Training and Consistency are as Important as Food and Shelter

A friend of mine made the comment how her daughter did a through job when doing a certain household chore. This same daughter, who was ‘usually in her own little world’, is now taking her responsibilities more seriously.

This precious jewel is FIVE years old! Yes, even at five a child can do a good job cleaning the toilet… and many other things. But most children will never do this unless there are patient and loving parents to show them how, over and over again and you must work along side them if you want them to do a good job!

Sadly, most parents expect very little from their children; couple that with children being away from their parents for the majority of the day… for the majority of their childhood, and that leaves them untrained in basic household responsibilities.

We live in a skill deficient generation where a good work ethic is seriously lacking. For most kids life is too easy, they grow up believing that getting a good grade, a shelf full of trophies and a college degree will guarantee them the good life. Then they get a hard slap of reality and spend the rest of their life either making up for lost time learning what their parents neglected to teach them or they play the blame game and wallow in the Pit of State Dependence.

My point is, children are capable of so much if they are taught with a consistent and gentle spirit from a young age. In the life of a child, training and consistency are as necessary as food and shelter. Can you truly love your child if you do not feed them or give them a home to live in? Can you truly love your child if you cripple them in skills and attitude?

Our 3 year old is a great help around the house. Right now the most important thing is that she understands that she is part of the family and that she HAS to do her part, it’s not so much about efficiency as it is attitude! Her attitude has to be cheerful and helpful, no freeloaders here!

There is no doubt in my mind that daily chores are

an absolute must for raising responsible children.

Work is a good thing.

Work is a necessity for all of us.

What Chores at What Age

The Brodock Family Motto for 2013

“Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. “-Proverbs 29:18

Whether you have a family mission statement, a verse or motto it’s better than having nothing. It helps the family unit understand who they are and why they are here. It helps with planning your year if you know what your goals and purpose are.

BeFunky_DSC_0044

This year we have chosen the family motto, “Be a blessing, not a burden.”

Whether it be in our daily responsibilities around the house, helping at church, contributing in the community or even how much we are willing to do on the job, our attitudes are so very important.

Boots usually mean work, so boot-up and be a blessing!

If you are not doing your part and you are able,

then someone else has to do it

and

that makes you a burden and not a blessing

Going the extra mile,

doing more than what is expected of you

makes you a blessing.

As parents we have got to set the example of a servant heart, always willing to serve others and then we need to train it into our children. For some children it comes easier than for others.

How this looks in our home:

See it:

The picture above will be printed off and posted on our refrigerator and also a copy for everyone’s binder as a reminder.

Write it:

Each month we will go over a verse from the list below. These verses will also be incorporated into the children’s copywork for their lessons.

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Acts 20:35

“And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.” Titus 3:14

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.” Haggi 1:7

“And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” Mark 9:35

“Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” Proverbs 11:25

“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.” 1 Corinthians 9:19

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works…” Hebrews 10:24

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

Talk about it:

As situations come up, whether it be bad attitudes or laziness we will ask, “Are you being a blessing or a burden?”

When someone is going the extra mile we will acknowledge it, a little praise goes a long way.

When we see situations publicly we will use them as object lessons. For example, if we see someone going out of their way to help someone in a store.

Other suggestions:

Let the children write stories, poems or even act out scenarios of someone being a blessing vs a burden.

Read stories or biographies.

Our heart’s desire is that our children love the Lord, all the days of their lives and that they love and serve their neighbor, especially those within the same 4 walls.

I’d love to hear your family does this kind of thing.

This Recession

…and how to work!

Liberty

“Yes, we did produce a near perfect Republic, but will they keep it? Or will they in their enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of their freedom? Material abundance without character is the surest way to destruction. I tremble for my country when I realize that God is just.” ~Thomas Jefferson

All LIBERTY comes with the heavy price tag of RESPONSIBILITY.

Whether concerning your liberty as a citizen or as a parent, if you are not willing to fight for and preserve your liberty then you don’t deserve it.

Just like birthing a baby is the easy part,

it’s the diligent parenting that is the hard part!

1 Way to Stop the Welfare Mentality

I love analogies, I can find them in just about everything…just ask my kids.

