Congratulations on having a baby in your life or having one soon!  Or maybe your “baby” is a few years old by now.  Either way, you are blessed!  As an added blessing I invite you to read Tomorrow’s Heroes Letter/Lessons which contain ideas and information to help parents raise smart kids – really, very, very smart kids!

Oh, Those Terrible Two’s!

I think our son, Jon, invented the term.  I’ll let you be the judge.  One blistering summer day my wife, Linda, took our son to the local children’s pool.  The pool was full of kids playing and splashing, enjoying the cool relief from the hot summer sun.

We were still in the process of potty training Jon, so she reminded him to let her know when he needed to “go pee,” and she would take him to the potty.  After making several bathroom trips with Jon, she noticed no other child was making any such trips.  Of course, there could only be one obvious conclusion.

You Guessed It!

“I don’t know why I bother making all these trips to the bathroom when no one else is,” Linda muttered out loud.  “You might as well just ‘go pee’ in the pool like all of the other kids.”  With a disgusted shake of her head, she sat back down in the lawn chair by the pool.

Oh, No!

Not long after she had said this (and little ears had heard), she was startled by roaring laughter nearby.  Linda looked up to see our precious son with a great big smile on his face, standing poolside with swim trunks pulled down, intently and proudly “going pee” in the pool, just exactly as good ole Mom had (in Jon’s baby mind) suggested.

Mortified!

Linda scooped up our son and made a fast getaway.  All the time Jon was screaming at the top of his lungs, “But, Mommy, you told me to!  Mommy, you told me to!”

Yesterday Year

I still laugh when I think back on the swimming pool story.  That’s been over 35 years ago.  However, a couple of days after Linda shared this summer adventure with me, I realized something that would change our family’s lives forever.  The story Linda told was not just funny (to me) and embarrassing (to her), it was much more.  I hope to share that revelation with you very soon.  I had received another answer to prayer.

But first let me ask you a question.  Do you believe in the power of prayer?  I hope so, because if you don’t, what I’m about to share with you will probably sound pretty crazy.

The Waiting Room Prayer

Linda had a very difficult delivery.  She was in labor with Jon for over 32 hours.  At one point I could see the concern on the doctor’s face.  What was to be a natural birth with my being in the delivery room, turned into a not-so-natural birth with my staying in the waiting room.  As time crept by, I prayed.  Of course, I prayed for the health of my wife and our baby, but then I took a very bold step further.  I asked God to help Linda and me raise a really, very, very smart kid.  I still don’t know for sure why my prayer came out that way.  Maybe it had something to do with past circumstances and some unwise choices Linda and I had made in our lives.  Maybe it was because I had not a clue how to raise a child at all.  I don’t know.  But what popped out of my mouth was, “Lord, please help Linda and me raise a really, very, very smart kid.”

Really, Very, Very Health Smart

I prayed these prayers for our child to be really, very, very smart concerning his health.

  • To grow up knowing God, because a person is nothing without spiritual health
  • To adopt a healthy lifestyle
  • To be free from addictions to alcohol, tobacco, and other health-robbing, bad habits
  • To be free from allergies, colds, sore throats, and ear infections
  • To be free from skin problems, like pimples and acne
  • To do the things necessary to avoid major life-threatening illnesses, such as heart disease or cancer
  • To really enjoy life and be free spirited
  • To be a leader, not a follower

This list grew and grew as time went by.

Really, Very, Very School Smart

I prayed prayers for our child to be really, very, very smart concerning school/education.

  • To love school and love to learn
  • To love to study
  • To make good grades in school, but also to have fun
  • To get along well with his teachers and for them to enjoy him, too
  • To be popular with other students and to be a positive leader, not a follower
  • To have a great personality
  • To have a burning desire to go beyond high school and choose a college that would lead him to his life’s work.

This list also grew as time passed.

Really, Very, Very Career Smart

I prayed for our son to be really, very, very smart concerning his life’s work.

  • To choose a great career – one that he would love, so he could look forward to going to work on Monday mornings
  • To make lots of money but also to know how to be a wise steward of money
  • Not to get in debt and constantly fight making ends meet each week
  • To have a great marriage some day and to raise really, very, very smart kids, too.  After all, it’s hard to find joy in a great career without having a family to share it with.
  • To play his music.  Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside us.  I prayed I would be deafened by his music.

As time went on this list also grew.

Answered Prayer

So, did God answer my prayer?  First of all, Linda and our baby boy, Jon, came through the delivery safe and healthy.  What a relief to all parents when the doctor says the baby and mother are doing just fine!  What about my prayer asking God to help us raise a really, very, very smart kid?  Again, I’ll let you be the judge.  The following represents just a few highlights in Jon’s journey as a really, very, very smart kid.  (This is not bragging; it’s giving praise and glory to God!)

