R. A. Torrey wrote, "It is easiest to lead a child from five to ten years to a definite acceptance of Christ. I rejoice in the work done by rescue missions, where we see the wrecks of manhood and womanhood changed into noble men and women. But this is not the work that produces the most satisfactory Christians. The younger we get a child to accept Christ and begin Christian training, the more beautiful the product. The overwhelming majority in our churches today were converted before twenty-one years of age. Whatever your church does, let it do its full duty by the children."

The idea is that we as parents ought to be working to understand the "way" our children ought to be trained. We ought to be looking for our children’s strengths and teaching them how to make the most of them.

(Prov 17:6 NLT) Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children.

Some years ago Columbia University had a great football coach by the name of Lou Little. One day Lou had a boy try out for the varsity team who wasn't really very good. But Lou noticed that there was something unique about him--while he wasn't nearly good enough to make the team, he had such irrepressible spirit and contagious enthusiasm that Lou thought, This boy would be a great inspiration on the bench. He'll never be able to play, but I'll leave him on the team to encourage the others.

As the season went on, Lou began to develop a tremendous admiration and love for this boy. One of the things that especially impressed him was the manner with which the boy obviously cared for his father. Whenever the father would come for a visit to the campus the boy and his father would always be seen walking together, arm in arm, an obvious indication of an exceptional bond of love between them. They could always be seen on Sunday going to and from the university chapel. It was obvious that theirs was a deep and mutually shared Christian faith. Then, one day, a telephone call came to Coach Little. He was informed that the boy's father had just died--would he be the one to tell the boy? With a heavy heart Lou informed the boy of his father's death, and he immediately left to go home for the funeral.

A few days later the boy returned to the campus, only two days before the biggest game of the season. Lou went to him and said, "Is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all?" And to the coach's astonishment the boy said, "Let me start the game on Saturday!" Lou was taken aback. He thought, I can't let him start--he's not good enough. But he remembered his promise to help and said, "All right--you can start the game," but he thought to himself, I'll leave him in for a few plays and then take him out. The day of the big game arrived. To everyone's surprise the coach started this boy who had never played in a game all season. But imagine even the coach's surprise when, on the very first play from scrimmage, that boy was the one who single--handedly made a tackle that threw the opposing team for a loss. The boy went on to play inspired football play after play. In fact, he played so exceptionally that Lou left him in for the entire game; the boy led his team to victory and he was voted the outstanding player of the game.

When the game was finally over Lou approached the boy and said, "Son, what got into you today?" And the boy replied, "You remember when my father would visit me here at school and we would spend a lot of time together walking arm in arm around the campus? My father and I shared a secret that nobody around here knew anything about. You see, my father was blind--and today was the first time he ever saw me play!"

There is a story about four pastors discussing the merits of the various translations of the Bible. One liked the King James Version best because of its simple, beautiful English. Another liked the American Revised Version best because it was closer to the original Hebrew and Greek. Still another liked a contemporary version because of its up-to-date vocabulary. The fourth minister was silent for a moment, then said, "I like my mother's translation best."

Surprised, the other three men said they didn't know his mother had translated the Bible. "Yes," he replied, "She translated it into life, and it was the most convincing translation I ever saw."

When Dr. R.A. Torrey was a young man, he had no faith in God or the Bible. His mother, however, was a devout Christian who constantly prayed for his conversion and often witnessed to him. One day he said to her, "I don't want to hear about my sins and your prayers; I'm going to leave and not bother you any more." With tear-filled eyes the woman followed him to the gate and pleaded with him to change his mind. But he would not be detained. Frantically she cried, "Son, you are going the wrong way, but when you come to the end of your rope and everything seems hopeless, call upon your mother's God with all your heart and He will surely help you!" After Torrey left home, he went deeper into the ways of sin. One night in a hotel room he was unable to sleep. Weary from the problems pressing in on every hand, he decided to take the gun he kept in his dresser and end his life. Just as he reached for the weapon, he remembered his mother's last words. Convicted by the Holy Spirit, he fell on his knees and cried out, "O God of my mother, if there is such a Being, I need Your help. If You will give it to me, I'll follow You!" In a moment his darkened heart was illumined, and peace filled his soul. Later R.A. Torrey became an outstanding evangelist who led thousands to Christ!

Are you discouraged because your children or teenagers aren't interested in the things of the Lord? Keep praying for them, loving them, and living a consistent life before them. Never underestimate the power of your example!

Speaker and author Carol Kent was on the fast track to being an absentee parent--until her young son, Jason, made a simple observation. She recalls: "We were eating breakfast together, and I had on an old pair of slacks and a fuzzy old sweater. He flashed his baby blues at me over his cereal bowl and said, 'Mommy, you look so pretty today.' I didn't even have makeup on! So I said, 'Honey, why would you say I look pretty today? Normally I'm dressed in a suit and high heels.' And he said, 'When you look like that, I know you're going some place; but when you look like this, I know you're mine.' "His words were like an arrow piercing my heart. I realized I might fail at being a godly Christian mother because I was saying yes to so many speaking engagements. I got on my knees with my precious appointment book and offered it to God."

A pastor was concerned when two of his three sons began to stutter. He made an appointment for them to see a speech therapist (who was also a psychologist), and later had a conference himself. "That psychologist literally cursed me," the pastor said. "He told me I was responsible for that speech defect, and that I was ruining my boys' lives. 'When did you last take your family on a vacation?' he asked me. "Well, it had been a long, long time. I was too busy to take time with my family. I remember I used to say that the Devil never takes a vacation, so why should I?--And I never stopped to think that the Devil wasn't to be my example."