Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
You have heard the well-kown saying, "Tell me the kind of books you read and I will tell you what kind of person you are." There is a lot of truth in that statement that parents with teenagers should think about.
There are millions of people who are regularly feeding their minds upon sensual sex stories. I sometimes think the writers of all the filth that is out there hatch up the most suggestive stories and it seems they always appeal to the lowest that is in mankind. You can't even check out at the stores without a rack of filthy magazines being displayed. Our children and grandchildren can't help but see some things. It is everywhere you go.
I read where man is like a three-story building, with a top floor, first floor and basement. The top story is his spiritual nature, the first floor below is his mental nature and the basement is the fleshly nature. Most people have taken residence in the basement.
As a teenager, I remember that our parents were very selective on what we read. I think I mostly read the Grace Livingston Hill Books. They had good morals, and standards that young ladies could go by. I remember the modesty of the young ladies in the stories and the selection of a life's companion. Most young ladies today would think them antiquated.
We should try and have good literature for our kids to read. I know my generation was different ~ but I bought my son The Hardy Boy Books.
Whatever good stories to develop a child's mind to keep them from the "basement." That is our duty as a parent. Whatever Christian writers have to offer needs to be on your shelf at home. I got the Children's Pilgrim Progress.
Check out what your teenager reads! Especially when they go to the city library. I remember right after I was married I checked a book out from the library. It looked good, sounded good. But you can't always go by the cover. I did not get to the second chapter when I realized it was nothing but filth. I closed it in embarrassment and took it back. I was ashamed that my name was on the check- out list of that book. Although I did not read it ~ but I had been trained in what to read. I knew definitely that particular book was not for me or anyone else. I never went back to another library. I'm not saying it is wrong, but it just did something to me to know they allowed such books there for anyone to feed their mind on.
Help your child to appreciate reading! T.V. has taken that away from children in this day and time. Up until this very day ~ there was nothing more relaxing than having a good book to read. Especially if it was raining outside or in the winter curling up on the sofa in front of the fireplace.
I suppose now, I am talking about a good Christian novel.
But, I just suspect this is not the norm. Not all Christian young people are reading good Christian novels, but many are literally wasting their time on trash, in addition to grieving the Blessed Holy Spirit and becoming lean in their souls.
I don't think I am coming across with this like I want ~ but maybe you can make a little sense out of it. Our young people need to learn to appreciate good Christian literature. They need to develop their mind to the extent that they can sit down and can read good Christian magazines in the home. Good Bible expositions. But above all, they need to feed upon the Word of God.
Teach them to make a habit of reading the Word. Some find the Bible a dry, uninteresting book. It's like the little song: " Neglect your Bible, forget to pray and you'll shrink - shrink- shrink. Read your Bible, pray every day and you'll grow - grow - grow! " Remember ~ we "are" what we read!
It is up to parents to set this example.
Are you looking for good books for your young person? Here are a few links to check out. These lists are just to get you started in the right direction on finding books for your teen. Not all books listed in some of the links are be recommend because I have not read them or their authors. ~ Lori
Honey for a Child's Heart (I have personally used this book and highly recommend)
Triple Crown Awards Wholesome Books for Today's Kids
Family Fiction
Good Reads - Clean Teen Fiction
By Aliene @ meditationsandmemories.blogspot.com
Great post Aliene! good books are hard to come by, but worth the search!
ReplyDeleteAliene, I loved your post today! And to me you made perfect sense! :) I have been a reader since I was a small child. And all three of our children are good readers. I think maybe because that's what they "cut their teeth" on! We did not have a TV when they were little. My hubby worked second shift so was not at home in the evenings. Most every night after I gave the kids their bath we would then sit on the couch and I would read aloud to them until bedtime. This started when they were just infants/toddlers and continued until they were able to read well on their own. I can remember many a night when the baby would fall asleep in my lap while I was reading and I would put him to bed and come back and finish the book. I read the whole Little House on the Prairie series to them at least twice. We also found a great series of Christian books for kids called the Sugar Creek Gang series. We read all the little Classic books. We read Dr. Seuss. Later when they were older they read the Hardy Boys and our daughter read Nancy Drew. And like you, I LOVE Grace Livingston Hill books. I have a large collection of them which my daughter read when she got to be older. Since we homeschooled our kids, reading was always a big part of our schooling. Usually there were many good books recommended for reading each year.
ReplyDeleteNow when our 3-year-old granddaughter comes to visit she goes to "her" bookshelf and brings me a book, then backs up to my knees waiting to be put in my lap while I read to her. When that book is done she slides down, says "Read one more!", and goes and picks out the next book. We usually read "one more" until we have read 10 or more OR until my voice gives out! ha
Well....I have gotten off on one of my very favorite subjects and will be writing a comment as long as your post if I'm not careful! ha
God bless!
Marilyn
A very encouraging post! I read at least 5 novels a week along with my daily bible and any other books my Dad encourages me to read. I read fast, so thats how I get away with so many novels a week. Anyways...I was saying that to say the the too best authors as far as Christian loves stories would be Lori Wick and Janette Oke. They both have great standards in their books and Lori Wick is VERY bold about the gospel in her books. I would recommend both of those authors to any young lady.
ReplyDelete