The Price of Children
This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month, or
* $171.08 a week.
* That's a mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.
Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite.
What do you get for your $160,140?
* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets
and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand
prints set in clay or Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for
Father's Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that
never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary
called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in
psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the
bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, So . one day they will, like
you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the
price!!!!!!!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Friday, August 04, 2006
WHO IS YOUR DADDY?
WHO IS YOUR DADDY?
A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to
enjoy a quiet, family meal.
While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here."
But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.
"Oklahoma," they answered. "Great to have you here in Tennessee," the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?" "I teach at a seminary," he replied.
"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well!, I've got a really great story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple .
The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great ... Just what I need another preacher story!"
The man started, "See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to
an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?'
Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?'
He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would
avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.
"When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?' But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.
Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, Son, who's your daddy? The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?'
"This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following
to that scared little boy ... "Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God. "
With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, "Boy, you've
got a great inheritance. Go and claim it."
"With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and
walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again.
Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, 'I'm a Child of God.'"
The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn't
that a great story?"
The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over & asked her, "Do you know who that man was who just left that was sitting at our table?"
The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him.
That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!"
Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they're one of God's
children!
"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands
forever." Isaiah
YOU'RE ONE OF GOD'S CHILDREN!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY!.
A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to
enjoy a quiet, family meal.
While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here."
But sure enough, the man did come over to their table. "Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.
"Oklahoma," they answered. "Great to have you here in Tennessee," the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?" "I teach at a seminary," he replied.
"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well!, I've got a really great story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple .
The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great ... Just what I need another preacher story!"
The man started, "See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to
an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?'
Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?'
He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would
avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad.
"When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?' But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.
Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, Son, who's your daddy? The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?'
"This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following
to that scared little boy ... "Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God. "
With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, "Boy, you've
got a great inheritance. Go and claim it."
"With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and
walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again.
Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, 'I'm a Child of God.'"
The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn't
that a great story?"
The professor responded that it really was a great story! As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over & asked her, "Do you know who that man was who just left that was sitting at our table?"
The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him.
That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!"
Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they're one of God's
children!
"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands
forever." Isaiah
YOU'RE ONE OF GOD'S CHILDREN!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY!.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)