"Raising Children in the Orthodox Faith"

First and foremost children are the greatest blessing in life for any married couple and indeed are a gift from God. So the greatest gift parents can pass onto their children is to lay the foundations for them to know and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. To do this, parents need to live and follow our faith, after all Orthodoxy is a way of life.
From the outset, there is prayer for the mother giving birth and for the new born child’s spiritual life and wellbeing. And it is good to get the child involved, by having an Orthodox environment at home with an icon in the child’s room, the icon of the Theotokos is always one loved by children, seeing the Mother holding her baby Jesus. Another icon could be the icon of the saint or event depicting the child’s intended name.
Forty days after birth, the parents then take their child to Church, where the Priest will bless the child with prayer and the child’s first entrance into the Church. Once the child is old enough (usually in the 1st year), the child is Baptised, which formally makes the child a member of Holy Orthodox Church. At the Baptism, the Priest will finish by anointing the child with the Sacrament of Chrismation, which is the Seal of the Holy Spirit. Chrismation gives the child certain unique gifts of the Holy Spirit, which the child will have forever.
To Baptise the child, parents need to select a Godparent. The Godparent plays an important role in the child’s life as well, being responsible for the spiritual upbringing of the child. Therefore it is important to choose a Godparent who is ‘close’ to the Church. Indeed to be a Godparent in the Orthodox Church, one needs to be a baptised Orthodox Christian in the first place.
From the moment a child breathes, the child is with its mother and from thereon in the child’s formative years, the parents are the teachers and ‘role models’. So it is important for all parents to live the faith in front of their children so that they can set the example for them to follow.
Parents should also begin teaching the faith to their children from an early age and a good way to start is with the Birth of the baby Jesus – the Christmas Story. And so from the very beginning, the child understands the ‘true meaning’ of Christmas and that Christmas is not just about getting toys. Then there is the Bible and there are good children’s versions of Bible. Children love the stories of some of the heroes, such as Samson, David and Goliath. These make great bedtime story books and by reading these stories to the children, they not only learn about Holy Scriptures, but they also learn to love books and reading.
Once children are about 5 years old, they can join a Sunday School at one of the Orthodox Churches, where they will learn about their faith and the Church with other little children.
Because our Greek Orthodox Church has a strong Greek cultural context, it is wise to expose our children to the culture and the language. In many of the Capital cities, there are Australian Greek Orthodox Schools where children can learn the normal educational curriculum and at the same time have lessons in Orthodoxy and the Greek language. Alternatively, the child can enrol in an afternoon Greek School. In both these scenarios, the child will get to meet other young Greek Orthodox children.
Finally, parents need to have faith and strong Christian practices themselves. Parents are obliged to always pray for their children and with their children. Parent must worship with their children both at home and by attending church services. Parents and their children will always benefit if they provide their children with regular opportunities to choose for themselves to exercise their love of God and fellow man, that is, to imitate Christ.

Mr. Angelo KarantonisGraduate of St. Andrew’s Theological College

The above article have been taken from the official website of Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.

EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT COMES FROM ABOVE

Gianna Jensen: An abortion survivor sees disability as a "gift"
Gianna Jessen survived her biological mother's attempted abortion and her resulting disabilities to become a marathon runner, a singer and a motivational speaker. She urged young people at a pro-life youth rally Sept. 10 to find their own courage and accountability through the grace of God. By Maryanne MeyerriecksFort Smith CorrespondentFORT SMITH -- "We are called to a life of joy, but a life that costs something."Gianna Jessen, abortion survivor, marathon runner, Christian recording artist and motivational speaker, brought a message of courage, hope, joy and accountability to several hundred teens, young adults and parents at a youth rally in Fort Smith Sept. 10. The rally was co-sponsored by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Catholic Campus Ministry and River Valley Life Teen.After an hour of praise and worship music led by the River Valley Life Teen Band, the 29-year-old sang several praise songs accompanied by acoustic guitar. Leaning occasionally on her guitarist for support, she said that the cerebral palsy she suffered as the result of her pre-term birth following a 7 1/2-month saline abortion was a "gift."Jessen learned that she had survived an abortion when she was 12 years old, and said, "I thought, 'Wow, my life must really have a purpose.'" Having survived that challenge, she found that, with God's help, she could overcome other challenges as well.She has completed two marathons, the first in Nashville in 2005 and the second in London this year. She expects to run many more.Her training process was more arduous than most other competitors because she can only run on the balls of her feet. She suffered an injury to her right foot prior to the London Marathon but still completed it in eight hours and 20 minutes. She is determined to run a marathon in five hours and told the audience, "I encourage you who feel like quitting to not quit.""I was aborted and I didn't die," she said, "so I am used to the impossible occurring. I ask for the grace of God and the grace of God comes through."Through God's grace, when Jessen was born in an abortion clinic on April 6, 1977, a nurse called 911. After her biological parents surrendered her for adoption, she lived in an abusive foster home for the first 18 months of her life. At that point she was placed with Penny, her "queen" who taught her to walk, with braces and a walker, at age 3 1/2. Penny's daughter and her husband, an architect, adopted Jessen, and Penny became her adoptive grandmother.Penny is now 83 and has cared for 55 other foster children.Jessen, whose given name means "forgiveness," met her biological mother last February. Although she had forgiven her, the meeting was traumatic. Jessen said she saw that her birth mother was a broken woman and is still in the process of recovering from their meeting."There are consequences to each action," Jessen said. "Every day I bear the mark of my biological mother's decision."But yet she has found that positive thinking has helped her to overcome obstacles and tell her story to others."Weakness can be beautiful," Jessen said. "I am made in the image of God. That gives me my value. He molds me and shapes me as a person."When Jessen was 14, she visited Ireland and received a Claddaugh ring as a gift. She wears this ring as a sign of her commitment to chastity, and told the young women in the audience that she "wants to be fought for, not used; honored, not left behind." She plans to use the ring as a wedding band when she meets the "extraordinary man" who will fight for her.She told the young men that they are amazing and "capable of greatness" and urged them to be strong and courageous. She urged young women to find "knockout outfits that have a little mystery."Jessen's career as a public speaker has led her to meet President George W. Bush and to speak to the British Parliament. She is recording her first Christian CD and plans to attend college to obtain a degree in psychology.Carol Brown, a member of Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Barling, said, "Gianna Jessen was down to earth. She didn't put on airs. And she got to the point, speaking straight from the heart."In the evening Sept. 10 Jessen spoke at Heart to Heart Pregnancy Support Center's 20th anniversary gala in Fort Smith.

The above text be taken from http://haileysthreelittleangels.blogspot.com/