Saturday, September 29, 2007
SERMON SERIES ON THE FAMILY
I just wanted to share with you some of the things I'm teaching right now. I love teaching on marriage and family when it comes to sermons and bible classes. Right now my Childress family is getting a double dose. In my Young Adult class I've been teaching on marriage and family issues for the past month. Our class has nearly doubled in size over the last two months, which tells me that the issues we're covering are important. Here are the topics we've been covering in class ...
- Ingredients of a Healthy Family
- 7 Things Wive's Need from their Husbands
- 7 Things Husband's Need from their Wives
- What are His Needs & What are Her Needs
- Red Hot Monogamy (Making your Love-Life Sizzle)
- Making Godly Kids
- Things That will Ruin Your Marriage
Besides the class, I'm pumped about starting a new sermon series this Sunday that will go for the next five weeks. I'm calling the series "Extreme Home Makeover."
"Hiring the Right Contractor"
"The Foundations You Need to Build on"
"An Extreme Marriage Makeover" (Affair Proofing Your Marriage)
"Desperate Parenting"
"What's Love Got to Do With It?"
I'll try and update my sermon page each Monday or Tuesday with the "Extreme Home Makeover" series of sermons. If you're from Childress ... come hear it live (sleeping will be allowed).
posted at 
Friday, September 28, 2007
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF A SERMON
Sometimes when we find ourselves bored or distracted through the sermon, or we feel like the messages aren’t impacting our lives, our natural tendency is to blame ... yes, you guessed it ... the preacher.But I’ve noticed that sometimes the problem is not so much with the preacher as it is with the hearer. If we’re not benefiting from the preaching, the fault may not always lie with the one doing the preaching. It may lie in our readiness to hear, to receive, and to respond to God's Word.
The fact is that two people can listen to the very same message, and one can be bored and unmoved, and the other can be convicted and his life is transformed. Years ago after a sermon I preached on prayer I had a man tell me, "That one really didn't do it for me." I wasn't sure what he meant, but I knew it wasn't a compliment. Exactly two minutes later, a woman came to me in tears thanking me for the powerful sermon. She told me, "It was exactly what I needed in my life today." What made the difference? I'm not sure, but here are 10 things that might help you get the most out the sermon...
- Come excited about getting a word from God.
- Start and end the sermon by praying and asking God to speak to you today though the speaker.
- Focus on what's being said, not on what's going on around you.
- Take notes.
- Follow along in your Bible.
- Look for applications that you can make in your own life.
- Expect to get something good from the lesson.
- Don't be critical.
- Open your heart and mind.
- Expect a spiritual feast. Hopefully the preacher where you attend will have a table full of spiritual food. Hopefully he will present the bread of life. And hopefully you will eat a great spiritual meal. But you must apply it, study your Bible, pray during the week, get involved and dig deeper with others. If you can't help feed yourself ... then a church will never be able to "feed you." Get your own spiritual fork, and learn to feed yourself some. Serve. Pray. Practically apply the Bible to your life everyday.
Now get out there and enjoy a great message from God this Sunday!
-------------------------------
There's a new sermon available on the sermon page if you're interested .... "What Jesus thinks about our worrying!"
Labels: Preaching
Thursday, September 27, 2007
WE HAVE A LITTLE ROACH PROBLEM
I've never been one of those people who get grossed out easily. Until this last Monday. Lea and I wanted something different for lunch so we decided to try lunch at one of those places "we never eat."
I should have noticed something wrong when we walked in and there were a couple of dead bugs on the floor. We got our food and I unwrapped my silverware from the napkin and a very small roach fell out into my lap and scurried off. I thought that was gross so I used a different set of silverware. I tried not to give it much thought, but a few minutes after we started eating we noticed another roach on the empty table across from us. I told Lea I couldn't take much more. We decided to go ahead and finish the plate of food we'd got, when out from under the lazy-susan in the middle of our table that held condiments a roach decided to visit us. He crawled out to where I'd spilled a little of my diet coke, got a drink, and then turned and scurried back to the center of our table where he'd come from. I'm sure those little buggers are delicacies in other places, but not where I'm from. I was definitely grossed out now.
We put our food down and decided we wouldn't finish eating. We decided the right thing to do was pay the bill and then tell them nicely what had happened. We didn't want anyone thinking we were trying to make it up, just so we could get a free lunch.
I paid our $17 for the meal, and then I leaned in close to the lady and quietly said, "Ma'am, I just wanted to let you know we had two live roaches on our table while we were eating and we saw another one on the table next to us." She whispered back in a very nonchalant way, "Yea, we've got a little roach problem. We've been doing some spraying but it really hasn't helped."
We thanked her, smiled and left. I think we'll go back to our regular eating places from now on.
Have you ever had a bad eating experience, and how did you handle it?
Labels: General
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
MISSIONARIES ARE AWESOME
"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:14-15
I love missionaries. I love their heart for lost people. I love the fact that they are willing to give up so much to "go and make disciples." Simply put ... missionaries are my heroes! I try every Wednesday to have a special prayer for those doing foreign mission works.
Some missionary's blogs I love to keep up with are:
- Cory & Toni Burns - Guadalajara, Mexico
- James & Erin Henderson - Mexico City, Mexico
- Tim & Kim Rush - Guadalajara, Mexico
- Adventures in Missions (and about 50 AIM Students) - Lubbock, Texas and all over the world.
- Philip & Jaime Murphy - American Samoa
- Dennis & Theresa Wilson - Cozumel, Mexico
- Brandon & Katie Price - Mariupol, Ukraine
A couple of weeks ago I challenged my Sunday morning young adult bible class to help send a care package to some missionaries. Our class took up a little over $100. So, a few days later I asked Brandon & Katie who are in Ukraine to give me a list of the little things they were missing that they couldn't get there. Here's the list they sent me.
