When I think of my father I think of the long hours he worked at two and sometimes three jobs. Being an immigrant in Canada and taking care of his family were very demanding. But I also think of the times we spent picnicking as a family, trips to the zoo, the Quebec City winter carnival, road trips, and camping in New York state.

As I reflect on my own kids growing up I feel a tremendous satisfaction in being a father to them. I haven’t been perfect by any means, particularly when it comes to doing things that I don’t especially enjoy, but we have had many great times together. What an incredible experience to have little children look up to you, trust you, and learn much of life from your own life experiences. What a blessing it is when I see other fathers taking time to interact with their children, playing with them at a picnic, rolling around “wrestling” in the living room (often at the chagrin of their mother), or enjoying the outdoors together. I have learned that children are quick to overlook your faults when they know you love them, which, in the mind of a child, is equated with spending time with them and doing things together. Long gone are the days when fathers were expected to be the “bread winner” while the mother was the only one who developed a relationship with the kids.

Unfortunately there has been a movement that promoted the idea that children don’t need fathers. From the entertainment industry that portrays fathers as buffoons to feminists who flat out reject the necessity of fathers, fatherhood has taken a beating.

The truth is that there are fathers who have really blown it. Let’s face it, some fathers have not been much of a father, (maybe because they didn’t have a father themselves?) and in some homes have made life worse by their presence. But to reject the importance of fathers because a small minority of people managed without a father in the house is like finding a 80 year old smoker and saying that smoking is fine because smoking doesn’t seem to have hurt the 80 year old. We know that smoking kills. Maybe not always, but almost always. And certainly, there will be a few homes in which a father is more harm than good, but by and large children do much better with fathers than without. Statistics confirm it again and again. The percentage of children who are content, productive, and responsible citizens is much higher in two parent families than in homes without a father. When it comes to raising children, there is no substitute for a mother and a father (which is all the more reason we need to stand by and support the single parents in our community).

If you are a father, take pride in raising the next generation of godly men and women. God has given you an incredible and awesome responsibility. Don’t listen to the voices that say you have no part in the lives of children. Enjoy your children. Be involved. Do things together. Teach them the things of God. Set boundaries. Lead by example. Treat their mother with love and respect. And you will be blessed.

God’s Word is true.  Psalm 127:3,5 says it well: “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him… Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

For additional resources on fatherhood, check out the Focus on the Family web site at Fatherhood Resources or for general family information, go to the Focus on the Family Main Web Page. They will provide you with much encouragement, resources, articles, research and support.

Pastor Norman

A Yukon News article printed on May 22nd reported the decline in the number of children who attend the local elementary school in Porter Creek. From a peak of 510 children, in the past decade the school has seen its enrollment cut nearly in half. I’m sure there are a number of factors responsible for this decline, including the fact that the community itself is slowly aging, but one of the factors must also be the changing attitudes society has towards children. When I was young, I used to hear a phrase often: “Children are a blessing from God”. I don’t hear that often any more. Today, many people think of children as a burden rather than a blessing.

It is a fact. Children can get in the way of careers. They can get in the way of financial aspirations. They can get in the way of freedom to do what people want to do. And now, on top of all the other pressures against having children, we keep hearing about the environmental impact children have upon our world. I can’t remember what magazine I’d seen it in, but I remember seeing one ad that displayed exactly what kind of environmental impact each child would have in his or her lifetime. The message was clear: having children was bad for the environment. And the message is getting through. If you have more than 1 or 2 children, there are members of society who will frown upon you.

Of course, this goes contrary to God’s plan. In Genesis 1:28 God said, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth…” This command was repeated to both Noah (Genesis 9:1) and to Jacob (Genesis 35:11). Psalms 127 speaks of the man who has many children as the man who is blessed. And indeed, God does view children as a blessing. Often times when God blessed people, He almost always included in that blessing the promise of many children. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and many more were promised the blessing of many children!

