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Key Bible Verse: Parents, don't come down too hard on your children or you'll crush their spirits. (Colossians 3:21, The message) Dig Deeper: Colossians 3:12-15

Imagine that your three-year-old son comes running into the house with a bump on his head. Of course, he is crying. Through his tears, he tries to explain what happened. You piece together the fact that he fell off his bike … because he was trying to ride it sitting backward on the seat.

Our "adultness" kicks in. Here's an opportunity to teach our little boy a lesson. The folks who engineered this bicycle did not take into consideration the dynamic weight-shift ratios should the rider choose to mount the seat facing backward. So we begin to explain to our weeping child why he shouldn't have attempted such a daring and foolish thing.

All the while it's his head that's pounding. A lecture on the physics of proper bicycling isn't helping with the pain.

[My] little boy doesn't need a symposium from Mr. Science; there may be time for this later. Right now, he needs the unqualified embrace of someone who's on his side.

I'm not advocating babying our kids whenever they're upset. What I am talking about here is doing things that give your kids the confidence that comes from knowing that you're on their side. You're their advocate, their champion.

—Robert Wolgemuth in The Most Important Place on Earth

My Response: What could I do to clearly demonstrate that I am my child's champion?

Adapted from The Most Important Place on Earth (Nelson, 2004) by permission; All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Prayer for the Week

Heavenly Father, show me how to truly care about the details of my children's lives; help me to be patient with their immaturity; guide me as I seek to discipline in God-honoring ways; help me to always love them unconditionally.

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