The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1900-05-03

OF all, you save yourself a great deal 81
trouble, 0 pal,nt, If you can early
watch the children and educate them
Tor God and Heaven. "The first i've
years of my life made me an iniidel..
said Tom Paine. A vessel puts out to
sea, and after it has been five days out
there comes cyclone. The vessel
springs leak. The helm will MOI work.
what is the matter? Is it not sea-
worthy? Can you mend it now7 It'll
too late. Down she goes with $50 pas.
sengers into watery grave. What was
the time to fix that vessel? Whatwas
the time to prepare it for the storm?
In the drydock. All, my friends, do
not wait until your children get out into
the world, beyond the Narrows and out
on the great voyage of life. It Is too
late then to mend their morals and
their manners. The drydock Of the
Christian home is the place. Correct
the sin now, correct the evil now.
Begin early with your children.
You stand on the banks of river and
you try to change its course. It has
been rolling now for 100 miles. You
cannot change it. But just go to the
source of that river, go to where tho
water just drips down on the rock.
Then with your knife make channel
this way and q channel that way, and
it will take it. Come out and stand
ON the banks of your child's life when
it was 30 or 40 years Of age, or even
20, and try to change the course OF
that life. 1t is too late! It is too
late! Go farther up at the source of
life and nearest to the mothers heart.
where the character starts, and try to
take it in the right direction. But,
oh, my friend, be careful to make .
line, distinct line, between innocent
hilarity on the one hand and vicious
proclivity on the other. Do not think
your children are going to ruin be-
cause they make racket. All healthy
children make racket. But do mot
laugh at your child's sin because it il /
smart. If you do, you will cry after
awhile because it is malicious. Re.
member it is what you do more than
what you say that is going to affect
your children. Do you suppose Noah
would have got his family to go into
the ark if he staid out? No. His sons
would have said: II am not going
into the boat. There's something
wrong. Father won't go in. II IA
ther stays out, I'll stay out" An on
Ger may stand in castle and look on
upon an army fighting, but he can
not be much of an officer, he cannot
excite much enthusiasm on the part
Of his troops standing in q castle or
on a hilltop looking of upon the fight.
1t is . Garibaldi or Napoleon I. who
leaps into the stirrups and dashes
ahead. And you stand outside the
Christian life and tell your children
to go in. They will not 60. But you
dash on ahead, you enter the king
dom of God, and they themselves will
become good soldiers Of Jesus Christ.
Lead If you would have them follow.
Have family altar. Do not with
long prayers wear out your children's
knees. Do not have the prayer re-
pulsion. If you have piano or an
organ or melodeon in the house,
have it open while you are having
prayers. If you say: II cannot con-
struct prayer; am slow Of speech
and never could construct q prayer"
then take Matthew Henry's prayers,
or take the Episcopal church prayer
book. There is nothing better than
that. Put it down on the chair,
gather your children about you and
commend them to God.
Are your children safe? ] know il
is stupendous question TO ask, but
I must ask it. Are all your children
safe? A mother when the house was
on fire got out the household goods,
many articles of beautiful furniture.
but forgot to ask until too late: "Ars
the children safe?" When the ele.
ments are melting with fervent heat
and God shall burn the world up and
the cry of Fire, fret" shall resound
amid the mountains and the Valleys.
will your children be safe?
I wonder If the subject strikes .
chord in the heart Of any man who
had Christian parentage. but has not
lived as he ought? God brought you
here this morning to have your mem.
ory revived. Did you have Christian
ancestry? "Oh, yes," says one man.
IF there ever was good woman, my
mother was good" How she watched
you when you were sick! Othera
wearied. If she got weary, she never
theless was wakeful, and the medi-
cine was given at the right time, and
when the pillow was hot she turned
it. And, oh, then when you began to
go astray what grief it was to her
heart!
All the scene comes back. You re-
member the chairs. You remember the
table, you remember the doorsill
where you played, you remember the
tones of her voice. She seems calling
you now, not by the formal title with
which we address you, saying: .Mr."
this or "Mr." that or Honorable
this or Honorable" that. It is Just