Number 110:  May 23, 2007

My youngest daughter Julie graduated from high school last night. This event has Joan and me entertaining the whole gauntlet of emotional thinking. When she goes off to college in a few months we will be empty-nesters. That might be considered life changing; to have the freedom to come and go without the daily responsibility of having anyone else directly dependent on you.

Proverbs 22:6:

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Raising children is not easy no matter the generation, ask Adam and Eve about their oldest child. Training a child starts with introducing them to the respect and love that God deserves. By showing them that His knowledge and wisdom are the standard to live life by, they then are in a position to manifest a more abundant life.

Proverbs 1:7:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Among her graduation gifts was a double-wide margin Cambridge Bible, which is great for reading with plenty of room for note taking. She has grown up with a healthy respect of the Bible being the Word of God and It being the authority in which to base life upon.

Mathew 4:4:

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

High school graduation is a stepping stone to the “real world.” In our culture, it is the benchmark to being an adult. It is the accomplishment that forces decisions to have to be made. Up until this point, school has been the major focal point of life. Now, work, college, military, life-long relationships, where to live, all become viable options. 

Life isn’t scripted. It has its challenges and its rewards. It has its successes and its failures. However, it is lived best when God is kept in the middle of it.  

By the way, when the graduation service was totally over, as we were walking to the car, it was snowing heavily!