Commentary

Week: September 1st - September 5th, 2025

9/1/25 - Quality Time

Families are spending more time together. But is it quality time?

The more time you spend together the more opportunities you have to talk (if you stay off your cell phones). You’ll have more time to capitalize on a teachable moment, to have fun together, and to let your children see you model Christian values. In our busy world it’s sometimes hard to find time for family to actually remember, quantity makes quality easier.

We are glad this radio station is committed to helping you and your family live Godly lives in today’s world. You can be a gateway to better education for your children. For more resources, visit our HOME PAGE.

9/2/25 - Are you a Missionary or a Tourist?

When it comes your children’s schools, are you a tourist or a missionary?

Tourists visit a place thinking about what they get out of it. They invest little time in getting to know the people and care little about what they might contribute to the culture.

On the other hand, missionaries understand the importance of building relationships to help others understand the love of Jesus. They invest time and energy to understand the needs of the people.

If your children are in public schools, you could say they are in a culture with its own customs and beliefs. So, I’ll ask you again, are you a missionary or just a tourist?

Pray every day for your children’s teachers and look for opportunities to build relationships, understand their needs, and bless them with the love of Jesus. For help in doing this, visit our HOME PAGE for more resources.

9/3/25 - Promoting Conversation

Do you talk with your children or at your children?

Conversations with children are important for their emotional well-being, for learning to interact socially, and for developing thinking skills. There is a difference between conversations and directives. It’s the difference between talking with someone and talking at them. “Don’t leave your bike in the driveway,” is a directive. Directives are important but conversations, on the other hand, have give and take. Both parties contribute.

Conversations with children are like a tennis game. Each side has to return the ball in order for the game to be any fun.

In today’s world, it’s harder to pull away from our phones, video games, and TVs. But, when conversations get started children grow emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.

Ask your children an open-ended question today. You can be a gateway to better education in your local schools by visiting our HOME PAGE for more resources.

9/4/25 - School Values

Schools recognize that students are in great need of moral and emotional help. Many schools have some form of character education. Schools attempt to stop students from bullying and promote kindness. While this is good, too often schools focus just on what I call functions of character. That is, what students are supposed to do. How they are supposed to function. Schools need to also focus on foundations of character – why certain behaviors and good or bad. That often relates to students’ religious beliefs. When schools affirm students’ religious beliefs, they will see an improvement in students’ character and conduct.

Schools often talk about teaching the whole child – their emotional, social, and health needs as well as their learning. But too often the students’ spiritual needs are neglected. That must change. For more information read this ARTICLE.

9/5/25 - Constitution Day is Coming!

Constitution Day is on September 17th!

One practical way to help your children (and their teachers) recognize the day is to help them understand that religious freedom is guaranteed in the First Amendment of the Constitution. It states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.

That means public school students have the right to talk about their faith at school, to write about their faith in homework, to pray with their classmates, and more!

As a civics lesson, teachers should explain these rights to students. The U.S. Department of Education has provided Guidance on this very topic. Parents should advocate for this to be distributed in their schools with what we call “relational activism”.

For more information and a pamphlet explaining students and teachers’ religious liberties, visit www.gogateways.org/articles/studentsliberties.