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If I speak the truisms of generations of parents, but do not have love for my children, I am but a nag or a screamer.
If I know all the mysteries of parents, and have all the knowledge of Dr. Spock and Dr. Dobson combined, and have the faith that these techniques cannot fail, but I do not love my children, I am a parental failure.
If I give myself sacrificially, giving all my time and all my money, and become a parental martyr, but do not have love for my children through it all, it all adds up to a total loss.
Loving my children involves being patient to let God work in their lives, being sensitive to their feelings, and aware of their hurts and concerns.
Loving my children means not comparing them to me or any other, not being envious of their successes, not trying to protect my reputation by governing their activities.
Love for my children is not irritable, agitated or moody. It does not hold grudges and refuses to forgive. It does not expect them to be perfect or rejoice in punishment, but rejoices when they learn to walk with God.
The love of a parent is not condescending, does not demand conformity to projected expectations, is willing to admit personal failure, and is unconditional no matter what they do.
All the parenting theories will pass away. All the lectures will blow in the wind. All the tears and concerns will overcome. 
What remains is my faith in God, and my hope for my children, but the greatest asset of parenting is the love which only God can produce in my heart for my children.

 Lara Melashenko

I can still vividly remember as a boy walking through my grandparent‘s farm in Portugal; the smells & sounds of the animals, the towering Eucalyptus trees with their distinct smell, the pine trees with their little pots at the base collecting the resin, the little trails up and through the terraced farm, the well in which the donkey “Giant” would walk around to remove water to quench the thirsty gardens.  The crow, “Vicente”, yes, you heard me right – the pet crow that my grandparents would keep tied up on a string all day long.  The HOT sun that embraced my brother Phil and I as we walked, investigated and visited the sites and families that lived close by.  These and many other memories are etched in my mind when I think of going back to my parent‘s country – Portugal. 
But there is one memory that comes back to me often, and that is of walking through the farm and having the vines give us shade.   You see my grandparents planted the vines on the side of most of the trails on the farm, so wherever we walked the vines offered a beautiful covering.   
Grape vines, if you know of the Portuguese culture, you likely know that wine is quite a part of everyday life.   I recall on one of our trips to Portugal, we stayed till the beginning of the grape harvest, where we picked the grapes with family and friends, the laughter mixed with hard work was always fun, and then imagine with me thousands of pounds of grapes in boxes needing to be squeezed.  
That‘s really when the fun began (at least for my brother and I), as they would place hundreds of pounds of grapes in a small 7x7 pool, about 2 feet deep, and said to us kids - jump in and stomp out the juice.   And stomp Phil and I did, dressed in shorts, jumping and squeezing all the juice out of the grapes with our feet.  
As we were jumping, at the bottom of that small pool was a faucet where the freshly (foot) squeezed grape juice was directed straight into a wine barrel, awaiting the fermentation process to begin.  Fond memories for sure, until I would see the results of the fermented wine.
Did you know that the grapevine is mentioned more than any other plant in the entire Bible?   In fact the grapevine was very important culturally and economically for the Jewish nation and was often used as a symbol in scripture.   A fruitful vine was a symbol of obedient Israel, while wild grapes or an empty vine spoke of Israel‘s disobedience (Jer. 2:21). 
Jesus having grown up in the Jewish nation, understood first-hand the powerful symbol of the vine, and so in John 15 just before He would be betrayed at Gethsemane, referred to Himself as the True Vine and the Father as the Vinedresser.  What was Jesus really saying to His disciples that day in John 15?  Well that is what I will address next week, but let me say this, God loves you and wants you to connect with Him.  In John 15:5 it says 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Your Brother in Christ,
Paul