Our Influence

Our Influence

The greatest testament to our influence is to hear our children say, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

We want our children to do well in school, to hit the ball squarely, to drive it through the uprights, to 2-putt, and to be paid substantially in their part time job. That makes us proud! We have groomed and trained them to perform admirably in areas that are important to us.

But those pursuits are short lived, lasting no more than a lifetime.

The confession of Christ, however, lasts forever.

I've seen numerous dads baptize their children. Then, still standing in the water together, the dad would give their child a big hug. The father's influence has taken on eternal dimensions.

Photo compliments Karli Bonnie Photography.

Our ultimate job is to so live that we encourage the sanctifying of our wives (Eph. 5) and we lead our children to the savior.

By our speech, life and love, we not only let the little children go to Jesus, we lead them to him.
God's blessings upon the dads who consciously bear their children to the savior.

Warren

Memory

Memory

"The problem with growing up in a place so beautiful is they may not fully appreciate it."

We moved from the suburbs to the country when I was nine years old. The suburbs were nice, but nothing to compare with the beauty of the trees, streams, mountains and valleys of Vermont. And of course, the bright colors of the changing leaves. It was stunningly beautiful.


"Can you get over how beautiful this place is," were frequent expressions from mom and dad.

"No. It is amazing. I hope the kids will be able to appreciate it. The problem with growing up in a placle so beautiful is they may not fully appreciate it."

And we didn't. At least I didn't. At least not until years later when I would drive through the Wyoming countryside with my kids and ooh and aah at the mountains, valleys, and wildlife of that gorgeous state with my wife and three kids in the car.

One time I said to Cheryl about our kids, "The problem with growing up in a place so beautiful is tha they may not fully appreciate it." And then I remembered. And appreciated.

Memory is one of God's gifts to us, connecting us with past events and people. Sometimes the memories are painful. Sometimes they are full of joy. At times they are educational. Often, they connect us to the people and events that shaped us long ago. That happpened for me in a flash, 25 years after my parents' drive through the Vermont countryside. I felt connection and purpose.

I also realized that it isn't just the contours and colors of the countryside that matters the most, although the beauty of nature certainly has value in itself: God made it. But what matters most is how we experience it together. What we say. What the kids hear. Because years later, one of them will remember.

Warren Baldwin

Thanks to Karli Bonnie Photography for the beautiful picture of the leaves. It refreshed my memory and helped me remember.

Time and Kids

Time and Kids

Sometimes I feel time speeding by like the train in this picture (Thanks to Karli Bonnie Photography).

Our two college (actually, grad school) kids were home for a couple of weeks over Christmas. Now they are back in school. We did some of the things we planned to do, but not all. Time.

We sometimes think of time as our enemy - it is constantly working against us or trying to escape us. Actually, time is our friend. It is here for us to enjoy with the people we love and the things we like to do (and, yes, even some of the things we have to do :).

One daughter, a senior, remains at home. How can we use our remaining time with her as a friend rather than an enemy?

- Celebrate the minutes and hours we do have together. Make the time memorable.

- Enjoy the things she enjoys with her. Right now that is basketball, and so far we have seen every game #11 has played.






- Still take advantage of the teachable moments. We can't just get misty during the final months. There is still some bending of the twig left, and as responsible parents, we can't let all those opportunities fly by.

- Create momories that will last. Two things I do here. One, take lots of pictures. Two, keep a diary of the kids' last year at home. I give them the diary when they go off to college. That is a big hit (and don't just write the fun or pleasant things; write the real things as they happen).

Just a few suggestions, but ideas that will hopeful help us to wisely redeem the time with our older kids.


Warren

(Note: I don't know how this post will look when it actually posts. I spent way too much time trying to get the paragraphs right, but I simply cannot get rid of the big gaps. This is when time becomes the enemy :).

Goals

Goals

This is what a basketball goal has always looked like to me. As an adult. As a teenager.


I remember watching friends compete to see who could reach the highest on the net, or even touch the rim. I was glad to be able to get my feet a few inches off the ground.

A few lucky guys could actually leap with a ball and dunk it. That goal always seemed so out of reach.


It would have been nice, when I was younger, to be able to jump and reach the rim. But really, it didn't matter then and it doesn't matter now. To be able to touch the goal was never a goal for me.

I think a goal must reach at least three criteria to be worthy of our efforts.

One, it must stretch us to be better people. A goal to clean up our speech, relate better to people, and read the Bible through in a year are such goals.

Two, it must require some serious effort. The work to achieve the goal is often as important and transforming as the goal itself.

Three, it must meet with God's approval. The things God approves are eternal in nature, so they really matter!

There is nothing wrong with being able to leap and touch a basketball rim. But, at 5' 10", I knew it wasn't a likely goal for me. It certainly isn't now.

But learning God's word, relating better to my wife and kids, and mentoring a fatherless ten-year old, now those goals stretch me, take serious effort, and pay eternal benefits. Those are three goals I'm working on this year.

How about you? What goals have you set that meet these three important criteria?

Warren Baldwin

Note: Thanks to Karli Photography for these great pictures.