou shalt see your parenting role as a sacred calling from God.
(Psalm 127:3)
III. Thou shalt pray regularly for your children as you daily keep spiritual watch over their souls.
(I Thes. 5:17)
IV. Thou shalt diligently teach your children the bible that they might know and reverence God through His word. (Isa. 54:13)
V. Thou shalt make it a priority to reach out in love to your children's friends. (I Cor. 15:33)
VI. Thou shalt make it a priority to spend time with your children building relationships based on love, commitment, trust, and respect. (Deut. 6:4-9)
VII. Thou shalt exemplify consistency and integrity in your walk with the Lord, that your children witness the same person in private as they do in public.
VIII. Thou shalt rely on the Lord's grace and strength and not on your own; for apart from Him you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
IX. Thou shalt not provoke your children to anger by teasing or overtly criticizing them in an attacking way. (Eph. 6:4)
X. Thou shalt discipline your children with firmness and consistency, balanced with love and understanding. (Heb. 12:5)
A Child to Love
You can have your wealth and riches
All the things so many seek,
Position, power, and success,
The fame you long to keep.
You can earn as much as you wish,
Reach a status high above,
But none of these can equal
Having one sweet child to love.
'Tis the greatest gift from heaven,
Little arms that hold you tight,
And a kiss so soft and gentle
When you tuck them in at night.
A million precious questions
And each story often read,
Two eyes so bright and smiling,
And a darling tousled head.
God has never matched the goodness
Of a trusting little face,
Or a heart so full of laughter
Spreading sunshine every place.
A child to hold and cuddle,
'Tis a gift from God above,
And the world is so much brighter
When you have a child to love.
Children
To make a child, God spilled out sunshine
It pooled beneath His Hand to form a smile;
Their eyes He formed from dewdrops in the morning
So sadness could just linger there awhile
God knit the child's frame together with a spring breeze ...
So in their every movement there would be grace
And warmed their heart with kindling made of kindness
So all would see the caring in their faces;
And then God wrapped them gently in a rainbow
Spun for their spirit - beautiful to see!
And said: "Whoever looks upon a small child
Shall know, deep in his heart, that he's seen Me."
Judith Dekker
A LOCK OF HAIR
A Lock of Hair
From a Child so fair
A miracle from above
Placed gently in my care.
This child is growing up so fast
Tomorrow's the future
Today is the past
Walking...talking..
Fading riddles and rhymes
This lock of hair remains
A keepsake of past times
The Boy Soldier
Each evening on my lap there climbs
A little boy of three,
And with his dimpled, chubby fists
He pounds me shamefully.
He gives my beard a vicious tug,
He bravely pulls my nose;
And then he tussles with my hair
And then explores my clothes.
He throws my pencils on the floor
My watch is his delight;
He never seems to think that I
Have any private right.
And though he breaks my good cigars,
With all his cunning art,
He works a greater ruin, far,
Deep down within my heart.
This roguish little tyke who sits
Each night upon my knee,
And hammers at his poor old dad,
Is bound to conquer me.
He little knows that long ago,
He forced the gates apart,
And marched triumphantly into
The city of my heart.
Some day perhaps, in years to come,
When he is older grown,
He, too, will be assailed as I,
By youngsters of his own.
And when at last a little lad
Gives battle on his knee,
I know that he'll be captured, too,
Just as he captured me.
Edgar Guest
A Child's Garden of Verse
As from the house your mother sees
You playing round the garden trees,
So you may see, if you will look
Through the windows of this book,
Another child, far, far away,
And in another garden, play.
But do not think you can at all,
By knocking on the window, call
That child to hear you. He intent
Is all on his play-business bent.
He does not hear, he will not look,
Nor yet be lured out of this book.
For, long ago, the truth to say,
He has grown up and gone away,
And it is but a child of air
That lingers in the garden there.
Robert Louis Stevenson
Up to the Ceiling
Up to the ceiling
And down to the floor,
Hear him now squealing
And calling for more.
Laughing and shouting,
"Away up!" he cries.
Who could be doubting
The love in his eyes.
Heigho! my baby!
And heigho! my son!
Up to the ceiling
Is wonderful fun.
Bigger than daddy
And bigger than mother;
Only a laddie,
But bigger than brother.
Laughing and crowing
And squirming and wriggling,
Cheeks fairly glowing,
Now cooing and giggling!
Down to the cellar,
Then quick as a dart
Up to the ceiling
Brings joy to the heart.
Gone is the hurry,
The anguish and sting,
The heartache and worry
That business cares bring;
Gone is the hustle,
The clamor for gold,
The rush and the bustle
The day's affairs hold.
Peace comes to the battered
Old heart of his dad,
When "up to the ceiling"
He plays with his lad.
Edgar Guest
WHY GOD MADE LITTLE BOYS
God made a world out of his dreams,
of magic mountains, oceans and streams
prairies and plains and wooded land.
Then paused and thought,
"I need someone to stand on top of the mountains
to conquer the seas,
explore the plains,
and climb the trees.
Someone to start out small and grow,
sturdy and strong like a tree" so ...
HE created BOYS, full of spirit and fun
to explore and conquer
to romp and run
with dirty faces, banged up chins
with courageous hearts and boyish grins.
That's a job well done!
Why God Made Little Girls
God made the world with its towering trees
Majestic mountains and restless seas
Then paused and said," It needs one more thing...
Someone to laugh and dance and sing
To walk in the woods and gather flowers
To commune with nature in quiet hours."
So God made little girls
With laughing eyes and bouncing curls
With joyful hearts and infectious smiles
Enchanting ways and feminine wiles
And when He'd completed the task He'd begun
He was pleased and proud of the job He'd done
For the world, when seen through a little girl's eyes
Greatly resembles PARADISE
.
THE ROUGH LITTLE RASCAL
A smudge on his nose and a smear on his cheek
And knees that might not have been washed in a week;
A bump on his forehead, a scar on his lip,
A relic of many a tumble and trip:
A rough little, tough little rascal, but sweet,
Is he that each evening I'm eager to meet.
A brow that is beady with jewels of sweat;
A face that's as black as a visage can get;
A suit that at noon was a garment of white,
Now one that his mother declares is a fright:
A fun-loving, sun-loving rascal, and fine,
Is he that comes placing his black fist in mine.
A crop of brown hair that is tousled and tossed;
A waist from which two of the buttons are lost;
A smile that shines out through the dirt and the grime,
And eyes that are flashing delight all the time:
All these are the joys that I'm eager to meet
And look for the moment I get to my street.
(inspirationals) (my favorite sites)