Nice post, Sam. God bless.

See you in the morning.

Damn , good entry, Sam. I like you to Obama in facing the hard subjects as relegion. I am Catholic-- a non practicing Catholic, but I do attend a non demoninational church occasionally. I'm still going on my own spiritual journey and I am a father like you (2 girls). I want them to have a religious foundation, but I must admit I have questioned the way people view God and Jesus throughout my latter adult life. I may be rambling, but I'm writing this literally after I read your blog and editing is not playing a part. Take care and I dig your work. I'm a sitcom writer and filmmaker. Hopefully you will interview me one day.

and I felt the earth move.....
god bless ye merry men
who go out
to slay the dragon
and make it home
on day's end
only to rise
and to start anew
god bless ye... the chosen few
who weather it all
and do what you do....
lamesabassman.....let's go to the video tape......

It was the Holy Sprit Sam, that was working in you last night. I too will keep Rory, her friend, you and your Family in my prayers. God Bless you :)

Sweet. My favorite blog of all the ones you've done. Seems to me that you are doing a great job of parenting. Don't worry about the religion. It's the transfer of LOVE. God' love for you to give you a life to nuture, your parenting Love to guide your little ones. Being raised with two religions will give your children a broaden view that will make them unique. Thanks for sharing a special moment.

Sam:

Very nice. Having been raised in a home with a Jewish mother and Catholic father. I understant where you kids are at. Don't worry. When they feel the need, they will search out for what they need.

Have a good one.

Sam, I appreciate the vulnerability that you displayed in your blog. I am also raising two children in an interfaith home, and it is a challenge to balance the need for deference and respect for one's partner with one's own beliefs and values. In our home I think we have at times ended up with a watered down version of faith at best, most of the time just skirting the topic. I'm Christian and my husband is Hindu. It's a very hard mix to reconcile when questions of origins, life's meaning, and death come up. I usually tell the children what I believe, and refer them to their father for what he believes. Since it has been a source of conflict in our marriage in the past, we often tip toe around it so as not to upset the apple cart. Sometimes I wish I had done a better job giving my children a more formal religious upbringing, but I can't compare what we are trying to do in our marriage with what my own parents did or any other family's standard who don't have to deal with this issue. I think that the best way to approach the matter is to keep my own faith observance sincere and authentic, modeling its importance in my life for my children, rather than struggling to directly instruct them in ways that don't offend my husband. I think modeling my faith may be more impactful in the long run without infringing on my husband's sensibilities or undermining his desire to contribute to my kids' spiritual growth. It sounds like you are sincerely trying, and I think that goes a long way. I think God blesses our intentions and our efforts and is less concerned with results than we think He is. I think God may intend that our love for our children can work to draw our own spirits closer to Him. Blessings to you and your family, Sam.

My father was an atheists and my mother was a buddist. My parents never kept me from going to church. In fact it was the opposite. My parents believed that we should go to church and make our own decision. I do believe in God and our daughter prays every night for all of her friends and family. Great post Sam.

sweet blog Sam, totally agree word by word. Keep rockin' bro!

Sam, now that's what I'm talkin' about! Excellent blog! Much better than any before!!
I do have one curious question though - Does anyone know what happened to Cher's blog that was posted last night at about 9 PM. It was about "remaining silent"??? Just curious where that blog disappeared to! It was short and about remaining silent in "this mad world of mad people"...WHERE DID IT GO???

Many adults feel they are doing their children a favor by allowing them to choose their faith and ways to relate to a creator. The key is to establish some choices for them. Simply hoping they will figure it out for themselves is risky business. Keep up the search.

I raised my children to think critically and now they are atheists. They are compassionate, well-behaved and intelligent. Religion is not what makes a person good.

I had the experience of a lapsed Catholic father and a reforming Jewish mother, with no religious training until about a year before Bar Mitzvah. The rabbi on the air force base was conservative, but helped me muddle through. Over the years, I've been slightly to the right of reform without being totally conservative. I'm married to a Jewish woman (by birth) whose family is Jewish only by "food." (Slightly to the left of reform). My daughter was raised in the Temple so that she could get the education I never got. She has lifelong friends there, and a strong grounding in ethics. I hope it will stand her in good stead.

