But regardless of whether I'm an expert in knowing what my own four children want, I do know this: I know what parents want from their children. I know what you can do to make them feel honored, which is your biblical duty. (Spoken just like a dad, don't you think?) 

One warning: Before you do any of these things, make sure your folks (especially Dad) have had a recent checkup. You don't want the shock to do them in.

2. An occasional stress-free day with no arguments about life's petty details.

3. A word or a note of thanks for years of effort on your behalf.

4. An understanding that yes, you do now realize that the money for school, insurance, gas, clothes, and a hundred other things does not indeed sprout from the maple in the backyard.

5. The promise that you intend to live each day by godly standards concerning people of the opposite sex.

6. A hug for no apparent reason.

7. An e-mail that says hi, but doesn't ask for money, plane tickets, a new microwave, or permission to pierce something.

If you have parents who toil each day to provide for, instruct, and love you—why not stop everything and do something for them. You'll make their day. —DB

REFLECTION

• What have I done this week to say "Thanks" to my parents? 
• Not all parents have done a bang-up job of raising, supporting, and training their children. If I have not had parents who cared, do I still have an obligation to them? 
• What have I learned from my parents that will make me a good parent?