- Chocolate Chips
- Brown Sugar
- Unsweetened Chocolate baking squares
- Walnuts or Pecans
- All Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
- Italian Seasoning
- Lipton Spiced Chai Tea Bags
- Organic Rice Crispies and Cascadian Farm Granola (No luck on the organic rice crispies - are you guys sure these things really exist, or are they urban legends like Bigfoot and the Loch ness monster?).
- Another jar of Peanut Butter for our friend Sasha (I hope Sasha likes creamy).
- A Pilot Dr. Grips fine point pen or two (Sorry guys ... no luck on these--only gel ink).
- A treymorgan.net t-shirt (Thanks for the plug, but I just so happen to be all out of these right now ;) (Seriously before someone asks, no, I do not have any treymorgan.net shirts. Although they would be really cool!)
- Also, not on your list were a few things we thought we'd throw in for fun. We sent Brandon a little Axe body spray so he could smell goooood for Katie. For Katie we sent some breath freshening gum ... I thought after looking at this picture one of you guys could use it.
As you can see from the picture below, we did the best we could on the package. One hundred dollars doesn't go as far as it used to. As for the package, it went out today (Wednesday, September 26, 2007) headed to Mariupol, Ukraine. I'll be curious to know how long it takes to get there. We'll be watching Brandon & Katie's website for a post on when it arrives.
What can you do for missionaries? Probably the best thing you can do is pray for them. If It's easier for you to remember, set a specific day to pray for them, like every Wednesday (and make sure you tell them you're praying for them). Other ways you can show them your support is by sending them an email or letter of encouragement, send them a care package with goodies or better yet, support one (or two) financially. Go above and beyond what your church supports by helping support one yourself. You'd be amazed how beneficial something as small as $10 per month can be to a missionary. I challenge you to try one of these things. Then they'll know they're really loved and appreciated.
If you'd like, leave a comment today about a missionary that you love or have been blessed by. Or leave a shout-out to missionaries in general. Let them know how you feel about them. And, IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY A MISSIONARY working in a foreign field, or have worked in FOREIGN MISSIONS in your lifetime, we'd love to hear from you. Please leave us a comment today of YOUR NAME and WHERE YOU'RE DOING or have DONE MISSIONS. We honor you, our heroes - missionaries!
(Brandon & Katie ... here's what's coming. Don't eat it all in one day :)
Labels: Missionaries
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
A MODERN DAY PRODIGAL SON
Over the last few weeks at Rex Boyles' blog, the theme has been the Prodigal Son. There have been some powerful post about the prodigal son's return home, the Father and the older brother. When you get time stop by and check them out.
In Phillip Yancey's book "What's so Amazing about Grace," Yancy retells the story of the Prodigal Son from a modern day view point. It is a powerful story and it's definitely worth sharing. Here's the story ...
A young girl grows up on a cherry orchard just above Traverse City, Michigan. Her parents, a bit old-fashioned, tend to overreact to her nose ring, the music she listens to, and the length of her skirts. They ground her a few times, and she seethes inside. "I hate you!" she screams at her father when he knocks on the door of her room after an argument, and that night she acts on a plan she has mentally rehearsed scores of times. She runs away.
She has visited Detroit only once before, on a bus trip with her church youth group to watch the Tigers play. Because newspapers in Traverse City report in lurid detail the gangs, drugs, and violence in downtown Detroit, she concludes that is probably the last place her parents will look for her. California, maybe, or Florida, but not Detroit.
Her second day there she meets a man who drives the biggest car she's ever seen. He offers her a ride, buys her lunch, arranges a place for her to stay. He gives her some pills that make her feel better than she's ever felt before. She was right all along, she decides: Her parents were keeping her from all the fun.
The good life continues for a month, two months, a year. The man with the big car—she calls him "Boss"--teaches her a few things that men like. Since she's underage, men pay a premium for her. She lives in a penthouse and orders room service whenever she wants. Occasionally she thinks about the folks back home, but their lives now seem so boring that she can hardly believe she grew up there. She has a brief scare when she sees her picture printed on the back of a milk carton with the headline, "Have you seen this child?" But by now she has blond hair, and with all the makeup and body-piercing jewelry she wears, nobody would mistake her for a child. Besides, most of her friends are runaways, and nobody squeals in Detroit.
After a year, the first sallow signs of illness appear, and it amazes her how fast the boss turns mean. "These days, we can't mess around," he growls, and before she knows it she's out on the street without a penny to her name. She still turns a couple of tricks a night, but they don't pay much, and all the money goes to support her drug habit. When winter blows in she finds herself sleeping on metal grates outside the big department stores. "Sleeping" is the wrong word—a teenage girl at night in downtown Detroit can never relax her guard. Dark bands circle her eyes. Her cough worsens.
One night, as she lies awake listening for footsteps, all of a sudden everything about her life looks different. She no longer feels like a woman of the world. She feels like a little girl, lost in a cold and frightening city. She begins to whimper. Her pockets are empty and she's hungry. She needs a fix. She pulls her legs tight underneath her and shivers under the newspapers she's piled atop her coat. Something jolts a synapse of memory and a single image fills her mind: of May in Traverse City, when a million cherry trees bloom at once, with her golden retriever dashing through the rows and rows of blossomy trees in chase of a tennis ball.
God, why did I leave? she says to herself, and pain stabs at her heart. My dog back home eats better than I do now. She's sobbing, and she knows in a flash that more than anything else in the world she wants to go home.
Three straight phone calls, three straight connections with the answering machine. She hangs up without leaving a message the first two times, but the third time she says, "Dad, Mom, it's me. I was wondering about maybe coming home. I'm catching a bus up your way, and it'll get there about midnight tomorrow. If you're not there, well, I guess I'll just stay on the bus until it hits Canada."
