RAY BLANKENSHIP

"Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall." - Ray Bradbury

Muhammad Ali, who once said of himself, "I am the greatest" no doubt had his own fears. He said, "He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."

One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window, and saw a small girl being swept along in the rain-flooded drainage ditch beside his home. Blankenship knew that farther downstream, the ditch disappeared into. He dashed out, and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the foundering child. Then he hurled himself into the deep, churning water. Ray surfaced and was able to grab the child's arm. They tumbled end over end. Within about three feet of the yawning culvert, Ray's free hand felt something--possibly a rock-- protruding from one bank. He clung desperately, but the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away.

THE GIFT OF FAMILY (9); FAMILY, A CHILD'S BEST SCHOOL

"If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher." - Anonymous

The family (home), is the most important place from which a child learns majority of the lessons he needs to face the outside world. Whether they are taught rightly or not it'll reflect in their behaviour when they get out, and this forms a foundation for their views and response to life.

A frail old man went to live with his son, and daughter-in-law, who had a 4 year old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his vision was blurry, and his steps uncoordinated. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and poor vision made eating difficult. Grains of food rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he took the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about father,” said the son. “ I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl! When the family glanced in grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tears in his eyes as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making son?” Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I'm making a little bowl for you and mummy to eat your food in when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back

THE GIFT OF FAMILY (5); HOME INFLUENCE II

"If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher." - Anonymous

As we continue our series on the gift of Family, the importance of a family or a home, not a house like we already know; cannot be overemphasized. That's why Michael J. Fox, a wise man said "Family is not an important thing. It's everything." Have you ever wondered why when you left home the first time you did, you found every other pattern of behaviour outside what you were used to in your family strange and odd, this is simply because the family is the first frontier of moulding perception, character and values.

One of my team members shared an interesting story of how he was raised and I would like to share his experience with you, he said:

"I grew up with my mother and everything I knew about the church and God, she taught me. It was difficult growing up with no father figure around but I'm sure even without a father; with my mum we had a home. I remembered how she used to wake us in the mornings for family devotion; with the sound of her tambourine and her singing and boy; were those times very uncomfortable. Especially on cold mornings when sleeping seemed the only logically reasonable thing to do. I was young and riotous but, my mother a strong and assertive woman who wouldn't take any nonsense from me or any of my other siblings made sure we prayed when we were supposed to. We went to church as supposed. While she did all these, my young mind couldn't comprehend and I used to envy my friends whom I knew didn't have to wake up as early as we did for devotions...but years later, I can look back now and say, "Thank God, for the way I was raised". While in the university, I didn't smoke, party, or get involved with any of the many vices that young people are given to, not because my mum was there to whip my behind, but because there was an internal training working in me. And sometimes my classmates mockingly called me "Pastor", when in actual fact; I wasn't born again at all. I was just living life the way I'd been trained to. But for the upbringing at home I'd have ended up like just about any other child.

Therefore, it is indeed almost a certainty that a child who didn't experience the beauty of a family relationship or one who wasn't trained properly would derail almost too quickly at the slightly pressure or opportunity to do so.

THE GIFT OF FAMILY 1; A HOUSE ISN’T A HOME

“The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.” - Confucius

Every house, relationship, organization or nation is as strong as its foundation. Hence the scripture asks "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3). The Foundation of any strong nation or organization Is the Home or Family.

According to Wesley L. Gustafson, "The Christian home is the most important institution in the world. That does not minimize the position of the church and state; they also have been ordained of God. But He places the home first—in time as well as in importance. It is the foundation upon which all other institutions are built; upon it the church and state will either stand or fall. What the homes are, the churches and schools are - and the government will be. Every place where there has been a neglect of home or family responsibility, there eventually has been a crumbling of the nation. This accounts for why the family is under very heavy attack in the 21st century."

As we commence this series on The Gift of Family, please help me share with all your family as I see a turnaround coming. Remember, you can have a home without a house but you can't afford to have a house without a home.

A cute little girl was sitting on top of a pile of luggage in a hotel lobby. Her parents were at the desk registering for their room. A sympathetic lady asked the little girl if they were visiting relatives in the city. "Oh, no," the girl replied. "We're going to live at this hotel until we find a house. My Daddy has a new job and we had to sell our house and move." The lady said, "Oh, it's too bad you don't have a home." To which the girl replied, "Oh we 

have a home—it's just that we don't have a house to put it in." And remember always this bombshell from Ogden Stiers; he said “Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”