Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6, NIV

A few moments ago my my heart was filled with joy because of my 8 year old son Riggs. He got in our bed and in between my wife and I, got his bible and asked me where we stopped. My sons and I read the Bible together — I usually read to them but I also let Riggs read a few verses on his own as practice.

Earlier was a different scene — without prodding from me or my wife, Riggs said he wanted to read the Bible and he did so on his own. He just asked me where he should start and he started reading aloud on his own. He actually read the Parable of the Sower, quite lengthy for my son yet he persevered and completed the whole story.

As parents, we often think about the future of our children and in some cases, even worry about their future. Many times, we feel we want to do everything we can to ensure a bright future for them but we soon face the fact that when they are grown, there’s really not much we can do for them anymore. The best insurance for their future is teaching them the right values — from hard work to finances, from relationships to respect… and most especially, to love God more than anything else in their lives. When we take time and impress upon them these virtues, you can be assured that they will not only live successful and happy lives, they will live godly lives.

Oh by the way, as Riggs was reading out aloud, his younger brother Chino was near him and listening to his Kuya Riggs. In a short while, I am sure that Chino will follow in his Kuya’s steps… like Riggs did with her 2 older sisters.

As a parent, it can’t get any better than this. Thank you God for all these.

Happy Father’s Day to all the other Dads out there!

Being a Dad is the most fulfilling thing that happened to me. Here’s a great tip to all the Dads from the manual of life:

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. – Ephesians 6:4, NIV

Off to travelling again. This week, my work brings me to Cagayan de Oro and next week to Hong Kong.  When one travels, having long waiting periods are unavoidable. You need to be in the airport hours before, take a flight and lots of  ‘alone’ time in the hotel room.

I used to hate waiting and I get annoyed if I have to wait. However, I needed to get used to waiting with the kind of work I have so I decided to make my waiting time productive. When I say productive, I didn’t mean bringing my laptop with me and do a lot of those work — I meant being productive in the sense of recharging oneself.

How? I read and listen to podcasts a lot during those ‘waiting time’. I make sure I always travel with my Bible, a book and an iPod especially on those trips that I need to ride a plane. I fly often, like 2 to 3 times a month but I look forward to those trips so I can recharge myself. The best benefit is I get to read God’s word more than I do during my normal routine — in doing so, I can read the Bible cover to cover once a year (give or take a month or two). I also get to read my books and I have loads of them (most are unread). I also get to listen to podcasts, something I don’t get a chance to under my normal routine.

I just finished the book “Heavenly Man” and I probably will grab another book and shove it to my body bag. I just updated my iPod with my favorite podcasts – the Dave Ramsey Show. I also downloaded podcasts of someone Francis Kong recommended to me a long time ago, Ravi Zacharias — I never really got to it and totally forgot it, until now.

So next time you fret about waiting, make it a productive wait and take the chance to do some real learning. Happy waiting!