It takes about seven hours for a bus to make all the stops between Detroit and Traverse City, and during that time she realizes the flaws in her plan. What if her parents are out of town and miss the message? Shouldn't she have waited another day or so until she could talk to them? Even if they are home, they probably wrote her off as dead long ago. She should have given them some time to overcome the shock.
Her thoughts bounce back and forth between those worries and the speech she is preparing for her father. "Dad, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong. It's not your fault, it's all mine. Dad, can you forgive me?" She says the words over and over, her throat tightening even as she rehearses them. She hasn't apologized to anyone in years.
The bus has been driving with lights on since Bay City. Tiny snowflakes hit the road, and the asphalt steams. She's forgotten how dark it gets at night out here. A deer darts across the road and the bus swerves. Every so often, a billboard. A sign posting the mileage to Traverse City. Oh, God.
When the bus finally rolls into the station, its air brakes hissing in protest, the driver announces in a crackly voice over the microphone, "Fifteen minutes, folks. That's all we have here." Fifteen minutes to decide her life. She checks herself in a compact mirror, smooths her hair, and licks the lipstick off her teeth. She looks at the tobacco stains on her fingertips and wonders if her parents will notice. If they're there.
She walks into the terminal not knowing what to expect, and not one of the thousand scenes that have played out in her mind prepare her for what she sees. There, in the concrete-walls-and-plastic-chairs bus terminal in Traverse City, Michigan, stands a group of 40 family members—brothers and sisters and great-aunts and uncles and cousins and a grandmother and great-grandmother to boot. They are all wearing ridiculous-looking party hats and blowing noisemakers, and taped across the entire wall of the terminal is a computer-generated banner that reads "Welcome home!"
Out of the crowd of well-wishers breaks her dad. She looks through tears and begins the memorized speech, "Dad, I'm sorry. I know … "
He interrupts her. "Hush, child. We've got no time for that. No time for apologies. You'll be late for the party. A banquet's waiting for you at home."
And so it is with God's amazing grace. But what's so amazing about it, anyway?
Ask people what they must do to get to return to God and most reply, "Be good." Jesus' stories contradict that answer. All we must do is cry, "Help!" God welcomes home anyone who will have him and, in fact, has made the first move already.
That's what's so amazing about grace.
In Phillip Yancey's book "What's so Amazing about Grace," Yancy retells the story of the Prodigal Son from a modern day view point. It is a powerful story and it's definitely worth sharing. Here's the story ...
THE RUNAWAY
She has visited Detroit only once before, on a bus trip with her church youth group to watch the Tigers play. Because newspapers in Traverse City report in lurid detail the gangs, drugs, and violence in downtown Detroit, she concludes that is probably the last place her parents will look for her. California, maybe, or Florida, but not Detroit.
Her second day there she meets a man who drives the biggest car she's ever seen. He offers her a ride, buys her lunch, arranges a place for her to stay. He gives her some pills that make her feel better than she's ever felt before. She was right all along, she decides: Her parents were keeping her from all the fun.
The good life continues for a month, two months, a year. The man with the big car—she calls him "Boss"--teaches her a few things that men like. Since she's underage, men pay a premium for her. She lives in a penthouse and orders room service whenever she wants. Occasionally she thinks about the folks back home, but their lives now seem so boring that she can hardly believe she grew up there. She has a brief scare when she sees her picture printed on the back of a milk carton with the headline, "Have you seen this child?" But by now she has blond hair, and with all the makeup and body-piercing jewelry she wears, nobody would mistake her for a child. Besides, most of her friends are runaways, and nobody squeals in Detroit.
After a year, the first sallow signs of illness appear, and it amazes her how fast the boss turns mean. "These days, we can't mess around," he growls, and before she knows it she's out on the street without a penny to her name. She still turns a couple of tricks a night, but they don't pay much, and all the money goes to support her drug habit. When winter blows in she finds herself sleeping on metal grates outside the big department stores. "Sleeping" is the wrong word—a teenage girl at night in downtown Detroit can never relax her guard. Dark bands circle her eyes. Her cough worsens.
One night, as she lies awake listening for footsteps, all of a sudden everything about her life looks different. She no longer feels like a woman of the world. She feels like a little girl, lost in a cold and frightening city. She begins to whimper. Her pockets are empty and she's hungry. She needs a fix. She pulls her legs tight underneath her and shivers under the newspapers she's piled atop her coat. Something jolts a synapse of memory and a single image fills her mind: of May in Traverse City, when a million cherry trees bloom at once, with her golden retriever dashing through the rows and rows of blossomy trees in chase of a tennis ball.
God, why did I leave? she says to herself, and pain stabs at her heart. My dog back home eats better than I do now. She's sobbing, and she knows in a flash that more than anything else in the world she wants to go home.
Three straight phone calls, three straight connections with the answering machine. She hangs up without leaving a message the first two times, but the third time she says, "Dad, Mom, it's me. I was wondering about maybe coming home. I'm catching a bus up your way, and it'll get there about midnight tomorrow. If you're not there, well, I guess I'll just stay on the bus until it hits Canada."
It takes about seven hours for a bus to make all the stops between Detroit and Traverse City, and during that time she realizes the flaws in her plan. What if her parents are out of town and miss the message? Shouldn't she have waited another day or so until she could talk to them? Even if they are home, they probably wrote her off as dead long ago. She should have given them some time to overcome the shock.
Her thoughts bounce back and forth between those worries and the speech she is preparing for her father. "Dad, I'm sorry. I know I was wrong. It's not your fault, it's all mine. Dad, can you forgive me?" She says the words over and over, her throat tightening even as she rehearses them. She hasn't apologized to anyone in years.
The bus has been driving with lights on since Bay City. Tiny snowflakes hit the road, and the asphalt steams. She's forgotten how dark it gets at night out here. A deer darts across the road and the bus swerves. Every so often, a billboard. A sign posting the mileage to Traverse City. Oh, God.