It’s hot here is Alabama during the summer,

so if you have yard work or garden work you really want to get it done early in the day if you can.

With our new little ones in the house we are working diligently to develop a Biblical world view in them.

We are always reminding them:

“We are a family, we all work together.“

“We work, then we play.”

“The Lord said, if you don’t work, you don’t eat.”

So… the 3 younger ones and myself went out picking berries.

I told them we had to pick until all the blue ones were off our 2 bushes.

I had one that would like of wander off, get distracted and moan a bit that it was too hot (it was like 8 am!). So I would just gently tell him that there were still berries and that we couldn’t go in until we finished the job. I’d point out a branch to help him see what needed to be picked…and then I’d point out another branch.

I’d remind the children that Dad was out working in the heat

all day every day without complaining

and that all the money he earns buys our food, clothing, home, etc…

He does this because this is what men do, they provide for their families.

And we are suppose to work at home,

even if we do not get paid money, we all have work to do.

And then I saw her…

my little socialist in the making.

She had already taken berries from her sister’s bucket to fill her’s…

then I saw her taking berries from mine.

I had shown her which berries to pick, there were about 10 ripe ones on the low branches. All she had to do was sit and pick those few, but she chose to take from those that had been really working for them.

So I *cheerfully* explained to her…again… we must all work;

even at 3 she can pick a couple handfuls of berries, she must do her part!

Then I explained to all of them…again…

it is not OK to take from people that work.

It is one thing if someone wants to gift you something,

but it is stealing to take food, money, housing, etc…

from people if you are not doing your part.

Most of us are lazy by nature.

It’s easy not to take responsibility, it’s easy to give up when it gets too hot.

We have got to instill an honest work ethic in them from the time they are very little. Start out with tiny, bite size chores, and personal responsibility. They need to know it is normal to clear their plate form the table, pick up their shoes, etc… All of this must be done with a LOT of praise.

What our 3 year can do (with a little encouragement):

Clears her plate after meals.
Wipes the table and chairs after meals (even though we may have to re-do it when she is not looking).
Helps pick berries.
Carries in a light bag when groceries are bought (think toilet paper).
Picks up her toys.
Straightens shoes.
Folds washcloths and dishcloths.
Give her a spray bottle of water and vinegar and she LOVES to clean the front of the cabinets.
Helps along side an older sibling.

I will do everything in my power that these children

will grow up to be hard working and responsible adults.

I pray they will be givers not takers.

We have got to break the chains of the welfare mentality!!!

If you hit hard times that is where your family and church come in. One reason why we have the HUGE welfare state we do is because we’ve lost our sense of personal responsibility, our family structure and church community.

With Freedom Comes Responsibility

I am on jury duty this week.

I don’t understand why people gripe about this all the time and try to always get out of it. I understand it is a major inconvenience and there are times one cannot serve, but every voter should at one time or another.

I’ve been summonsed twice before, first time I had a newborn nursing baby, so I was excused. Second time I was selected as a juror but ended up in the ER that night miscarrying a baby…I was excused.

Today I had to leave my three kiddos here with Emma who is holding the fort down this week even though she is sick.

I am happy to do my part. I am an American and am given MANY rights that most people do not have and with those rights comes responsibilities.

Think about it; if you are charged with something what kind of jurors would you want? Would you want folks that don’t have anything better to do with their day? Wouldn’t you want 12 people that understood what the Constitution was about? People that took their duty as an American citizen seriously? Wouldn’t you want a juror that had some common sense and desired truth and justice?

Sure it’s an inconvenience, sure I’d rather be at home with my kids doing my daily routine, but it is because I live here, in American, here in Alabama that I have so many freedoms and with that freedom comes responsibility, a DUTY to serve.

If I am ever the one needing to be defended I want the sharpest people sitting in the juror seats, and I’d hope they were Christians!

Work Ethic Challenged?

Having a good work ethic does not come naturally for most of us, and this is even more true for children. There are families where one parent is a bit carefree or even lazy, while then the other parent is a ‘get-r-done’ kind of person. This can often cause problems between husband and wife which can cause strife with the children and before you know it, you have a home filled strained relationships.