Heather and I have been enjoying the blessing of four children. As with many other parents, we could not imagine our home with any one of them not here. Some of you have heard me say before that if I knew how much blessing our four children would be I would have wanted another four. They have filled (and continue to fill) our lives with love and excitement. Sure there are challenges, and there are sacrifices to be made, but right from the start our attitude needs to be that these little bundles wrapped up in tiny blankets are a blessing, and we need to believe and expect that they will continue to be a blessing even as they grow up. They are a gift from God that we need to treasure every day because [WARNING: cliché coming up]… “they grow up so fast”.

Today, as we celebrate Children’s Day, we hold a Children’s Service planned entirely with children in mind. We want to not only show the children that they are a blessing by having a church service focused on their needs, but we also want to remind every parent, every adult, every person who will one day be a parent, that children are a gift from God.

Proverbs 17:6 says “Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.” Psalm 127:3,5 says, “Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him… Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

Instead of being a burden, children are in fact a blessing. Certainly we need to take care of them, we feed them, we look after them, we make sacrifices for them, we teach them the ways of God, but ultimately, like everything else that is in our care, they come from God and they belong to God. They are not ours. They belong to Him. And somehow, in God’s wisdom, He entrusts us with the littlest members of His family and calls them a blessing.

What God considers a blessing, may we never turn into a burden.

Pastor Norman

Family. What images does the word bring to mind? For many, “family” brings warm thoughts of happy times, growing, learning, being taken care of, being loved, being supported, being encouraged. You might think of special holidays, maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas when the family gathered together. If you’ve been raised in such an environment, consider yourself blessed. If as an adult, you continue to enjoy time with your siblings and/or your parents, consider yourself doubly blessed.

For others, “family” reflects pain, memories of bad times, neglect, maybe abuse, a childhood that wasn’t. Sometimes the difficulties of family come out in adulthood, often when adult relatives disagree over an inheritance or when one adult child is making sacrifices to care for an elderly parent when others don’t seem to be involved. These can be among the most difficult experiences for anyone. I can not imagine what it is like to feel alone, nor would I wish it on anyone. Over the years I’ve seen the pain in the lives of numerous people who are living in such situations. I’ve also seen how important the church family is. The Church is the Body of Christ. We are a family. It’s for a reason that Jesus considers all who do the will of His Father in heaven to be brothers and sisters; because that is ex-actly what we are—family! The reality is that for some people, the church is the only meaningful family they may have.

On our recent road trip, my children and I experienced the blessing of family. We spent approximately 120 hours together in our van. We’ve always enjoyed doing that. We were able to enjoy plenty of time with brothers, cousins, parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts. We enjoyed all those experiences. We counted on them. We expected these happy experiences.

We also experienced something we weren’t expecting; the outpouring of love, generosity and concern by other members of the family of God.

On our return trip home, after much delay due to mechanical matters, we arrived in Edmonton with one night rest in the previous three nights. I could have easily re-written the dictionary definitions for both exhaustion and frustration (and, for that matter, “gratitude” that we were actually going home). But still, exhaustion was a strong reality. We arrived in Edmonton expecting a bowl of soup, a bit of rest, and then we would be carrying on to Whitehorse. Instead, we were greeted with an incredible feast, literally.

There must have been enough food for our family and every teenager in our church; and it was all so good. BBQ chicken, T-bone steaks, shrimp and of course all the trimmings that go with these things. We were spoiled. Totally. But it wasn’t just the food, it was the care that came with it. For the first time since starting work on my engine, I was able to relax. Certainly my family in California helped me tremendously (especially my brother working with me through the night). My parents provided me with every comfort they can give. But I was under a lot of stress at the time, making it difficult to relax. In Edmonton I relaxed. When it was time to leave, they loaded us up with enough food for about 3 days (I was hoping this didn’t mean we would need 3 days to travel home!). Lots of good food, all packaged and ready for a road trip. And, on top of it all, being the eve of the Armenian Christmas, they gave us wonderful gifts to take home. What a blessing. All that to say, they became family for us.

Christmas is over. We’re all back to our regular responsibilities. Let’s not forget one of our chief responsibilities - being family to those around us. I can guarantee you one thing, you won’t have to look far to find someone you can be family to.