Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.
Psalms 127:3-5
In my last post, I talked about the value of the search engine, even if most of the searches for this blog do revolve around a natural hair topic. However, I also get traffic based upon other interesting queries, and it intrigues me to think about what others are thinking when they visit. Recently, I saw this search parameter listed amongst my latest search data:
‘how do you say blessed heritage in kids language’
I’m sure they landed here because of our company, A Blessed Heritage Educational Resources. However the curious person landed here, I was grateful for the question; it took me back, and it made me think.
Why did I name our company ‘A Blessed Heritage?’ What message was I trying to convey?
It’s the same message I think of every time I sit an allegedly family oriented sitcom on television, or listen to some of the conversation at the dance center (during the few times that I actually sit in the lobby), or even converse with some of the parents at church: society has little that is good to say about children. Watch any sitcoms show often portray kids as arrogant, deceitful and disrespectful. Reality shows–the most un-real shows on television, in my opinion–see major advertising dollars from showing the promiscuous female teen and her foul-mouthed male counterpart. We shared these dynamics with our Sunday school class of 13-14 year olds, many of whom come from middle class backgrounds, but would rather emulate kids with far fewer advantages. There is something uncool about being smart, in their minds; there is a problem with being a kid who is proud of the promise that God and their parents have placed within them. The following is a quote from Alex Harris, author of the book Do Hard Things along with his brother Brett(both of whom I understand are homeschooled kids, ironically enough) reflect upon the environment in which many are expected to thrive:
“Unfortunately we often get praise for things that weren’t particularly difficult to achieve. If we focus on the props and encouragement of those who have low expectations for us, we become mediocre. It can be challenging to set our sights on excellence, particularly when we’re hearing that we’re already there. One of life’s greatest lessons, which we all must learn, could be expressed in the phrase “That was nothing. Watch this.” Challenge yourself and others to call the normal things normal and save that word excellent for things that really are.” ― Alex Harris
Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of the nineteenth century, elaborates upon this with his own thoughts on mediocrity:
“Perhaps some of you can claim a sort of negative purity, because you do not walk in the way of the ungodly; but let me ask you – Is your delight in the law
of God? Do you study God’s Word? Do you make it the man of your right hand – your best companion and hourly guide?” If not, Spurgeon said, the blessing of
Psalm 1 does not belong to you.
To live by God’s standards for young people and to enjoy the blessing He promises, we must get beyond simply avoiding bad stuff. To see this we need only look at the theme verse of the Rebelution, 1 Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (NIV). We’re not just supposed to avoid sinning; we’re supposed to pursue righteousness in a way that others will want to imitate. – page 97-98, Do Hard Things
This latter mandate was the type of prompting I felt in my spirit when I began to craft the curriculum. I wanted to the kids to meet Martin Luther King as a fun-loving prankster as described by his sister in My Brother, Martin so that they see a “regular” kid who did hard things and became a legend. I wanted our kids to see Cesar Chavez’s passion for the cause of the immigrant farm worker even before he was THE labor activist. I want them to know what the Lord can do with their loaves of bread and a few fish, brought before the Father in faith.
When I set up the first version of the company’s website, I posted across the header of each page what I still think of as the company’s motto: ‘to instill pride, to educate minds, , and to change lives.’ I removed it from the revised version of the site, but those words, and that meaning, have never left my head and heart.
I say that you are more than what others expect of you.
I say in accordance with Ephesians 3:20 and 1 Corinthians 2:9 that you have not yet even begun to tap into your destiny.
I say in accordance with John 14:12 that the circumstances in your life are equipping you to do unbelievable things.
How do you say ‘a blessed heritage’ in kids’ language?

I have that book on my amazon wish list. I think I will try to get it next. I love your company motto! Your children are growing up so fast.
Blessings, Dawn