When the bus finally rolls into the station, its air brakes hissing in protest, the driver announces in a crackly voice over the microphone, "Fifteen minutes, folks. That's all we have here." Fifteen minutes to decide her life. She checks herself in a compact mirror, smooths her hair, and licks the lipstick off her teeth. She looks at the tobacco stains on her fingertips and wonders if her parents will notice. If they're there.
She walks into the terminal not knowing what to expect, and not one of the thousand scenes that have played out in her mind prepare her for what she sees. There, in the concrete-walls-and-plastic-chairs bus terminal in Traverse City, Michigan, stands a group of 40 family members—brothers and sisters and great-aunts and uncles and cousins and a grandmother and great-grandmother to boot. They are all wearing ridiculous-looking party hats and blowing noisemakers, and taped across the entire wall of the terminal is a computer-generated banner that reads "Welcome home!"
Out of the crowd of well-wishers breaks her dad. She looks through tears and begins the memorized speech, "Dad, I'm sorry. I know … "
He interrupts her. "Hush, child. We've got no time for that. No time for apologies. You'll be late for the party. A banquet's waiting for you at home."
And so it is with God's amazing grace. But what's so amazing about it, anyway?
Ask people what they must do to get to return to God and most reply, "Be good." Jesus' stories contradict that answer. All we must do is cry, "Help!" God welcomes home anyone who will have him and, in fact, has made the first move already.
That's what's so amazing about grace.
Labels: Forgiveness, God, God's Love
Monday, September 24, 2007
MR. SOMEDAY
In Jr. High he knew what he should do. He'd been taught in church that he needed to give his life for Christ. But right now he wouldn't, because he just didn't feel like he knew enough. "I'll wait till high school," he thought. So he waited. He would do it someday. In high school he knew what he should do. He needed to give his life to Christ, but this is high school. What would everybody think? He didn't want to be seen as a "bible-thumper," a "goody-goody" or anything like that. He thought to himself, "I have no doubt that someday I'll do it, but just not right now. Probably in college." So he waited.
College came and it was fun. For the first time in his life he was out on his own, there was no one to answer to, and he was "experiencing" life. He knew he should give his life to Christ, but he thought, "This is college, and I'm supposed to be trying the new things of the world. Someday I'll give my life to Christ, but now is not the time. When I get out of college I'll settle down."
College came and went. He now had a job and a career. It was his first real job, and he was climbing the company ladder. He was so busy and life had changed. He thought to himself, "There's no way I can give my life to Christ right now, I have no time. I don't want to dedicate my life to Christ until I can be 100% committed. Someday when I have a family, I'll do it."
He fell madly in love with a beautiful girl. They were married and had 3 wonderful children. Every now and then he'd tell his wife, "Honey, one of these days we need to get started going to church." Then he'd think to himself, "I'm promise I'm going to give my life to Christ someday, but right now it's so hard. My job, being a husband and raising kids requires so much time. Someday, when I'm retired. Then I'll have plenty of time."
The kids grew up and were all gone now. He and his wife purchased an RV to travel in during their retirement. He was ready to spend some time with her and settle down. He thought to himself, "It's time to give my life to Christ. It's time to be committed to Him, and someday very soon I will."
Two months into his retirement he died of a massive heart attack. His someday never came.
I've met a lot of someday people in my lifetime. People who are full of excuses on why they wait to give their life FULLY to Christ.
"Jesus said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
~ Luke 9:59-62
Don't be a someday person?
Labels: Christian Living
Saturday, September 22, 2007
HOW TO TELL WHEN YOUR PREACHER IS BLOGGING TOO MUCH
Thursday, September 20, 2007
BIRTHDAYS, FORTUNE COOKIES & ACCOUNTIBILITY
Let me kick things off with a "Happy Birthday" to the big Coop! Way to go Cooper - 6 years old today!!! He got to choose where he wanted to go eat for supper last night. He chose Chinese food at the Deuce. He's a smart kid ("Train up a child in the way he should go..."). Wow, Lea is sure a good sport about all this Chinese food. Recently while eating at the Deuce, one of the boys mentioned that this was just like heaven is going to be, "We're going to be eating Chinese food in heaven every day." To which Lea replied, "If I'm eating Chinese food after I'm dead ... I didn't make it to heaven." - For all the 100's of fortune cookies we've opened last year, 99% of them have been really lame. Here recently we've been on a pretty good fortune cookie roll. We had a cool one the other day that said, "A rub and a tub will do a body good." Amen to that one. Then just last week Lea opened one that said, "Go ahead and be as sexy as you can." I personally think she's already got that one down to an art.
- For the first time in about 15 years, we have no kids at home during the day. With Cooper starting kindergarten this year, Lea and I are enjoying some new quality time after we get the kids off to school. It's been really cool to have about an hour every morning to talk, drink coffee, pray, etc. We're talking about doing a Bible study together in the mornings, which I think is a GREAT idea. We're currently reading a book together and discussing it. It's been pretty fun to do. Can't wait to tell you more about it, but I've got to get Lea's permission.
- Here's something cool ... me and a couple of other men have all got a "Proverbs" accountability thing going. We started reading a chapter of Proverbs every day. I don't think you can go wrong reading words from the wisest man in history. Here is how we're doing it. Whatever the date of the month is, that's the chapter we read (IE - today's the 21st, so we read Proverbs 21). Since there's 31 chapters in Proverbs, we're reading the book completely through every month. Periodically, we ask each other how we liked this verse or that verse from the chapter we read that day. It's been really cool to have some accountability on the reading (Rickey & Ryan - you better get it done today). Tuesday I text-messaged Rickey from my cell phone and asked him, "What did you think of verse 22 today (18:22 )?" He immediately texted me back, "We're two lucky guys aren't we?" I replied, "Oh, yea!"
