2009-09-20T17:04:06-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com /feeds/topics/parenthood/ http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2022:6&version=NIV 2009-09-20T17:04:06-05:00 It's widely understood that your upbringing, whether it was kind or cruel, has a major influence on your attitudes and behaviors even once you've entered adulthood. Here the Bible confirms this, and exhorts parents to raise their kids in a godly manner so that they'll continue along that path as they grow. http://hutchcraft.com/a-life-that-matters/radio-program/a-brand-new-daddy-8297 2009-09-18T14:14:58-05:00 Little Scotty really wanted to play with his dad, and his dad really wanted to read his massive Sunday paper. Well, Scotty kept tapping on the newspaper, and finally Scotty’s dad had an idea: he tore out a page of the paper that had a map of the world. He tore it into puzzle pieces and he said, “As soon as you put this picture together, I’ll play with you.” Two minutes later his son shows up with the picture together. He said, “Scotty, how did you put this picture of the whole world together so fast?” He said, “Daddy, it was easy. There was a picture of a man on the other side. If you put the man together right, the world goes together just fine.” http://hutchcraft.com/a-life-that-matters/radio-program/every-dads-a-builder-8296 2009-09-18T14:13:26-05:00 In the course of our ministry on Indian reservations, we met a precious grandmother who told us a memorable story. Her grandmother had been forced out of the village she lived in because she gave her heart to Christ. That meant her grandfather had to build a house down in the valley below the village, and here’s how he did it. Each day as he returned from work, he’d pick up a big rock and bring it home to help build that house. http://hutchcraft.com/a-life-that-matters/radio-program/the-power-of-a-fathers-smile-8295 2009-09-18T14:12:31-05:00 It was that time of the year when the grass grew so fast, it seemed like our lawn needed to be mowed like every other day. My then five-year-old son was following me, clipping around the rocks, and I smiled at him and kept mowing. He came up to me and he said, “Daddy, could you do that again please?” I said, “Do what?” He said, “Could you please smile at me again. It’s your smile that keeps me going.” http://hutchcraft.com/a-life-that-matters/radio-program/the-power-of-a-parents-words-8258 2009-09-14T14:48:04-05:00 Baseball season was always a special time for me and my boys. We bonded, actually, playing baseball together, and I remember when I was first teaching my oldest son how to hit a ball. It was just a plastic Wiffle bat and ball in our backyard. And I pitched gently, but he was just chopping at it and missing. He had two strikes. I went over to him, coached him a little, took a few steps back to throw the ball, and said, “Hey, I know you’re going to hit it this time, man!” He whacked that ball into the neighbor’s yard. Do you know, years later, in a college class where they asked students about important memories from their childhood, that’s the day he told them about.