Here are a few tips if you are the ‘get-r-done’ parent:

Regardless of what the other parent is doing, or not doing, you can teach them from God’s word what He says about work.

Stress the importance of working as unto the Lord.

Read short stories about a work ethic (the Big Book of Virtue is great for this).

Look for children’s songs about working together.

Use memory verses about work.

Focus on Proverbs about work.

Fashion your Bible/Devotions about these verses.

Do not point out the character flaws of the other parent to the kids. If you are the wife, do NOT nag your husband to do better, let that be between him and the Lord; you honor and respect him. Perhaps note cards with your memory verses on them placed around the house will encourage/convict his spirit?

TRY AS HARD AS YOU CAN to keep a gentle and joyful spirit (it’s hard I know). Frustration and anger feeds more frustration and anger! You will draw them with a gentle and joyful spirit, it’s contagious!
Set some serious consequences for tasks that are not done. Be tough, and don’t waiver because this is more about obedience than anything else.
The longer you wait the harder it will be.
Take it one day at a time.
Pray for them and for your spouse…DAILY, ask God for wisdom.

Occupy Opprotunity!

For our family we have many times of, “Thank you, Lord, for our DAILY bread.”

We are working hard to break the generational bondage of slavery in our family. The slavery spiritual blindness, the slavery of debt and the slavery of trusting the ‘experts’. We know we’ll never be able to accomplish everything we want to, but our hope is that we are paving a way for our kids to think and live freely!

For example, our kids have no idea the restrictions of being in a classroom for most of their childhood. They really cannot grasp the limits that are imposed because they have had so much freedom with education and how their day is structured. Now to apply this same principle of liberty to all other areas of life… we’re getting there!

There are days I get discouraged and even worried, but God is growing me.

I want promises and security. I don’t want to worry about where the next ‘job’ will come from for my husband’s business. I don’t want to wonder how many DVDs I’ll sell this month. But isn’t that kind of foolish? Kind of selfish? Kind of lazy?

For our family, we do not expect anyone to ‘make it happen’ for us; no one signs our checks. Everyday we are reminded of our dependance on God…which is good. Every family is different and their needs are different.

When we have lean times it may be our own fault (lack of planning/bad choices) or sometimes it is because God causes it to rain on the just and the un-just. And part of it is simply because we are breaking free of slavery and it has a price! No matter the reason, we take personal responsibility and move forward, asking God for wisdom and daily bread. Again, we want so much more for our kids than what we were given!

We’re always looking for new ways to generate income or manage what we have even better.

8 of 10 Millionaires Started with NOTHING

We watch our grown daughters (17 and 21), who are committed to being keepers at home, get creative as they embrace an entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Most people will not consider any entrepreneurial endeavors because they do not have to.

People who complain, whine and demand for someone to make it easy for them drive me nuts!

I want to say, “Grow up and occupy a job!”

I understand the frustration of the Occupy Wall Street bunch and the original outrage of the bailouts, but what this movement has turned into is CrAzY!

Government IS out of control, but demanding they bail everyone out is insane.

If you don’t like the way a company is doing business be a capitalist, TAKE CONTROL and don’ t buy their goods/services. Tell them why you are doing this and let your money talk.

Real change starts at the bottom and works it’s way up!

Occupy Your Homes

Take personal responsibility
Live debt free
Generate your own income/business -If you want to lead something, lead your own business!
Take your children back from the government (public school)
Take care of your family members, especially your elderly

Occupy Your Church

Be an active member in your church
Make sure it has Biblical leadership
Find ways to serve the widows and orphans
Make sure your church is not pouring out a ton of money and time into entertaining the youth. The church should be a place of worship, discipleship and service.

Occupy Your Community

Be involved in your local government
Vote
Know your neighbors, help your neighbors
Know the Constitution

If you want to occupy something,

occupy with YOUR LIFE

by doing something

PRODUCTIVE

right where you are!

Opportunities are all around us, sometimes they are brought to our door and sometimes you have to look… and look hard, but they ARE there!

