What's the course of your life?

I'm reading this book on parenting called Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. I just completed a chapter that talks about the shaping influences and the response to them. Although as a parent we may develop a structure to have the most positive shaping influences at home. Shaping influences are also outside of the home and outside of our parental control. However, the response our child has to those influences are in our control. My mom for example used Bible verses to get us to do things.  She would say, "the bible says obey thy mother and thy father and your days will be long on earth, now go take this money over to that apartment and ask for a dime sack." It confused the heck out of me when I went to church how to view Gods word. I had to unlearn a lot. My point is this. My siblings responded to the shaping influences of our upbringing by drugs and alcohol. It was what we were taught. I responded to the shaping influences of our upbringing through biblical teaching because it was what we were exposed to and what I sought out personally for a deeper true understanding of Gods word. Due to that, when it comes to shaping influences now as an adult I respond biblically.  We all respond some way to shaping influences in our life. How we respond however,  determines the course of our life.