| | |  | | eNEWS - April 9, 2008 | |
We're Going to Be Grandparents! | Cindy and I will enter the next stage of family life later this month (or next depending on the delivery schedule). Our daughter, Cammie, and her husband, Dave, are expecting the birth of their first child and our first grandchild sometime around the end of April. Does it need to be said that we are excited? Cindy can hardly contain her excitement. Every shopping trip includes something for Baby Gilchrist (they have chosen not to know the sex of the baby until it is born). I have not heard a negative word about grandparenting from anyone who is a grandparent. They all tell me I will love it (and I’m sure I will). I was doing some research on this new season of life when I came across this paragraph: Grandparenthood is far more than rocking chairs. It is a second chance to do all of the "ought tos" and "should haves" that the busyness and demands of daily parenthood kept you from doing. It is living part of the idealistic dream of parenthood that real life, diapers, soccer practice, dance lessons, and waiting up for teenagers prevented you from doing. Grandparenthood allows you to play a key role in writing the history of a generation that you will some day leave in charge. Wow! That sounds like fun. If you have some grandparenting “advice” you would like to pass along, feel free to send me a note. We would love the help and we might even pass it on to other. Blessings,  Rev. William Batson, Grandpa-To-Be | |
2008 Bermuda Marriage Conference |  Bermuda's premier Christian resort, Willowbank, invites you and your spouse to join Willie and Cindy Batson of Family Builders Ministries for a week-long marriage enrichment conference. This year's conference will be held October 11 - 18. For those who have attended one of our conferences in the past, we invite you to return this year and see the fabulous renovations that have been made to the facilities, including new and renovated guest rooms, an enlarged dining room, a new conference center, and other amenities. We have put together a money-saving package for you that is only available during the Family Builders Week at Willowbank. It includes your choice of room, a daily breakfast buffet, English-style tea each afternoon, and a daily full-course dinner. Our package also includes a boxed lunch on the day of your choice for a casual picnic on the island, your government hotel tax, bus and ferry passes to use throughout the island, transfers to and from the airport, a half-day taxi tour, boat cruise, use of the tennis courts, pool, and beaches, at least two evenings of entertainment from Bermuda, marriage enrichment resources from Family Builders Ministries, and much more. Get all the details here… |
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Family Connections at West Church in Haverhill, MA | West Church’s third annual Family Conference will be held April 11-13. The program will include experts in the fields of marriage and family ministry, counseling, and group support. Rev. Willie Batson, President of Family Builders Ministries, will present three marriage enrichment workshops during the conference. For more information please call Shirley Paz at 978-373-3034 or visit the church website here… | |
Parenting Matters: What is Your Play Teaching? | The way a family handles the truth is important. Although some teasing may involve misrepresenting the truth and can be an acceptable part of play, it’s important to ask some serious questions about where that play is leading. If you’re having a problem with lying in your family you may want to cut out even playful teasing in this area to help children see the issues more clearly. One mom told us, “We have a problem with lying in our family. As I began developing a plan to deal with it, I noticed that the way we play often encourages deception. If my four-year-old comes into the kitchen to ask, ‘What’s for dinner?’ I might jokingly reply, ‘Frog Soup.’ Our family fun is not necessarily bad as we play small tricks and tease each other, but I’m seeing now that we need to take a break from those kinds of activities for a while. It may be that our fun is inadvertently encouraging our children to be dishonest.” This mom is wrestling with an important issue. Sometimes the things you do or say aren’t bad in and of themselves, but you may need to make adjustments because of the particular needs of your family. (This parenting tip comes from the book Good and Angry: Exchanging Frustration for Character in You and Your Kids by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.) For more parenting resources, visit the National Center for Biblical Parenting here… |
Opportunities to Strengthen Your Marriage |  Willie & Cindy Batson return to the Monadnock Bible Conference Center in Jaffrey, NH on April 18-20 for their 19 th Annual Marriage Enrichment Retreat. This year’s theme is based on the soon-to-be-published book by Willie, “Tools for a Great Marriage.” Willie says that “a great marriage is not automatic. It is the result of one man and one woman fully committed to using God’s tools in God’s way.” There is still time to register by calling the conference center at 603-532-8321. For more information about Monadnock, go here… A car or truck needs attention when the engine backfires, the brakes squeal, and the warning lights refuse to dim. Like a car, marriages need consistent upkeep to stay running at peak performance. To keep a marriage running smoothly requires keeping a check on the key elements of a loving and lasting relationship. This Marriage Tune-up Seminar will provide the preventive maintenance every marriage needs. The one-day seminar will be held May 10 at West Church in Haverhill, MA. For more information about this seminar, go here… | The Perfect Husband | Several men are in the locker room of a golf club. A cell phone on a bench rings and a man engages the hands free speaker function and begins to talk. Everyone else in the room stops to listen. Man: “Hello.” Woman: “Honey, it's me. Are you at the club?” Man: “Yes.” Woman: “I am at the mall now and found this beautiful leather coat. It's only $1,000. Is it okay if I buy it?” Man: “Sure, go ahead if you like it that much.” Woman: “I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the new 2008 models. I saw one that I really liked.” Man: “How much?” Woman: “$90,000.” Man: “Okay, but for that price, I want it with all the options.” Woman: “Great! Oh, and one more thing. The house I wanted last year is back on the market. They're asking $950,000.” Man: “Well, then go ahead and give them an offer of $900,000. They will probably take it. If not, we can go the extra 50 thousand. It's really a pretty good price.” Woman: “Okay. I'll see you later! I love you so much!” Man: “Bye! I love you, too.” The man hangs up. The other men in the locker room are staring at him in astonishment. He smiles and asks, “Anyone know who this phone belongs to?” | GoodSearch on the Internet | What if Family Builders Ministries earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our mission? Well, now it can! GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up! Go to www.goodsearch.com to register. Be sure to enter Family Builders Ministries as the charity you want to support. |
| Rev. William Batson Founder/President Family Builders Ministries is a 501 (c) (3) faith-based nonprofit organization dedicated to serving married couples, parents, and those who minister to them. Our PURPOSE To transform our world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our PASSION To serve Jesus Christ by equipping people for great marriages and families from generation to generation. Our VISION To see every married couple and every parent living in authentic, healthy relationships as a means of transforming our world for Jesus Christ. Our MISSION To provide opportunities and tools that couples, parents, and those who minister to them can use in building great marriages and families from generation to generation. |
_____________ Family Builders Ministries is a New England-based ministry with an international outreach. _____________ _____________ Featured Resource 
_____________ Open Dates for Seminars Would you like to host a Family Builders marriage or parenting seminar in your community? It’s not difficult and we have dates open this year. For more information, contact _____________ | | | | Family Builders Ministries, Inc. is a New England-based 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable corporation with an independent Board of Directors. Contributions to Family Builders Ministries are deductible under section 170 of the IRS Code.
Email: wbatson@familybuilders.net Phone: 207.361.1030 |
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