How to Prepare Your Children for Greatness

“I cannot play basketball like Michael Jordan or the violin like Itzhak Perlman. Neither can you. What did they have that I do not? Why could they perform the way they did while I am only skilled enough at their craft to watch? In the first place they had the gifts for it. Built into the genetic formula for these two very different men was a treasure of giftedness few people have.

Another difference between these two men and the rest of us is the time and effort they put into developing those gifts. While you and I were watching television as children, Michael Jordan at the same age was dribbling and shooting baskets. Itzhak Perlman was practicing his scales and double stops. They invested their freedom in disciplined practice of their skills while most of us were using up our freedom at something else. Ultimately they had the freedom to perform as one in a million can, while the rest of us are not free to do that.

My guess is that somebody, somewhere along the way, helped these two stars with their training. No matter what his gifts, everyone needs help. They were taught the basic principles of their craft, the technique for every skill they would need. And they practiced. They practiced hours. They practiced devotedly. They were driven to practice insatiably while other young people were making softer decisions about their time.

. . . You have to choose what you will be good at because you can be good at only a very few things.”

— Wayne McDill, 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching

It is not too late.

It is not too late to devote your life to a great thing. Find what God built into you to do. Pick something that brings glory to God and changes peoples lives. I may not be something that earns you lots of money or fame. That doesn’t matter. Do it for God. Do it for love.

Aside from how personally challenging this is, I am also asking myself some questions as a parent.

• Am I giving my children a vision for greatness and excellence?
• Am I helping my children identify the gifts and talents God has given them?
• Am I empowering them to develop these insatiably for God’s glory?
• Am I expecting more from them than the average expectation of our culture?
• Am I teaching them the fundamental truths of discipline and freedom?
• Am I encouraging my children to invest their freedom instead of making softer decisions?

“They invested their freedom in disciplined practice of their skills while most of us were using up our freedom at something else. Ultimately they had the freedom to perform as one in a million can.”

— Wayne McDill

Freedom is not the absence of discipline;
Freedom is the fruit of discipline

One Habit to Change Your Life

What one activity would change your life if you turned it into a habit?

I was recently challenged to reflect on this as I read the book The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan.

“Not everything matters equally; some things matter more than others—a lot more. . . . Go extreme. Once you’ve figured out what actually matters, keep asking what matters most until there is only one thing left. That core activity goes at the top of your success list.”

— Gary Keller, The One Thing

From a biblical perspective, our ONE Thing is very clear!

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
Psalm 27:4

My ONE Thing is to have a real, intimate relationship with Christ, to love God with all (Mark 12:30).

So, the answer to my first question is this: PRAY.

[I think that Scripture reading and meditation is just as important. but I already have made that a habit. It is my prayer life that is weak.]

I want to learn to pray. What am I doing to accomplish this? I have committed to significant amount of time in prayer everyday. I am also training my mind to return to the Lord often throughout the day in prayer.

I am reading these two books to help me grow in these areas. I highly recommend them both.

How to Develop a Powerful Prayer Life:
The Biblical Path to Holiness and Relationship with God
by Dr. Gregory R Frizzell

The One Thing by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan.

The Practice of the Presence of God
by Brother Lawrence

Do You Panic When Tempted?

“If he felt any ungracious thought or any temptation generating, he would not panic or feel helpless to resist it. This was because his past experience of God’s faithful assistance allowed him to wait until just the right moment to call out. When the time came, he would address himself to God, an the evil thoughts would vanish right away.”

— Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

Brother Lawrence working in the monestary kitchen

There have been times in life when I have panicked or felt helpless in the face of temptation. I see now that this is simply a lack of faith in the victory and power over sin that we have in Christ. What freedom to be able to calmly face a desire and opportunity for sin and know that I do not have to be defeated! To know that I have all I need in Christ to walk in holiness.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

— 1 Corinthians 10:13

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

— 2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV

The Basis of Civilization

Here is a good article, "The Basis of Civilization" (thanks for the recommendation, Margaret). Here are a couple of excerpts:

"The family ideal as defended by Chesterton is something quite different than the industrialized consumer family, where the family members leave the house each morning by the clock and on a strict schedule to pursue work and recreation and the majority of life outside the home. Chesterton’s ideal was the productive home with its creative kitchen, its busy workshop, its fruitful garden, and its central role in entertainment, education, and livelihood. Unlike the industrial home, life in a productive household is not amenable to scheduling and anything but predictable."

"A college education is the most overpriced product on the planet, and over-rated as well. Parents have the privilege of sacrificing nearly everything to send their children to college, only to have them get their heads filled with doubts and destructive ideas, undermining everything their parents have taught them."

World Stats: Smaller Families in Urban Areas

Interesting facts from Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation (using data from the United Nations).

"The world's population nearly doubled between 1970 and 2010. Global population growth rates peaked around 1970 and have steadily declined since then - the main contribution to this decline is smaller family size."

51% of the world population are "urbanites." "The urban population reached over 50% for the first time in history in 2009."

Here is what God said about population growth:

"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. . . . Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it" (Gen 9:1, 7).

Do What You Love

"I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle." - Steve Jobs

Equip All God's People

"The goal of the church is never for one person to be equipped and empowered to lead as many people as possible to Christ. The goal is always for all of God's people to be equipped and empowered to lead as many people as possible to Christ." - David Platt

Children are Worshipers

“All humans have a Godward orientation. . . . Children are worshipers. Either they worship Jehovah or idols.” “He is wither worshiping and serving and growing in understanding of the implications of who God is, or he is seeking to make sense of life without a relationship with God. . . . Part of the parent’s task is to shepherd him as a creature who worships, pointing him to the One who alone is worthy of his worship.”

“Since it is the Godward orientation of your child’s heart that determines his response to life, you may never conclude that his problems are simply a lack of maturity. Selfishness is not outgrown. Rebellion against authority is not outgrown. These things are not outgrown because they are not reflective of immaturity but rather of the idolatry of your child’s heart.”

- Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child's Heart, 19, 21-23.

This last paragraph was especially striking to me. I so often hear the hope of parents that their self-centered children will one day "grow out of it." A brief observations of adults would quickly dash this hope. The only real progress with adults is that they learn to put up a good front, being more shrewd and socially acceptable with their selfishness.