Vibrant Health

Jon…

  • Can’t remember not knowing God; at age five accepted Christ as his personal Savior
  • Has adopted a very healthy lifestyle
  • Is free from addictions to alcohol, drugs, tobacco, and many other health-robbing, bad habits
  • Is free from allergies, colds, sore throats, ear infections, and other so-called common illnesses that society just takes for granted
  • Has no skin problems, like pimples and acne
  • Is doing the things necessary to avoid major life-threatening illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer
  • Is high on life and is quite free spirited

It doesn’t get much better than that!  

What About School?

 

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Zooming Ahead to High School

Jon’s high school career included these highlights.

  • A graduating grade point average of 103.12
  • Who’s Who Awards in AP (Advanced Placement) physics, AP chemistry, anatomy, physiology, American history, and independent speech
  • All-state honors in CX Debate
  • All-academic honors in varsity football, basketball, and tennis; captain of his high school football team
  • Practicing member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Fellowship of Christian Students
  • Numerous academic scholarships that paid all college expenses  

Higher Education

Jon’s higher education career included these accomplishments.

  • Finishing college in three years
  • Receiving the Presidential Award from his graduating college, presented annually to one graduating senior who has the most distinguished academic and campus achievement record
  • Receiving the Frank Junell Presidential Scholarship to Texas Tech Law School
  • Finishing law school with honors and free from student loans, which saved thousands of dollars  

Life After Law School

Here are some things in Jon’s life now.

  • Through prayer and the power of God, has formed his own law firm
  • Loves to go to work on Monday mornings
  • Helps lots of people
  • Makes lots of money
  • Is a great and wise steward of the money he earns
  • Married a beautiful, young Christian woman. In addition to being valedictorian of her high school class, she graduated from college with honors.  She’s now a practicing CPA and manages the law firm office.
  • Has three healthy, happy, very, very smart kids

Jon leads a very balanced life.  One could say he’s hooked on life and on serving others. He’s playing his music.  I’d ask that he turn the volume down sometimes, but deafening music is what I prayed for!

Praise God!

But What Does This Have To Do With Your Family?

Yes, God did indeed answer my prayer.  As time passed, Jon grew to be a really, very, very smart kid, while having only an average IQ!

Now after more than 35 years, I’ve prayed another prayer.  I asked God how I could help other families raise really, very, very smart kids.  The answer to this prayer was the formation of Tomorrow’s Heroes.

I invite you to read Tomorrow’s Heroes Letter/Lessons. There’s no charge for the Tomorrow’s Heroes Letter/Lessons, and they are available in a printable version.

The Best and Cheapest Insurance Policy You Will Ever Own

The ideas in Tomorrow’s Heroes Letter/Lessons can combine with your own loving parenting skills, and they’ll work together to insure that you and your family raise a really, very, very smart kid!  Even after all this time, valuable learning concepts are still being revealed to my family and me.  As time goes on, you’ll have opportunities to add to these lessons, too, as many other families are already doing.

Remember The Swimming Pool Story?

Through this funny story, God actually gave us one of the most powerful answers to my “waiting room prayer” – the one that asked God to help us raise a really, very, very smart kid.  When I share the lesson with you, I think you’ll find it so powerful that your mind will explode with possibilities!  After you read and contemplate the next lesson, I believe a light will come on so strongly in your mind that you won’t be able to stop thinking about ways you can help your child be a really, very, very smart kid.  That lesson alone could propel your child into becoming wise and knowledgeable about his/her health, education, and life’s work.

Do You Believe?

So if you believe in answered prayer, and I haven’t blown you away too badly, I invite you first to pray to start your very own family plan using these Letter Lessons as a guide.

This website will have potential interest for proud parents, for expecting families, and for those who will be parents and grandparents someday, as they raise or plan to raise a family of smart, successful children.  The program can provide ways to help parents and grandparents help their children and grandchildren get off to the right start, a smart start, a blessed start.

The printable version of Tomorrow’s Heroes Letter/Lessons will enable your family to build a “Tomorrow’s Heroes Library.”  In addition, you may want to add personal notes, thoughts, prayers, and insights to customize the program to fit your family.

Looking Forward

At times in the future I’ll be using some resources other than my own family.  You can look forward to informative, entertaining letter/lessons from interesting people, such as a professional fishing guide who’s also a dad and grandpa.  There will be a book review of the financial blockbuster best-selling book, Smart Money Smart Kids by Dave Ramsey and his daughter, Rachel Cruze, and many more exciting Letter/Lessons. 

Why Have I Waited So Long?

I’ve waited quite a long time to release the Tomorrow’s Heroes Letter/Lessons because I wanted them to be time tested, and they have been.  Testing began first with our son, then expanded to other families, and now continues with our three grandkids.  Tomorrow’s Heroes has been tried and tested for you, and the test scores are great!

God bless,

Paw Paw