3 Questions ...
- Have you ever got a cool message in a fortune cookie?
- Have you ever had a Bible study with your husband/wife?
- Do you have any accountability groups?
WHY WOULD CHURCHES DO THIS?
I'm really confused. It makes me angry. And it makes no sense to me whatsoever. A church here in Texas dropped all their mission works from their budget and told their missionaries that they were supporting, "We're sorry, but your support ends at the end of the year" ... WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS? Simple ... because they wanted to build a new auditorium and couldn't afford to do both.
Who knows, maybe I've misinterpreted Mark 16:15-16. Maybe what Jesus was really saying was, "Go into all the world and preach the good news, but only if you can afford it and you don't have a building project going on ..."
Sorry about the preaching today, but something seems way wrong here to me. I wonder what God thinks about it?
Labels: Church, Missionaries
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A REAL DAD
Hey dads, here's one for you... Want to know who holds the record for fathering the most children by one wife? It's a Russian father who has 69 children. Unbelievable? Nope, it's true. This Russian father has 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets. Humble yourselves dads - you're not as prolific as you thought you were!
I also read where NFL running back Travis Henry has 9 children by 9 different women. I'm not sure that's anything to be real proud of.
The thing we men need to realize is that it takes more than sperm to be a "real" dad. Your manhood should never be measured by the amount of children you have, but what kind of father you are. It takes a man to be a real dad (Ephesians 6:4). Here are a few things "real" dads do:
- Be there for your kids.
- Read to your children.
- Be a good role model.
- Spend time one-on-one with each child.
- Treat the mother of your children with respect.
- Pray together.
- Play together.
- Help with your children's home work.
- Set clear, consistent limits.
- Listen to your children.
- Know your children's friends.
- Go with your children to church.
- Take your children to work with you.
- Be affectionate.
- Read the Bible together.
A real dad simply doesn't produce children, but a real dad is committed to his children. Because there can be no "real" fathering with out commitment.
Don't just produce kids, be a dad.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
TAKE A SPIRITUAL RISK
I love playing games, but not games that last more than about an hour. So when it comes to games like Monopoly and Risk, I'm not a big fan. I just can't sit still that long. But my kids love long games like Risk. They'll invite friends over and play a game of Risk for hours. One thing you'll learn quickly from the game of Risk is the only way you can win at the game is to take risks.
Life isn't really any different than the game Risk. God created you to be a risk taker. I'm not talking about parachuting out of a plane or running with the bulls in Spain. But when you were born, it took a risk for you to come into this world. You were encouraged by your parents to take a risk and take your first steps. Later in life some risks you took were things like ...
Even spiritually we sometimes preach a gospel of safety. Brian Nicklaus challenged my thinking and asked some tough questions about taking spiritual risks in a post last week called "Is She a Martyr." Here is what Brian asked, "Do we too often preach the gospel of common sense and personal safety? We are afraid to drive on icy roads to a worship assembly, even though believers in early centuries risked their necks and property to assemble in public. Many today walk barefoot or ride a bike for miles to be with the brethren at given assembly. Many today still risk loss of life and property for assembling."
And,
"How many parents would be proud of their child who enlists to fight against worldly enemies in foreign land, compared to the number of parents who would encourage, or even allow their kids to be missionaries and live in those same dangerous places?"
God created us to be risk takers. Matthew 25:14-30 tells us about the three servants that were each given a certain amount of talents (money) to care for. Two of the servants took risks with their talents and doubled their master's money. But the bible says that the third servant chose to dig a hole and hide his talent. When the master returned the two servants who risked something and doubled their masters money were commended as, "good and faithful servants." The third servant, who had taken no risk and had hid his master's money, gave this explanation to his master, "I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. SO I WAS AFRAID and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you." His master replied, "You wicked, lazy servant! ...Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
God created you to be a risk taker, not servants who hide their talents in a hole. Live spiritually the way God created you ... take a risk. Quit taking the easy road. Instead of trying to just be "comfortable" in your faith, try taking a risk this week. I challenge you to take a huge spiritual risk this week.
Life isn't really any different than the game Risk. God created you to be a risk taker. I'm not talking about parachuting out of a plane or running with the bulls in Spain. But when you were born, it took a risk for you to come into this world. You were encouraged by your parents to take a risk and take your first steps. Later in life some risks you took were things like ...
- A marriage proposal
- Taking a new job
- Investments
- Buying a new car
Even spiritually we sometimes preach a gospel of safety. Brian Nicklaus challenged my thinking and asked some tough questions about taking spiritual risks in a post last week called "Is She a Martyr." Here is what Brian asked, "Do we too often preach the gospel of common sense and personal safety? We are afraid to drive on icy roads to a worship assembly, even though believers in early centuries risked their necks and property to assemble in public. Many today walk barefoot or ride a bike for miles to be with the brethren at given assembly. Many today still risk loss of life and property for assembling."
And,
"How many parents would be proud of their child who enlists to fight against worldly enemies in foreign land, compared to the number of parents who would encourage, or even allow their kids to be missionaries and live in those same dangerous places?"
God created us to be risk takers. Matthew 25:14-30 tells us about the three servants that were each given a certain amount of talents (money) to care for. Two of the servants took risks with their talents and doubled their master's money. But the bible says that the third servant chose to dig a hole and hide his talent. When the master returned the two servants who risked something and doubled their masters money were commended as, "good and faithful servants." The third servant, who had taken no risk and had hid his master's money, gave this explanation to his master, "I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. SO I WAS AFRAID and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you." His master replied, "You wicked, lazy servant! ...Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
God created you to be a risk taker, not servants who hide their talents in a hole. Live spiritually the way God created you ... take a risk. Quit taking the easy road. Instead of trying to just be "comfortable" in your faith, try taking a risk this week. I challenge you to take a huge spiritual risk this week.
- Serve someone undeserving this week.
