Pastor Mike Nodland

Growing up in the 50’s & 60’s with a family of five kids, life was a series of “Don’t do’s”

My folks had unreasonable family rules, like don’t wear blue jeans to school, don’t watch cartoons on Saturday mornings, don’t read comic books, don’t cuss, eat your peas and don’t talk with your mouth full of food. That last one was a complex matter, because when you are 7 years old and have been chewing on the same chunk of roast beef for the last 20 minutesyou wanna say something.

When it came to raising our own children, the rules changed. Blue jeans were in vogue, cartoons were a constitutional right, comic books actually taught something, the neighbor cussed out his lawnmower in front of our kids, peas were replaced with string cheese and hot dogs were the craze.

But one rule was never violated: The kids were never “drugged!” Every Sunday, we never “drug” our kids to Sunday School, church and youth groups. They went because we went, and they wanted to go. At church, they found safety, moral values, good clean fun and like-minded and life-long friends. And what a friend they found-in Jesus! How about you?