Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins

Tips For a Healthy Baby What? You don’t think I’m qualified on the subject? Perhaps not, but the March of Dimes is on the march trying to provide help for parents in giving their infants a chance to survive. Their tips for mothers-to-be are: Get early, regular pre-natal care. Eat nutritious foods. Don’t smoke! Don’t take drugs. Don’t drink liquor, wine or beer. We don’t usually give out tips on baby care, but these struck a cord in my mind. I believe they have several points of significance for parental care of children, even children who are grown and have left the nest. Early Care It is never too early for parents to begin their training. We learned long ago that infants can learn even from the womb, and are capable of learning even in the crib. There are some things that must be taught in a child’s formative years, for they are remembered long after they are grown, 2 Timothy 3:15. An author unknown to me has penned the following thoughts: Before your child has come to seven, teach him well the things of heaven! Better still the truth will thrive, If he knows it when he is five. Better yet, if at your knee, He learns it when he is only three! Best of all is when you have begun To teach of Jesus before he is one. We cannot afford to wait until a child goes to school to begin their discipline. Parents know that a child, even an infant, can learn much; to listen, to behave. A child can learn the meaning of “no” long before he can spell the word. Except in very unusual cases, there is no excuse for a parent to ignore discipline in a child’s earliest years. That is when discipline is most effective, when good behavior is sown in his heart and his character, Ecclesiastes 12:1. Nutritious Food It’s not difficult for us to know when a child is hungry. They are very vocal on that subject. That may stay with them through their adult years, but note the term, nutritious food. Infants are usually more interested in satisfying their hunger, while a teenager “wants what he wants.” That is where parents must step in and provide what they need, 1 Peter 2:2. Parents must understand that their children need nutritious food for their soul as well as their body. Few memories are sweeter to a grown man or woman than those of their mother reading Bible stories to him/her. That is where Bible study and a more focused interest in spiritual matters are born. You can mark it down, however, that if mother or dad do not acquaint them with those Bible stories early in life, it will be “double-hard” to direct their interests toward righteous living in their teen or later years. Many a parent has said, “I was too busy with things that were less important to read the Bible to my son/daughter when they were on my knee.” A tear in their eye may illustrate what has happened. Too often their habits and interests are already formed, and very difficult, if not impossible to re-form. Don’t Smoke I grew up in an age that was relatively unaware of the deadly consequences of smoking. The leading actor in most movies almost always was seen holding a cigarette. I can remember the very first time I heard the results of serious medical research on the subject of tobacco. Why should parents stay away from tobacco? March of Dimes says: “Women who smoke increase their chances of having a miscarriage or a low birth-weight baby.” Their source for this information was their medical research. Smoking is not only dangerous to the mother but also to the growing child. After the child is born, the second-hand smoke is a deadly toxin entering the child’s lungs. Our population is well aware of the dangers of tobacco, in any form. Let this warning keep you from it. Don’t Drink or Take Drugs Why do doctors and preachers interfere with the daily life of people by warning about the dangers of drugs and alcohol? Because they see too many lives ruined because of either or both of them. We have long been aware of the dangers of drugs, etc., but many will not heed the warnings. By the time they realize their mistake, it’s too late to avoid the consequences of liver disease, addiction, broken homes, lost influence, lost friends, lost employment…and lost children. Children of expectant mothers who drink alcohol are highly at risk for birth defects and can become addicted to alcohol before birth. Not only the mother’s well being is at risk, but the child’s life as well. The March of Dimes can instruct in our children’s best interests, but the Bible does it even better. Carl B. Garner

I took a piece of plastic clay And idly fashioned it one day. And as my fingers pressed it, still It moved and yielded to my will. I came again when days were passed, That bit of clay was hard at last; The form I gave it, still it bore, And I could change that form no more. I took a piece of living clay And gently formed it day by day, And molded with power and art, A young child’s soft and yielding heart. I came again when years were gone. It was a man I looked upon. He still that early impress bore; And I could change it never more. Author not known

"Lower Your Bucket" Apathy is the opposite of Faith: Some years ago in South America, a crew of Peruvian Sailors, headed up the Amazon river came upon a strange sight. It was like a scene from "The Twilight Zone." A Spanish ship was anchored off the coast and all the sailors were stretched out weakly on the deck of the ship. As the Peruvians drew closer, they saw that the Spaniards were in terrible physical condition. They looked the picture of death itself, their lips parched and swollen. They were literally dying of thirst. "Can we help you?" shouted the Peruvians. The Spaniards cried out, "Water! Water! We need fresh water!" The Peruvian sailors, surprised at this request, told them to lower their buckets and help themselves. The Spaniards, fearing they'd been misunderstood cried back, "No, no we need FRESH water! But they received the same reply form the Peruvians to lower their buckets and help themselves. They finally did lower their buckets into the ocean waters and when they brought the buckets on deck they discovered to their amazement fresh water. They had quit trying. There at the mouth of the Amazon river, anchored for days, too far from land to see the coast, but not too far from the mouth of the River, they had fresh water in abundance. Apathy had over taken them and they had quit. They were resigned to die when all that was needed was to lower their bucket. A small effort would have made all the difference. "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. 6:9). Tom Moore