So, I looked down the hallway and I noticed the door to his bedroom was slightly ajar. My father was a John's Hopkins educated pediatrician, a brilliant medical man, and a great man of faith. Well I just very quietly tiptoed over, pushed the door open enough to peak my head around, and I saw my father kneeling beside his bed crying and praying for a very sick little patient of his. I stood there in awe of this brilliant man who realized that he needed to go to the Great Physician for help. That tremendous moment of faith -- when he never knew I was watching -- impacted me for the rest of my life in terms of where I place my faith.

That is an example of when my dad didn't know I was looking. What about all the examples when we are with our children, when we know they are watching? There is an old saying that the most powerful words of any language is the word "mother," and I believe that with all my heart. Mothers can be an influence for good and positive or they can be an influence for negative. But mothers cannot be un-influential. So I would just leave you with those two thoughts.


Rebecca Hagelin has championed the pro-family message in both Washington and around the nation for some twenty years. She is a vice president of The Heritage Foundation (Heritage.org) whose vision is to "Create an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity and civil society flourish." Her weekly column, "Heart Beat", appears on WorldNetDaily.com and Townhall.com. For more information on her book visit: www.homeinvasion.org.