Christian fathers have a responsibility to their sons and daughters. Sons especially need the counsel of their fathers as they will face responsibilities as fathers. Our prayers for our daughters are that they will have the joy of having husbands who have received such counsel from their fathers. At which point we must humbly ask forgiveness for not being the fathers we should have been, bowing our hearts in humble thanksgiving to our Father in heaven that our sons and daughters have received blessings beyond our endeavors and expectation.
Following is a letter from President Theodore Roosevelt to his son Ted, who was attending Harvard. [There are those who would like to move us according to their scheme of things. Here is where we must counsel our children that they must stand firm in their faith with much patience, not allowing others to determine or hinder our goals in life.]
How to Handle College Critics
White House, October 2, 1905
Consider the challenge of being the President’s son and attending Harvard. Teddy Jr., was dogged by reporters and subjected to some very unfortunate and untruthful published accounts of his doing. In true Rooseveltian fashion, his father sent him letters of encouragement, in which he shared his indignation for what was being done, and he offered solace to his first born son.-D.W.P
Blessed Old Ted:
The thing to do is to go on a you have evidently been doing, attract as little attention as possible, do not make a fuss about the newspaper men, camera creatures, and idiots generally, letting it be seen that you do not like them and avoid them, but not letting them betray you into any excessive irritation. I believe they will soon drop you, and it is just an unpleasant thing that you will have to live down. Ted, I have had an enormous number of unpleasant things that I have had to live down in my life at different times and you have begun to have them now. I saw that you were not out on the football field on Saturday and was rather glad of it, as evidently those infernal idiots were eagerly waiting for you, but whenever you do go you will have to make up your mind that they will make it exceedingly unpleasant for you for once or twice, and you will just have to bear it; for you can never in the world afford to let them drive you away from anything you intend to do, whether it is football or anything else, and by going about your own business quietly and pleasantly, doing just what you would do if they were not there, generally they will get tired of it, and the boys themselves will see that it is not your fault, and will feel, if anything, rather a sympathy for you. Meanwhile I want you to know that we are all thinking of you and sympathizing with you the whole time; and it is a great comfort to me to have such confidence in you and to know that though these creatures can cause you a little trouble and make you feel a little downcast, they can drive you one way or the other, or make you alter the course you have set out for yourself. … This is just an occasion to show the stuff thee is in you. Do not let these newspaper creatures and kindred idiots drive you one hair’s breadth from the line you had marked out in football or anything else. Avoid any fuss, if possible.
[The Letters & Lessons of Theodore Roosevelt for his Sons, Compiled and edited by Doug Phillips, The Vision Forum]
Note: today the ‘idiots’ of printed, radio, TV, and Internet, not only do they not give up easily, but even when truth hits them in their face they are unable (unwilling) to place them between their undiscerning ears. Why do I place this on my ‘family BLOG’? Because our children are being bombarded with much false hood and we must be wary in what we say as well as what they hear. –Grandpa La May
Following is a letter from President Theodore Roosevelt to his son Ted, who was attending Harvard. [There are those who would like to move us according to their scheme of things. Here is where we must counsel our children that they must stand firm in their faith with much patience, not allowing others to determine or hinder our goals in life.]
How to Handle College Critics
White House, October 2, 1905
Consider the challenge of being the President’s son and attending Harvard. Teddy Jr., was dogged by reporters and subjected to some very unfortunate and untruthful published accounts of his doing. In true Rooseveltian fashion, his father sent him letters of encouragement, in which he shared his indignation for what was being done, and he offered solace to his first born son.-D.W.P
Blessed Old Ted:
The thing to do is to go on a you have evidently been doing, attract as little attention as possible, do not make a fuss about the newspaper men, camera creatures, and idiots generally, letting it be seen that you do not like them and avoid them, but not letting them betray you into any excessive irritation. I believe they will soon drop you, and it is just an unpleasant thing that you will have to live down. Ted, I have had an enormous number of unpleasant things that I have had to live down in my life at different times and you have begun to have them now. I saw that you were not out on the football field on Saturday and was rather glad of it, as evidently those infernal idiots were eagerly waiting for you, but whenever you do go you will have to make up your mind that they will make it exceedingly unpleasant for you for once or twice, and you will just have to bear it; for you can never in the world afford to let them drive you away from anything you intend to do, whether it is football or anything else, and by going about your own business quietly and pleasantly, doing just what you would do if they were not there, generally they will get tired of it, and the boys themselves will see that it is not your fault, and will feel, if anything, rather a sympathy for you. Meanwhile I want you to know that we are all thinking of you and sympathizing with you the whole time; and it is a great comfort to me to have such confidence in you and to know that though these creatures can cause you a little trouble and make you feel a little downcast, they can drive you one way or the other, or make you alter the course you have set out for yourself. … This is just an occasion to show the stuff thee is in you. Do not let these newspaper creatures and kindred idiots drive you one hair’s breadth from the line you had marked out in football or anything else. Avoid any fuss, if possible.
[The Letters & Lessons of Theodore Roosevelt for his Sons, Compiled and edited by Doug Phillips, The Vision Forum]
Note: today the ‘idiots’ of printed, radio, TV, and Internet, not only do they not give up easily, but even when truth hits them in their face they are unable (unwilling) to place them between their undiscerning ears. Why do I place this on my ‘family BLOG’? Because our children are being bombarded with much false hood and we must be wary in what we say as well as what they hear. –Grandpa La May