Also posted at The Christian Home.

The Question Behind the Question

The QBQ!!! I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a fast read with short chapters that stress the importance of personal accountability. Although the book is focused on personal accountability at work it bleeds into EVERY area of life!

I think this a great book to use at your dinner table or during family time to ignite some great conversation about giving your all, even in the simplest of task. Do you want to equip your children with a great work ethic? This book drives it home! It is an easy to understand, straight to the point book that even children as young as 10-12 could understand but most definitely written for adults that want to make a difference in the world!

QBQ!

The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life

Life Lessons of Working Along Side Your Children

If you want to know someone, to see what they are made of, roll up your sleeves and work along side them. Nowhere is this more true than with your family, especially your children!

Whether doing daily chores or working for pay outside the home it is your duty to train your children to work diligently!

Some Things to Think About

-When doing chores or anything else at home with your children it is easy to let things slide and not expect their best each time, but when someone else is paying you (and them) to do an excellent job, you can’t let anything slide.

-The first several months the girls and I were cleaning other people’s houses I would point out what they were missing, often they would act as if I was being too picky. I would make them go back and re-do it. One day I received an e-mail from one of our clients pointing out a few things that were not done completely. This particular day I was not feeling well and did not have the energy to inspect their work. I let the girls read the e-mail. The girls were embarrassed and felt bad about the whole thing. In response to the e-mail I took responsibility for the work not being done completely (the buck stops with me) and offered the client a reduced pay for the next cleaning. In the long run it turned out to be a great life lesson because the girls realized that it really does matter that they do the job completely and that Mom is not nit-picking for no reason! Since then they have really improved on their quality of work, which makes it easier for all of us.

- One day while tackling a big job, one of my girls had an especially bad attitude. She made the whole day misery for her sister and me. When we got home her Dad gave her a stern talking to and we docked her pay. From that point on her attitude 100% improved. When you are providing a service for someone else you can not have a bad day. Remember you are training them to be a responsible adult.

Life Lessons Learned from Our Cleaning Jobs

-To Appreciate the Service of Others- Anytime you do service work it makes you appreciate the work of others. After working as a cashier and waitress in my younger years I truly appreciate the worker on the other side of the counter. Cleaning for people will give that same appreciation.

-Learning to Deal with Difficult People- This has been especially good!!! Some people are very hard to work for, whether it is a personality conflict, unreasonable expectations, a gossiper, etc… I am able to take each situation as they come and help my daughters learn how to respond or when to overlook an offense. This takes a lot discernment that usually comes with experience. I am so thankful they are getting this experience under my watchful eye and from our world view.

*People are a Witness to How a Family Can Work Together- a sight rarely seen these days, unlike the old days when it was common for children to work in the family business as they grew up, learning hands on skills and people skills.

There are so many things that are taught in a family, but it all gets kicked up a notch when you have to work together to please a client, this is when your family’s true character comes shining through; the good the bad and the ugly.

Not everyone will be excepting of having young people clean their house even if their parent is present.

Our current culture views 14, 15, 16 years old as irresponsible and not capable of quality work. We have encountered this many times; but with time you and your children can earn their trust and respect, just as we have.

We NEED more families working together. We need to be expecting more from our young people and it all starts in the home, with the parents setting a good example!

Also posted at The Legacy of the Home!

What would happen if we removed government control from the educational system?

Bigger schools, more books (think about who is writing the books) and more teachers are not going to solve the education crisis in America.

Public education is about control and money. How about parents keep their money and their children? What if your tax dollars were spent on an education that fit the child? An education that was customized to equip that child according to their talents?

What could happen?

That child could be equipped for real success.
The relationship between parent and child could be better as they would be forced to spend their lives together, rather than a few hours in the evening.
Families could be stronger as memories and relationships are built, rather than the bonds and influence of peers.
Communities could benefit as young people would be available to help neighbors and have time to invest in others.
The educational process for most could be sped up greatly which world ‘allow’ a child to become an adult and taking responsibility at a much younger age and being a contributing (tax paying) member of society!
The economy would prosper as parents controlled where THEIR educational money was spent, whether it be on books, field trips galore, tutors for special subjects, etc… rather than such a huge chunk of tax dollars being taken and poured into the bureaucracy.
Everyone would prosper on all levels if we removed government control from the educational system.

-Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America

If you want your life to be better…

What will you do with the gift of today? Waste it or use it?

You are what you think about…garbage in, garbage out!

There are empty libraries and a LOT people numbed out with Facebook and games complaining about how hard their life is. If you are not getting anywhere…not moving forward, it’s your own fault!

We live in a land whose Founders were mostly self-educated, this country was built on the backs of hardworking, BRAVE, self-reliant people.

The problem in this country is not so much the educational system as it is the lack of INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY!

How are you and your children spending your time?

Are you reading good books?
Are you learning new skills?
Are you being productive?
Are you taking responsibility and not playing the blame game?

If you want your life to be different, to be better, it is up to you.

You study!
You learn!
You work…hard!

Mondays?

People who love Mondays love their life and they know their purpose.When you embrace your purpose and you know it’s not about you, but rather about something MUCH bigger, you can’t wait to get at it!

I get so frustrated with people who gripe about Mondays, about going to work. These same people live for their weekends.

Now don’t get me wrong, I look forward to the weekends! I love the rest, the fellowship, the movies, the relaxing on the hammock and so on, but I do not live for the weekend.

I love Mondays! I get the same feeling I get every New Year’s Day! It’s like a fresh start to either accomplish something new or actually finish up something undone!

I have so much that I want to do with my life. At the end of my days I want to be used up. I want God to meet me and say, “Well done good and faithful servant.” I don’t want to just muddle through the days, I want to LIVE my days full of purpose!

What is your attitude about Mondays?

~Do you hit the floor with both feet running to make a difference, full of drive and purpose?

The Most Skilled Deficient Generation …EVER!

Although this is an article about Canada, the United States is in the same boat, and they are both sinking!

It’s hard not to laugh when Barry Smith starts telling stories about the hapless young workers he has to deal with. Smith, who runs Toronto-area roofing company RoofSmith Canada, tells of one who didn’t come to work because his cat had fleas, and another who jumped off a shed roof, even though he’d just tossed bags of nails into the garbage bin below. But the laughing tapers off when Smith, 46, talks about skills.

“They don’t know how to handle a tool properly,” he says quietly. “They’re bright kids, but they hold a hammer at the top instead of the bottom, so it takes four swings instead of one to get a nail in. They don’t know how to read the short lines on a tape measure and they’ve never used power tools, which makes you really cautious.” He says they can’t seem to detect the patterns of the work—you rip up part of the roof, that gets thrown down, that goes into the garbage—so they just stand around. “It can get really frustrating.”

There’s much talk about a coming crisis in the trades—that we simply don’t have enough new recruits to replace an aging workforce. By some estimates, Canada could face a shortfall of up to one million skilled tradespeople by 2020. To address this shortage, the government is funding a variety of incentives to attract young talent and it’s beefing up our apprenticeship training programs—registrations are at an all-time high. But a stumbling block has emerged that’s getting harder to ignore: by all accounts, we have the least handy, most mechanically deficient generation of young people. Ever.

It’s easy to see why.

Shop classes are all but a memory in most schools—a result of liability fears, budget cuts and an obsession with academics. Still, even in vocational high schools where shop classes endure, a skills decline is evident. One auto shop teacher says he’s teaching his Grade 12 students what, 10 years ago, he taught Grade Nines. “We would take apart a transmission, now I teach what it is.” Remarkably, most of his Grade 11 students arrive not knowing which way to turn a screwdriver to tighten a screw. If he introduces a nut threaded counterclockwise, they have trouble conceptualizing the need to turn the screwdriver the opposite way. That’s because, he says, “They are texting non-stop; they don’t care about anything else. It’s like they’re possessed.”

At home, spare time is no longer spent doing things like dismantling gadgets, building model airplanes or taking apart old appliances with dad; there’s no tinkering with cars, which are so computerized now you couldn’t tinker if you wanted to. A 2009 poll showed one-third of teens spend zero time per week doing anything hands-on at all; the same as their parents. Instead, by one count, entertainment media eats up 53 hours a week for kids aged eight to 18. As for those new apprentices? They’re signing up and then they quit. Depending on the province and trade, some 40 to 75 per cent drop out before completing their program.

