WANTED—MORE MOTHERS
W7E are thinking of mothers; real mothers; old
” fashioned mothers; womanly mothers; the kind
that makes the home.
We are short on homes—real homes. We are
short on mothers—real mothers. There are lots of
“tots” growing up, and “kids” innumerable, but they
are so different from real children, the kind that have
the imprint of a mother’s care, a mother’s holy kiss,
the touch of a mother’s hand, the fragrance of a
motherly Christian home.
God designed woman as the home maker, but some
how she seems to have been side-tracked. There are
so many good women—well-meaning, even Christian
women—who have been hearkening to a strange world
call to a “new sphere,” a “higher sphere,” a “cultured
sphere,” a sphere of prominence, where the books of
great writers can be discussed, and politics and social
service and great national and civic interests consid
ered; a sphere where the humdrum of the home and
family can be forgotten for a while, and the mind and
heart find opportunity for expansion in the affairs of
state and nation!
. The mother has a new vision. She can discuss
great affairs with her husband. She can help to
educate him—if he can ever find time for it; for he,
too, is engrossed with his lodge and his club, and can
not give much time to the home. He must work
hard to earn the necessary money with which to meet
the monthly bills, which furrow his brow and put a
weight upon his shoulders, and he must depend upon
his wife to run the home, and she must depend upon
the servants, and—oh, the children? Well, they must
go to school and look after themselves the best they
can, for this is the twentieth century; and the new
age has an influence upon the home not always con
ducive to harmony. The husband and wife are broad
ening out in opposite directions, and their attitude
in the home toward each other fills the children with
wonder; and somehow, the word “home” has lost its
former meaning, and the reason is clear: The home is
without the mother!
Ts some serious mistake growing and deepening
m the heart life of women? Is the aspiration of the
woman taking the place of the God-given aspiration
of the mother ? Can the real kind of men and women
be developed in homes where the wife has wrong con
ceptions of motherhood, and of the holy joy of mold
ing and fashioning the heart life of boys and girls?
Would it not be well to dig into the history of some
of the men of renown and find what part their moth
ers played in their making, and thus obtain a real
estimate of the difference between a mere club woman
and a big-hearted, clear-visioned home builder, from
which would come children “to the manor born” ?
And it might not be out of place to pray about it.
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MAN’S MEASURE.
Every boy wishes to be a man, but the measure
of a man is not that of age, nor position. That which
makes a man is quality of spirit; it is courage, honor,
integrity of character, and the resolute purpose to
know what is true, and to do what is right. The
central quality of manliness around which all others
must be built up is that of a sense of honor.
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Which do you broadcast, joy or gloom?
THE CHURCH EFFICIENT.
There is no denying the fact that all churches
could be more efficient. It is difficult to predict all
that could be accomplished by a church that was
really efficient for there seems to be no record of one
that has even approached the limits of efficiency. We
hear considerable talk about efficiency and some have
attempted to define it, but after all there can be no
efficiency without work; in fact, it means work cor
rectly done if it means anything.
This church is dedicated primarily to the task of
recruiting souls for Christ’s Kingdom. Many souls
will remain untouched and will be lost if the church
fails to reach them. Not the preacher alone, but all
the members of this church are responsible in a
measure for what we do in this work of soul winning.
There are many men and women and young people
who have some point of contact with the church and
who could be won. The work of winning these folk
must be done by the rank and file of our church mem
bers and our church will increase in efficiency as we
become more proficient in this great task. You can
help to make your church 100 per cent efficient by
participating in this and other work of the church.
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HE CARETH FOR YOU.
How often we feel that our lives are so obscure
and our strength so feeble that the great, loving
Father cannot be expected to bestow upon us the
gracious attention which others who occupy more
prominent and important places must receive. But
why should we ever so feel in regard to his attitude
toward any of his creatures or children? Here is a
little daisy growing in an obscure place by the road
side. We begin to pity it because of its secluded and
forsaken situation. But the sun looks down from
above and whispers its word of reminder: “Why grieve
over the condition of the little daisy? Am I not
pouring out the fulness of my rays that it may be
quickened into richer and fuller life?” The clouds
above send forth their reproof: “Are we not ready to
pour forth our refreshing showers, that the little
daisy may lift up its head and rejoice?” Earth from
beneath takes up the same refrain: “And am not I
supplying the riches of my soil that I may nourish
and invigorate its roots and help to sustain its life?”
However detached our lives may seem to be, a gracious
God is continually ministering to their needs out of
his exhaustless fulness.
TO HATE A MAN
Is to put yourself beneath him.
Is usually to confess that you do not know him.
Is always easier than trying to understand him.
Is the beginning of suicide of the soul.
Requires less mentality than to adjust your dif~
ferencas.
Is to begin the wrecking of your own happiness.
Is to be as guilty as he is.
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The only way to keep some things is to give them
away. Man does not live unto himself alone.
Stewardship is not primarily to heighten the
giving, but to deepen the living.