Your concern is spot on. But it reflects your parenting. If you're concerned about this, you're doing it right. The kids don't come with instruction manuals (unless you're like us and adopt - and even then, the manual is woefully short).

May G-d be with you.

Of all the KTLA blogs so far... this is by far, the best one.

So, if I pray for the OLD format back on the Morning Show - will it happen?
If I pray for Michaela to quit referring to the phrase "water cooler buzz" which causes the feeling of fingernails on a chalkboard - will she stop? If I pray for her to not lead with a tease about Knut the Polar Bear being addicted to attention and then ask "Remind you of anybody" - will I not immediately think "Yeah, it reminds me of you only Knut is cute, cuddly and adorable"? If I pray for you all to quit trying way too hard in the 7 - 9 slot to over compensate for the loss in the 9 hour will you stop? This is so sad to watch the demise of the 7 - 9 hours now!

Holy Spirit definitely you know Sam its relationship not religion that God wants you to have with His Son. Prayer is good ask God to lead you and all your answers will come. God Bless you and yours.

Morning Sam, What a way to start my day and you had a very insightful night, thank you for sharing such a moment with us. I am at the moment in comflict with what I believe and What I want my 3 kids to learn, I was raised catholic, but have been separeted from church in a while and my husband is on the same situation. I thank you for the inspiration and God bless you and your family.

Hey Sam-
I enjoyed reading your blog-My heart was touched-and that is not easy to do-I would have loved to have you as a Dad-
I know it is not about religion-it is about a relationship with God and His Son-
kind of like you and your girls-it is not about just fathering but about your loving relationship!
I am proud of you Sam-
Amy in West LA

It is never too late to draw close to your faith. Remember, nobody is promised tomorrow. I think that no matter where you go in your life, even through the mistakes we make, we can always draw on the things we learned in our upbringing when life was much less complicated... when we had the faith of a child...

God bless you and your family Sam. I have watched you so long it seems as if I know your beautiful children personally. I will never forget the skooting accross the floor video. Although I don't watch your show any more, I do look forward to reading your blogs, this one being no exception. I was a single parent and for me it was important to give my child a christian foundation. When she became an adult (25 now) she has never lost it and now she goes to church every Sunday whereas I go on Holiday's,lol.

Sam,
I came from a Christian family who didn't attend church. We did however, believe always in God and always knew that he was involved in everything that was going on in our life.I don't believe that you have to go to church or temple to be a person who knows God.You seem to be giving your children the knowledge that I too received, PRAY. This is how your children will find thier own ways.
For those atheists, or agnostics and say that they are good people, how do they think that they became good people? GOD!! Remember that he has his hand on us all.
I hope that this has helped you to rid yourself of any Jewish guilt that you may have been suffering from.
Peace

Sam, When I was little we went to church all day on Sunday..First to my mother's who is Baptist then to my father's who is Catholic..Our family attends church on occasion but not every Sunday..My daughter and I make sure that we say our prayers together each night and every night which I think is important that we do...Someone once told me that being a good Christian, Catholic or whatever your religious beliefs is does not always mean that you have to attend church regularly just that you make sure that you spend some time every day thinking about your beliefs. in my case I pray and talk to God alot during the day.

Sam, great blog. I did not raise my children in a religious home, but they are good people, however, it now saddens me when I hear my son say that he does not believe in god. I have no one to blame but myself. So keep encouraging your girls.

I was raised "conservadox" while my husband was "light reform". When we married almost 36 years ago, the Rabbi I grew up under had us over his house for his pre-marriage talk. He boiled it down to this:
"Do you love him? Do you love her? If there is love in the home, then there is Gd in your home. Your children will know love and they will know GD."
My children are both planning to marry non-Jews. I won't lie and say that it doesn't hurt, I know that Rabbi Gorrelick, alashalom, was right. I have wonderful children and they are marrying wonderful people and Gd will be in their homes.

Your best post yet! Thanks for sharing...