Read the rest HERE...just overlook the non-sense paragraph about evolution and chimps, the rest of it is on target!

When I was in high school there was an option for 11th and 12th graders to go to trade school half a day. Trade school was for those who didn’t plan on going to college, we were the ones that would be ‘working with our hands’. I took two years of Distributive Education and learned next to nothing, mainly because I had a teacher that didn’t give a rip and I was a student that cared even less; that’s another story for another day.

“…budget cuts and an obsession with academics” has done a great deal to bring our youth to the point of being unskilled for most anything. But I don’t really blame the government schools, I blame the parents. It is the parent’s responsibility to ingrain in their children with a good work ethic and a wide range of skills!

Americans are suffering the consequences of their idolatry of their sacred cow, Public Education and their neglect to truly educate their children, not only in academics, but more importantly in ethics and ability.

Be Able to Jump into Action with Confidence!

For the last couple years I have prayed that my children (remember they are older teens and 20 now) would see real heart ache, to see suffering, not that I wanted it to happen to them, but to see that there are so many in need. I wanted them (and myself) moved to deeper levels of compassion for others…and passion to serve. I want our hands busy and dirty!

We live in such a comfortable culture, entertained to death, so apathetic to everything and so self absorbed!!! Even most good Christians live a complacent life. I want more for my kids, I want more for myself!

We have a lot of struggles, but we have never really seen true suffering.

I had actually hoped we would be able to go to Haiti. I thought for sure that would be one way to be able to serve in a truly needy place and for our family to experience the depths of suffering and draw closer to Christ as we put our hands and feet to work.

I want us to be doers!!!

Two weeks ago God allowed us to see devastation and suffering. I never dreamed it would be right down the road from us, I never dreamed it would be to people we knew personally and loved dearly!

I am not glad that this has happened, but I am so VERY thankful for all that we are learning, I am so very thankful to be a part of the Body of Christ, doing my *small* part in ministering to the Saints and the lost.

I had one sweet blog reader write and tell me how much she wished she was here to help, but that she had small children. My reply to her was:

“You do all you can right now to teach your children all you can, so that when they are a bit older and a desperate situation COMES TO YOU, your family will be prepared to act! You can be one of the first responders! “

Make sure your children are well skilled so they can jump in and do what is needed.

I was so thankful on the night of the tornado that my husband and son knew how to use the chainsaws.

What a blessing that my daughter was confident enough to walk up to a total stranger whose family had just been killed and console her and pray for her.

How thankful we are that our kids are so familiar with with construction that they could help destruct what was left of a collapsed home during the clean up.

I love that the girls and I were able to prepare enough food for 5 large families that first day after the tornado. We are used to cooking for big crowds so it was a piece of cake for us.

I’m thankful that our girls were willing to not only clean up rubbish, but also help care for the small children. They jump in and do what they need to do.

*PLEASE don’t think I am bragging (we have LOTS of weak areas), but my point is, we strive to live go-getter lives. We have always tried to expose our children to as many real life situations as possible.

The tornado hit sites are covered with families working together. It is such a blessing to watch the kids along side their dad to do whatever needs to be done!

The past two weeks have really brought forth the fruit of 20 years of parenting and training in such a huge way!

For those of you with younger children…TEACH THEM! Teach them as much as you can, then find others that can teach them!

Look for smaller ways to serve and learn.

Can you make food for a soup kitchen?

Can they do yard clean ups for the elderly? Wash windows?

LOOK! Look all around you to ensure that your children know as many REAL LIFE skills as possible, not only will this make their every day life easier, but they will be able to jump into action with confidence when a crisis happens!

Limit the entertainment and the “it’s all about me” thinking!

Raise up your children in a way that they will be ready to go out as a mighty army to serve and build the Kingdom!

They NEED that childhood of basic training to equip them to be strong, compassionate and skilled leaders that are full of courage!