"... if you truly honor your parents from the heart, you will not wait for their commands. You will be always ready to obey the slightest intimation of their wishes."

"Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord." {Colossians 3:20}

"The will, in our fallen and depraved state, is turbulent and unsubmissive. It is not disposed to submit to the law of God, nor to those whom God has set over us. Yet there is nothing of more importance to our happiness and usefulness than the early subjection of the will. If you determine that you will always have your own will, you will certainly be unhappy; for it is impossible that you should always have your own way. But if you early accustom yourself to give up your own will; to submit to the will of God, as made known to you in His word and Providence,--to submit to your parents, as those whom God has set over you, and to your own conscience, as the faithful monitor which God has placed in your own bosom,--then you will be as happy as you can be in this imperfect state. This you will not accomplish all at once. It must be the result of experience, trial, and discipline, with the grace of God in your heart."

"But the true way to honor your parents, at all times and in all circumstances, is, to have your heart right with God. If you have true piety of heart toward God, you will show piety toward your parents; for you will regard the authority of His commandment, and delight in doing what will please him. The fear of God, dwelling in your heart, will lead you to reverence all His commands, and none more continually and conscientiously than the one which requires you to honor your parents. Every thing that you do for them will be done, 'not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but with good will, doing service as to God, and not to man."

"We are commanded to obey our parents (Ephesians 6:1). Obedience is more than outwardly obeying with a resentful, grudging attitude. Obedience means inwardly obeying, from the heart, with eagerness and cheerfulness. True obedience means obeying even when it's hard. But obedience doesn't have to be painful. When we have a deep, abiding inner reverence for their wisdom and instruction, we will actually seek out their guidance and will consider their preferences are more important than our own."

"A friend was telling of a wonderful little flower which he discovered high upon the Rocky Mountains. In a deep fissure among the rocks, one midsummer day, he found the snow still lying unmelted, and on the surface of the snow he saw a lovely flower. When he looked closely, he perceived that it had a long, delicate stem, white as a tuberose, coming up through the deep snow from the soil in the crevice of the rock underneath. The little plant had grown up in spite of all obstacles, its tender stem unharmed by the cold drifts, until it blossomed out in loveliness above the snow. The secret was its root in the rich soil in the cleft of the rock, from which it drew such fullness of life that it rose through all to perfect beauty. A fit picture is that little flower of ever tender child-life in this world. Over it are chilling masses of evil and destructive influences, and if it ever grows up into noble and lovely character, it must conquer its way by the force of its own inward life until it stands crowned with beauty with every obstacle beneath it. This it can do only through the power of the divine grace within. Its root must be honed in the sheltered warmth of piety, in the cleft of the Rock of Ages. Those who grow up in truly Christian homes, imbibing in their souls from infancy the very life of Christ, will be strong to overcome every obstacle and resist every temptation. The influence of godly example, the memories of family worship, the abiding power of holy teachings, and the grace of God descending perpetually upon the young life in answer to believing prayer, give it such inspirations and impulses toward all that is noble and heavenly that it will stand at last crowned with honor and beauty. To make a home godless and prayerless is to send our children out to meet all the world's evil without either the shelter of covenant love to cover them in the storm or the strength of holy principle in their hearts to make them able to endure."

"Healthful play is natural to the young, throughout the whole animal creation. The lamb, that emblem of innocence, is seen sporting in the fields, blithely bounding over the hills, as if desirous of expressing a grateful sense of its Creator's goodness. There is no more harm in the play of children than in the skipping of the lambs. It is necessary to restore the bent bow to its natural elasticity."

"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that life as it reaches on; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny, --she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other hands the sacred and holy trust given to her."

"How does the truth of God make its way from the heart of a father to the hearts of his children? Through an intimate discipleship relationship, a relationship that continues at all times (from rising up to lying down) and in all places (at home and along the way). This, by the way, is 'home education,' which the Bible presents as the way to provide godly training for the next generation."

"When I think of the sacredness and the responsibility of parents, I do not see how any father and mother can look upon the little child that has been given to them and consider their duty to it, and not be driven to God by the very weight of the burden that rests upon them, to cry to him for help and wisdom."

"This is the way people learn: they watch other people do something, and then they copy what they see. This method of learning is called apprenticeship, and it is the most effective way to teach almost anything. Children are natural apprentices and will mimic the behavior of their parents, whether it is washing the car, hammering a nail, or cuddling a baby."

"At an early age children may be taught to forgo little things, especially for the sake of others; for that shows a purpose. Afterwards they may be taught to bear disappointments and crosses as benefiting their own character, and preparing them for the heavier trials and sacrifices of mature age. It will help to self-conquest, if one distinct act of self-denial is practiced every day; and then it should be entirely voluntary and cheerful, for thus it is like fruit with the bloom on it; but when self-denial is grudging and complaining, it is indeed sour and acrid fruit."

"Shall we call our home a Christian home, and yet never worship Christ within our doors? Shall we call ourselves God's children, and yet never offer any praise to our Father? Should there not be some difference between a Christian and a heathen home? Should not God's children live differently from the children of this world? What mark is there that distinguishes our home from the home of our godless neighbor if there be no family worship?"

*If God wills, January's posts will be directed towards home-making, families, and parents.

there's a right kind of culture

"A thoughtless, selfish, snappish, fretful, overbearing, and dictatorial young woman might take prizes at school, may excel at music, and travel round the world, but the more she knows, the less culture she has. The commonist country girl, with good health, an open brain, and a warm, unselfish, patient, self-controlled disposition, is a hundredfold more cultured than the boarding-school graduate, who is fractious with her mother, cross with her sisters, or knows too much to associate with other girls. Disposition is culture. Health is the soil, intelligence the branches, and disposition the leaves, buds and blossoms - the robe of living beauty, fragrance, and sweetness with which a young woman is to clothe her life. Without heart-culture the finest mental culture is like a tree with nothing but cold, lifeless limbs."

continuing ed

"There is such a thing as adult education, and we may learn from everybody and everything until the day of our death, so that nothing is more ridiculous than to speak of a girl's education being 'finished' when she leaves school."

little children as flowers

"I want to see little children adorning every home as flowers adorn every meadow and every wayside. I want to see them welcomed to the homes they enter, to see their parents less and less selfish and more and more loving because they have come. I want to see God's precious gifts accepted, and not frowned upon and refused."

beginning of honor

"A daughter must be grateful to her [earthly] father--for giving her life; if he has fed and clothed her; if he has ever done anything kind for her--because gratitude is the beginning of honor."