the right way

taken from Shadow of the Almighty, by Elizabeth Elliot, some words about Jim's parents...early 1930's

"They wanted the best for their children ('except money, which can become a curse,') and gave it to them -- spiritually as well as physical care, and all other good things they could offer. If the child failed to appreciate the need for spiritual guidance, he probably failed, too, to see the need for physical rest when bedtime came around, but the parents guided him just the same, to God, as well as to bed."

a little later...

Obedience and honesty were stressed above all else in the discipline of the chidlren, while mischief was sometimes winked at and sometimes reproved with a brief scolding. [Jim's parents] made an issue of nothing unless they intended to carry it through, believing that empty threats were dishonest and ruinous to a child's sense of justice. Fred Elliot (Jim's Dad) administered the more serious punishments, occasionally postponing a spanking in order to give it in private. When the children reached the age of fourteen, they were told that from then on they were responsible to the Lord for their actions, since they had accepted Him as Savior and Lord of their lives. "And don't ever think you'll get by with something because we don't know about it," their mother told them. "God knows, and has His own way of punishing."