Are you interested at this point but wondering how to proceed? You may be in need of three kinds of reinforcement: first, you may need to be more fully convinced that this is something that you must do; second, you may need practical, "how-to" help in establishing a routine; third, you may need help in what to do and why. Let us explore these issues.

Reviewing the Reasons

Our two daughters were playing in the next room when my wife told me the pregnancy test was positive. Suddenly I knew that this time I wanted a son: someone who would rather score points than cheer for them…someone who would destroy the family budget with his appetite for food instead of matching Barbie accessories.

To be honest, we didn’t know he was a boy. But I thought of him as male simply because I knew I wanted a boy this time. I love my two daughters dearly; now I wanted to love a son.

My wife never shared my enthusiasm for this pregnancy. “Something is wrong…” she’d say, then her words drifted. Two months later, suspicions were confirmed. When bleeding began our doctor lectured us, “You need complete bed rest. If you can’t do it at home, I’ll put you in the hospital!

Psalm 10 beings with the words, “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?Why do you always hide yourself in times of trouble?" It beings with acomplaint, with a doubt or question. There are many such doubtsexpressed in this psalm and in other passages of Scripture. As we readthese words we should consider, for our own lives if it is appropriateto express doubt oneself or to allow one's children and teenagers toexpress their doubts.

We live in a culture filled with boredom and cynicism—even among our children. It is a tragic commentary on our culture that you can meet 16 and 17-year-old kids who are apathetic about their own existence and bored much of the time. And it is not only teenagers for whom this is a problem. I meet many young children whose natural curiosity and excitement has already been turned to boredom. How has the insatiable curiosity which occurs so naturally in little children been quenched? Why are there so many bored children and young people in our contemporary society? I do not claim to be a parenting expert, but I would like to propose three causes which I believe foster this boredom in our children.