- Forgive someone you haven't been able to forgive (and then tell them about it).
- Put someone before yourself.
- Confess the sin you've been hiding.
- Make a phone call to someone who would never expect to hear from you.
- Apologize and say, "I'm sorry."
- Invite a friend to church.
- Come back to God.
- Give outrageously.
- Tell someone about God.
God created you to be a risk taker and if you're not willing to risk anything ... you will probably risk losing everything.
Labels: Christian Living
Saturday, September 15, 2007
DO YOU HAVE OLDER BROTHER DISEASE?
Luke 15 tells the story of the Prodigal Son. It's a story about a son who chooses to leave his father, his home and go live a life of sin. It's also an amazing story of grace when the son returns home. The story of the Prodigal Son has been taught, preached and loved for years.
The part of the story that we often like to forget is the story of his older brother at the end of the chapter. It's the story where the older brother refuses to celebrate his younger brother's return. We don't like this story because it's the part in the story that many of us play everyday. It's a role that is just as dangerous spiritually as the role of the "lost" or prodigal son.
"Older Brother Disease" is a terrible spiritual sickness that can only be cured by repentance, softening your heart to God's word and understanding God's amazing grace. You may have the spiritual disease and not even realize it? How do you know if you have "older brother disease?" Here are some symptoms ...
The part of the story that we often like to forget is the story of his older brother at the end of the chapter. It's the story where the older brother refuses to celebrate his younger brother's return. We don't like this story because it's the part in the story that many of us play everyday. It's a role that is just as dangerous spiritually as the role of the "lost" or prodigal son.
"Older Brother Disease" is a terrible spiritual sickness that can only be cured by repentance, softening your heart to God's word and understanding God's amazing grace. You may have the spiritual disease and not even realize it? How do you know if you have "older brother disease?" Here are some symptoms ...
- Do you question others motives when they repent of their sin?
- Do you refuse to celebrate when one returns from being lost?
- Do you continue to hold their sin against them even though they've asked for forgiveness?
- Do you treat them differently because of their past sin?
- Do you consider their sins worse in God's eyes than your sins?
- Do you question if God's grace is able to forgive them fully?
- Do you feel God likes you better because you've never publicly sinned?
- Do you feel that you've earned your love and acceptance from God because of your faithfulness?
- Do you think when someone repents they ought to be on "spiritual probation" till they prove their worthy to once again work in the church?
If you answered yes to any of these ... you may have "older brother disease!" But let me be real honest with you... I have had it before. I don't know how many spiritual parties and celebrations I missed because I was questioning God's ability to forgive. I still struggle with it sometimes. Just about the time I think I have it whipped, it rears its ugly head again. The thing that really helped me overcome my "older brother" sickness is when I began to realize just how AMAZING God's grace really is. Think about it ...
- David - Committed two of the biggies (adultery & murder) and yet was still a man after God's own heart. Amazing!
- Manasseh - The most evil king that ever ruled Israel. What did he do? He sacrificed his own son on an altar to a foreign god. He took the lives of God's prophets and literally laughed in God's face. But at the end of his life when God punishes Manasseh for his sin, Manasseh decides to repent. And you won't believe it, but God forgives him. What? God forgave him? Yep! I couldn't believe it either. Amazing!
- Jonah - Want to know why Jonah jumped a boat in the opposite direction of Nineveh? Because he knew "God was merciful and would forgive," and he didn't want God to do that. Amazing!
- The Woman at the Well - She was married five times and was shacking up with another man when she met Jesus. Yet Jesus found her incredibly important and salvation worthy. Amazing!
- The Woman caught in Adultery - Sadly, had I been there, I would have probably been holding a stone. But Jesus told her, "Is there no one here to condemn you? Then neither do I condemn you, go and leave your life of sin." Amazing!
- The Thief on the Cross - One of the greatest stories of God's amazing grace ever, but I missed it most of my life because I was too busy arguing about the thief's salvation.
Don't be the older brother. If you have the disease, admit it and ask God to forgive you. Let’s realize that no matter how good we are, we are all saved by God’s grace! And, let’s forgive those whom God has forgiven.
Now, there's a party going on out there and you're missing it. So, let's get in there and celebrate!
Labels: Forgiveness, God, Grace
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
HELPING OUT A BUM
When it comes to people asking me for money, I’ve always battled the “who do I help” and “who do I not help” question. I've literally heard every sob-story and every sad excuse for why someone needs __________ (you can fill in the blank). I’ve finally come to the realization that I'm just going to help everyone I can and let God figure out if they were being honest or not. I figure I'd rather help people that didn’t need it, than miss an opportunity to help someone who did. I’ve also noticed that most of the time helping others really helps me.I’ve never called a homeless person a bum, but I met what many refer to as a “bum” the other night. He walked up to my window at the Sonic drive-in and asked for a few bucks so he could get something to eat. From the looks of him, he was obviously WAY down on his luck. I could clearly smell cigarette smoke and liquor on him. No telling how long it had been since this guy had a bath. I noticed his speech was a little slurred as he handed me a quarter and said, "I'll trade you my very last quarter for a few dollars." I like this guys approach. I told him that wasn't very fair, because I felt I was getting the better end of that deal. "There's not too many times in your life that you get a man's last quarter," I told him. I gave him a five dollar bill and gave him his quarter back. I really didn't think much of it till my kids, who were all sitting in the back seat said, "Dad, that was really cool you helping him out like that." Then it hit me that maybe, just maybe, I not only fed a "bum" but also taught my boys a lesson about helping others.
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give your something to drink?" ... Then the King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"
(For more on helping needy people read John Dobbs excellent post called, "Getting to the Why.")
