Weekly Newsletter for you!

YS STUDENT NEWSLETTER #364

October 20, 2008

Contents

1. Something for Your Heart
2. Surf Report
3. Forgettable Fact
4. Potent Quotables
5. Uh, That's Funny?

1. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART

WISE AND STUBBORN HONOR

It was 7:53 p.m., and we were locked out of the house. But "The A-Team" was going to start in seven minutes!

For my brothers and me, Tuesday night was big church night. I had junior high Bible study, and my brothers had church scouts (or something like that). After church we'd catch a ride home with a family friend and then race into the house to watch our all-time favorite TV show.

For my parents, Tuesday night was free time. I'm not sure what they did while we were gone. But on this particular night, they weren't home when we got there. A note taped to the front door read--

Mark,
We'll be back late. Be sure to feed Jonathan's rabbit while you wait.
Love,
Mom and Dad

I was infuriated! Didn't they know that Mr. T and "The A-Team" were starting soon? How could they leave us out in the cold while they pranced around town like childless married people?

I ripped the note off the door and sat down in the yard. Josh, Jeremy, and Jonathan joined me. All my dad seemed to care about was that we feed Jonathan's rabbit--which Jonathan had done before we left!

I was very upset at my parents. My brothers were mad, too. Josh and Jeremy had homework to do; Jonathan was just mad because we were.

Now it was 8:30 p.m., and "The A-Team", the coolest show on earth, was half over.

I picked up a baseball bat and started whacking a tree. How could my parents be so rude? Josh and Jeremy were looking all around the house for an open door or window. Everything was locked tight.

Finally, at 9:30 p.m., my parents pulled into the drive. Four angry Matlock boys rushed out to jump them. As the four of us expressed our displeasure in no uncertain terms, my dad asked me if I'd fed the rabbit. I told him no, and then I reminded him that Jonathan had fed it before we went to church.

My dad walked us over to the rabbit food. There, taped to the bag, was the key to the house.

"What did you want me to do, Mark?" my father asked in a Mike Brady-like tone. "Did you want me to leave a note that said the key was taped to the rabbit food so anyone who read the note could find it?"

If I'd honored my dad, my evening would have been much happier. Instead, I was a fool worthy of Mr. T's pity. (See, that's a joke for people who've seen "The A-Team". Mr. T was always saying, "I pity the fool!" I'm not really sure why, now that I think about it. I just knew he was cool.)

Instead of honoring my dad by following his instructions, I jumped to the conclusion that he just didn't get it. He didn't understand that the rabbit had already been fed. So I'd decided his instruction was worthless. But if I'd stopped to remember that Dad usually did a good job of providing for us and giving us worthwhile direction, I would have honored him by honoring his note. And that literally would have been the key to my A-Team happiness.

We saw in the last chapter that the fifth of the top Ten Commandments was the "first with a promise." Here it is from Exodus 20:12: "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." Since Paul repeats it in Ephesians 6:1-3 and Solomon emphasizes it in Proverbs, we still hold on to the idea that honoring our parents leads to longer, wiser living.

That makes sense, doesn't it? I'm not saying parents are always right. In fact, sometimes they can be selfish, too strict, or too lenient. So what? What other two people in the universe have made it their jobs to love you, take care of you, and invest their lives in you for your own good? That's what parents do.

Since they've been doing it for so long, we sometimes take their investment for granted. It's human nature for us to ignore the things they do right and with good motives 80 percent of the time (or more!) and to be on the lookout for anything they might screw up instead. To continue to honor your mom and dad (even when you don't understand where they're coming from) takes wisdom and a stubborn refusal to give in to the temptation to dishonor them.

**

Taken from "Wisdom On ... Getting Along with Parents" by Mark Matlock, copyright 2008 Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here:
http://www.youthspecialties.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=432

2. SURF REPORT

~ Last weekend kicked off the PlanetWisdom Tour. Find out how you can be an unlikely hero:
http://planetwisdom.com/tour/

~ PlanetWisdom Facebook Group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2238787215

3. FORGETTABLE FACT

Food can only be tasted if it is mixed with saliva.

4. POTENT QUOTABLES

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."
~ Christopher Reeve

"What's another word for thesaurus?"
~ Steven Wright

5. UH, THAT'S FUNNY?

Q: What do you get when you drop a pumpkin?

A: Squash