Books...and influence.

            It’s been good to get here to Peoria and to have most of the unpacking finished. Most of it. Many thanks to the people who have been asking how Jami and I are getting along. We appreciate you asking after our well-being!

            One of the comments made during the move was echoed at both the church study and at home: “The Winters have a fair number of books.” The mover who helped that Thursday evening at the church added the question “Do you know all that’s in these books?” My answer was, of course, “No. But that’s why I keep them. I can refer to them when I need the information they have.”

            It dawned on me last night that all of those heavily loaded apple boxes full of books may have left an impression on our children. The contents of those boxes might be a part of the reason our daughter, Mary, is an academic reference librarian at a medical school and our son, Chase, is a language arts teacher in a high school. Those books and the stories and information they conveyed were obviously valued by Chase and Mary’s mom and dad. Why else would we lug them part way across the country with us? 

            What things of value did your folks pass along to you? What are the things that were important to them that you find are still important to you?

            By the same token, what ideas and values are you passing along to the next generation? What do your children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews glean from their contacts with you regarding what you think they ought to know or have?

            We read in Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.We can certainly see and hear in toddlers the effect of our example in their mimicry. That kind of influence continues through the formative years and beyond. 

            God bless you as you set an example in your worship, devotion, prayer, and study patterns. They are a blessing not only for you but for those around you, as well.