Children in Church

April 21, 2017
Smart Kid

Last Wednesday I had a Chamber meeting and there I met Fernando — a senior in High School and learning the ropes about business networking. He was very well mannered, wore a coat that did not match the color of his suit jacket. I thought he was just another kid who was there because his teachers forced him to mingle with the grown ups. But it was when he introduced himself that my heart began to melt.

It turns out he's a smart kid with a 4.5 average whose interest is in math, science and tech. After all his hard work in High School, he didn't think he could afford to go to college. But he said his teacher accompanied him to send out his applications to the different colleges. When asked for the payment, his teacher gave her credit card to pay for it all. I found out later from other sources that this teacher said Fernando was in the top 1 percent of all the students she had taught in the last 25 years. I was blessed by that teacher – student bond.

Eventually, Fernando was accepted in different universities but he narrowed his choice to two — either USC (University of Southern California which is a few miles away) or Brown (which is at the other end of the North American coastline). I shared with him what my son did. Out of all my son's choice of colleges, he chose Brown. It was a difficult transition for all of us. When he moved away it was like someone had died. My wife, my daughters... we all cried for weeks. I'm sure he did too. But today he is quite a success story. He matured faster than (I believe) his other classmates who remained driving distance away from their parents. I told Fernando that if he wants to mature fast, that he should go to Brown.

The road less traveled is like the lesson few want to learn. Correct me if I'm wrong but Americans give more to charity than any other nation. Here in America especially here in Southern California where I live, non-profit organizations abound so much so that they overlap their missions. There is no regulating body that corrals these well-meaning humanitarians. In my neck of the woods there's always someone selling tickets to raise funds for the high school, cancer research, environmental protection, the sports clubs, the homeless, the addicts, the police and fire departments, the veterans, the seniors, the mentally challenged, the overweight, the underweight, Planned Parenthood, Teen Pregnancy, Public radio and TV... the list goes on. Few people ever challenge their effectiveness nor what the percentage of the donations actually go to the people they serve. Many, like the fake Hollywood crowd, are only interested in their public persona. I've talked to some experts who say doling out money to the homeless only exacerbates the problem. The proverb of "Teaching a man to fish" is only effective if the man knows he can't get fish any other way. If you live in America, there's free food if you really want to look for it. We really have it easy.

But easy comes at a price. Easy makes us soft. Easy makes us dependent.

Fernando, I know you are reading this. You're young. You've got the enviable smarts. Don't sell yourself short. Shoot for the stars. And when you're up there in the constellation of success, don't forget your humble beginnings and support the organizations that really matter. And don't forget that God was on your side. I'm praying for you.

TGIF people!

Children in Church
Contributed by Tom of Pasadena, CA

A Sunday school teacher asked her class, "What was Jesus' mother's name?" One child answered, "Mary."

The teacher then asked, "Who knows what Jesus' father's name was?" A little kid said, "Verge."

Confused, the teacher asked, "Where did you get that?"

The kid said, "Well, you know, they are always talking about Verge n' Mary.'

3-year-old Reese:

"Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name. Amen."

A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."

After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you."

I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer for several evenings at bedtime. She would repeat after me the lines from the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us from E-mail."

One particular four-year-old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."

Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother, Joel, were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough.

"You're not supposed to talk out loud in church."

"Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked.

Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door?

They're hushers."

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'

Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"

A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand.

"Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked.

"He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied.

The boy thought a moment and then said, "Did God throw him back down?"

A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied.

"Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered.

The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

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