DROPPING THE F-WORD
I didn't know him, and he didn't know me, but I hurt his feelings. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but I know did. I was just so caught off guard. What happened? A group of guys had just gathered, and this man started to tell a story. He had peppered the story with plenty of curse words, and then to finish it off he dropped a couple of big "f-bombs." They were all words I'd heard before. That wasn't what shocked me. It was when we were introduced, and he learned that I was a minister. He said, "You're a minister? Cool. I have a question about something that we were studying about in Bible class this week." I immediately said, "YOU GO TO CHURCH?" The second I said it, I thought, "Oops, did I just say that out loud?" I didn't mean to say it or say it that loudly, it just came out. I guess I was thinking it, and it just came out of my mouth. I could tell by the look on his face that I'd hurt his feelings. I wasn't trying to, but I was just in shock. He'd just finished a story that used every profanity in the book, and then he turns to me and says something about going to church this past Sunday.
I apologized and explained to him, "I just didn't know that Christians and people who go to "church" use all those kinds of words to tell a story." I could see him thinking hard about what I'd just said. Then he apologized and actually said, "Yea, you're right. Thanks for reminding me."
I personally feel that there is no place in a Christian's vocabulary for profanity. I can't imagine someone listening to a person talk about Jesus, their faith or church, when they also have heard that same person use profanity.
And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring. ~ James 3:10-12
Labels: Christian Living
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
I WILL NEVER FORGET
I remember it vividly. I was in a paramedic class getting ready to take a test, when someone came in and said, "Somebody just flew a plane into a building in New York City." I will never forget.
Where were you when it happened?
Labels: General
Monday, September 10, 2007
WHY MINISTERS QUIT
It happened again this past week. Another minister has left the ministry. When I asked him why, his explanation was simply, "I'm just burned out."
In an article I read recently by Dan Chun, he tells about Peter Drucker, the late leadership guru, who said, "the four hardest jobs in America (and not necessarily in order, he added) are the president of the United States, a university president, a CEO of a hospital and ... a pastor/minister."
Latest statistics from the book, "Pastors At Greater Risk" by H.B London Jr. and Neil Wiseman," say that ministers don't make it to retirement because they are either burned out, fired, have a moral breakdown or just quit. Here are some of the statistics...
In an article I read recently by Dan Chun, he tells about Peter Drucker, the late leadership guru, who said, "the four hardest jobs in America (and not necessarily in order, he added) are the president of the United States, a university president, a CEO of a hospital and ... a pastor/minister."
Latest statistics from the book, "Pastors At Greater Risk" by H.B London Jr. and Neil Wiseman," say that ministers don't make it to retirement because they are either burned out, fired, have a moral breakdown or just quit. Here are some of the statistics...
- 80 percent of ministers say they have insufficient time with their spouse and that ministry has a negative effect on their family.
- 40 percent report a serious conflict with a parishioner once a month.
- 33 percent say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
- 75 percent report they've had a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.
- 58 percent of ministers indicate that their spouse needs to work either part time or full time to supplement the family income.
- 45 percent of ministers' wives say the greatest danger to them and family is physical, emotional, mental and spiritual burnout.
- 21 percent of ministers' wives want more privacy.
- Ministers who work fewer than 50 hours a week are 35 percent more likely to be terminated.
- 40 percent of ministers have considered leaving the ministry in the past three months.
Chun says, "Church members expect their minister to be on call seven days a week; few churches give their minister two full days off. They work on holidays — Christmas Eve, Easter and Thanksgiving — and never have a three-day weekend. People expect them to have perfect marriages and kids and drive cars and live in homes that are acceptable."
My point is not to point fingers at churches, but to say, "What can we do to reverse the statistics?" We're losing too many good quality ministers.
Here are a few questions for those who are not in ministry ...
- Do these statistics surprise you?
- If you're not in ministry, would you take a job that had statistics like those above?
- What can be done to reverse some of the above statistics?
I'd also love to hear from those who are in ministry ...
- Do these statistics surprise you?
- What is the most difficult part of ministry for you?
- What things would you like to see churches do for the benefits of those in ministry?
- What does your church do for you that helps to ease some of the stress from your ministry?
Click here to read some things you can do to encourage your minister. Click here to read some things you can do to make your minister want to quit.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
4 NEW "MUST READ" BLOGS
If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know that from time to time I like to mention new blogs that are really blessing me. Here are four new blogs I've added to my "must check" daily list. They may be worth your stopping by and reading too.
- Craig Hicks - Craig's blog is both honest and real. Craig will make you laugh at one moment and pull at your heart strings the next. Craig shares his heart like no other blog I've seen. He hides nothing and pulls no punches. I love Craig's blog!
- Brandon and Katie Price - Brandon and Katie are a young couple doing mission work in Ukraine. I have absolutely fallen in love with this young couple and their desire to do God's work. Their love for God and ability to reach the lost is amazing. Because of their spiritual adventures they write about everyday, their blog has become a regular stop for me.
- Rex Boyles - Let me just warn you ... if you're not wanting to be challenged or touched then stay far away from Rex's blog. Rex's blog will open your eyes to a Jesus you may never have seen. Some of Rex's posts will make you uncomfortable ... and there is NOTHING wrong with that. I have been so blessed by Rex's teaching for years and now he's blessing me with his blog too.
- Matt Howell - Matt is a loving husband, a great dad, a deacon and my friend. Matt just started blogging about two weeks ago. Matt has the ability to find some great spiritual applications in his everyday activities. Matt's blog is one of my regular stops too. Stop by and say "hello" to Matt when you get time.
Labels: Blogging
Friday, September 07, 2007
I HAVE MATURED - I THINK
I've matured. Believe it or not, I really have matured. You can even ask Lea if I've matured (Okay, maybe it wouldn't be best to ask Lea). But, I really feel that I have matured over the last 20 years in my marriage, as a person and as a Christian. What really excites me is I can see spiritual maturity in my life. One of the ways that I know I've grown and matured is that my dreams have changed. Years ago my dreams centered around me doing something great and being the center of attention. Here are 3 silly examples of my old dreams.
