Timeless Truths In Uncertain Times – Christine Van Horn pt 1

Timeless Truths In Uncertain Times  Christine Van Horn pt 1 There is no doubt that our children today are facing things on a daily basis that we, their parents and grandparents, could not even fathom a few years ago, let alone when we were growing up. Family time is almost non-existent. The days of playing in the yard or playing board games at home are not even remotely like they were when we were growing up. Today, kids have their own smart phones when in elementary school. They spend their days, nights and weekends in the “online world.” They receive news, commentary and their values from “social media influencers.” Most of the time, the values being taught are not the values you would like instilled in your children or grandchildren. Our guest today is an expert in helping you to develop character traits, Godly, moral character traits, in your children and grandchildren and the life skills that go with them. Dr. Christine Van Horn is an author, teacher and speaker. She is the author of 6 books, with three of them focusing on teaching character and foundational values. Her most recent book is “Teach Your Children Timeless Truths in Uncertain Times.” She has been the team leader for a children’s program called “Character Club.” She has a Doctorate Degree in Theology and serves in the Children’s Ministry at Insight Church in Tinley Park, IL. She was also on the faculty of the International College of Excellence Bible College. She also has coaching program that brings all of these concepts together called, “Wisdom Decisions – Foundational Values.” Her book and program are for all families, but her emphasis and foundation is Biblical. She says her mission is to address the character problem issues facing families today. First question I always start with is this. Other than that brief information I just shared, can you tell us in your own words, “Who is Christine Van Horn?” In this “information age” we live in today, where everything is literally at our fingertips, how challenging is it for us to teach our children how to filter out what is true and what is not true? In your book, you discuss the “fog of war,” but for children in today’s society. Can you explain that for us? You also share that, when we were growing up, our school days started with a specific order to begin each and every day. I remember a prayer and then the Pledge of Allegiance. I also remember when prayer was declared “unconstitutional” and stopped. To me, that was the beginning of the end of school and society as we knew it back then.  What are your thoughts on this? When I was growing up, I had some Sunday School teachers who were also teachers in our school system. So the values passed along in Sunday school were being mirrored in the classroom. We are now in, at least, the fourth generation of the reshaping of our educational system. Instead of teachers imparting wisdom and discipline and “training up a child in the way they should go,” we are teaching them today there are no such things as “good or bad; right or wrong or even girl and boy.” So, to quote a chapter from your book, “Where do we go from here?” Why did you write this book at this time? I like one of the sections where you discussed, “Make Decisions.”  As an officer in the US Army Cavalry, I was taught and trained how to gather as much informa