- BASKETBALL: I remember in about 10th grade dreaming of scoring the winning shot in the championship basketball game. I'd sit in English class, dreaming off in my own little world and play the video over and over in my head. There I was with 3 seconds on the clock and the ball comes to me. I have to shoot or we will lose. So I shoot the ball up over the tallest person on the other team just as the buzzer goes off. Believe it or not, the ball would swoosh through the net as the buzzer went off to win the championship game. And, of course, as I shot that game winning shot, I just so happened to fall into the lap of all the cheerleaders. Yea, some dream, huh? I'd replay that dream over and over in my head in that English class. (Come to think of it, I don't think I made a very good grade in that class. Sure don't know why!)
- AIRPLANES: I also remember the airplane dream in 11th grade (probably during the same English class I had to retake). You know the airplane dream don't you? The one where the pilot and co-pilot eat bad fish and they need someone to fly the plane. The stewardesses, who just happen to be the same cheerleaders from the first dream, ask, "Can anyone fly the plane? We're going to die if someone can't fly the plane." I sit there waiting for someone to raise their hand and no one does, so I raise mine and say, "I guess if no one else can fly the plane I'll do it." Believe it or not, I land the plane safely. Everyone lives and I'm a hero, not knowing at the time that the plane was full of important people that I saved like Senators, millionaires, sports heroes and of course those cheerleaders who worked as stewardesses. Television crews were there for interviews. I still remember the interview. I said with an "awe shucks" tone, "I didn't do anything all that great. It really wasn't that big of a deal."
- TULSA WORKSHOP: Then there was preaching school. Two young preaching students dreaming about brotherhood fame. My friend Craig Hicks and I would sit in class and dream about getting to preach at the Tulsa Soul Winning Workshop. It was the biggest and grandest of all workshops. They only invited the best of the best to speak at the Tulsa Workshop so we'd talk about getting "the call." Terry Rush would say, "Craig & Trey, we need you to preach at the Tulsa Workshop this year. We have big problems, Marvin's sick and Walling's getting a little to 'out there' for us, so we need you guys to fill in." Craig and I would always answer, "Terry, we'll have to check our appointment books to see if we are even available that weekend. We're really booked these days you know." Then Craig and I would say, "Yea, we'll help you out. We'd hate for you to cancel the Workshop this year." Craig and I would talk out the scenarios of the Tulsa Workshop over and over, and dream of speaking in the Pavilion in front of thousands of people. Wow, that was a dream too. (Craig and I actually discussed this funny story recently: here. And did you notice I finally out grew the cheerleaders?)
I look back at dreams like these and laugh. I'm thankful I've matured and my dreams have changed. I'm not into dreams about basketball shots, piloting planes, cheerleaders or even speaking at the Tulsa Workshop anymore. I'm thankful that my dreams are not about "me" anymore. Instead I'm pretty content with being a dad, a husband and Christian. And as for dreams now, I still have three: Raise four boys to be fine Christian young men, be the loving husband Lea deserves and be a faithful follower of Jesus.
Labels: Morgan Family, Spiritual Growth
Thursday, September 06, 2007
PARENTS ARE ROLE MODELS
Ran across this video again yesterday. It reminded me that this is still one of the most powerful videos I've ever seen on being a good role model for our children.
What are your kids learning from you?
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
CHURCH WHEN I WAS A KID
No matter how hard I try, I can't ever remember not going to church. That's probably because I always have. I was raised in a family that never missed. And I do mean never. There was no such thing as, "I'm not going to church tonight because I have too much homework." I didn't know you could even skip church unless you were deathly ill. I'm thankful for how I was raised and the memories I have of church "when I was a kid." A lot of things have changed about "church" since I was little. Here are a few things I remember from long ago...
- I can remember waking up on Sunday morning to the smell of Mom browning a roast for Sunday dinner. Man, that was the best smell in the world.
- I can still remember sharing one bathroom with 5 sisters and a brother on Sunday mornings, and still making it to services on time.
- I remember Gospel Meetings lasting a week. I loved it because I got to see my church friends every night that week, not just on Sundays and Wednesdays.
- I can remember as a little boy pointing out to my mom the first time I ever saw a woman wearing a pair of pants in church. I was shocked. I'd never seen a woman "at church" in anything but a dress. Years later, I remember the first time I saw a woman wear a pair of jeans in a church service. Again, I was shocked. Up to that point, women had only worn dresses or dress pants. About 10 years ago, I also remember the first time I saw teenagers wearing shorts to church. I wasn't really shocked.
- I remember in Jr. High the preacher's daughter having a crush on me and bringing me candy all the time. I didn't get much candy at home so I strung her along. :)
- I clearly remember pointing out to my buddies a very young girl at church and telling them, "I'm not sure who she is, but when she gets older, she's going to be fine (that was the word we used to use for hot)." It was Lea when she was about a 7th grader.
- I remember Cled Click's class on sex when I was in 9th grade. I remember pretending like it was funny at the time, but I was really glad we were having it because I had lots of questions.
What do you remember about "church" when you were growing up?
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
10 TRAITS OF A HEALTY FAMILY
- A HEALTHY FAMILY DISPLAYS AN IRRATIONAL LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER. It's not just any love, it's irrational and unconditional. It's an "I'd die for you love." It's a love that would go to any length to help one another.
- A HEALTHY FAMILY COMMUNICATES TO ONE ANOTHER IN A LOVING AND GRACEFUL WAY. The inability to communicate is one of the top reasons for divorce in America. We need to learn to communicate in a way that shows love and grace. No yelling, no name calling and no pouting when you don't get your way. As Steven Covey puts it, "See first to understand and then to be understood."
- A HEALTHY FAMILY AFFIRMS THE VALUE AND UNIQUENESS OF EACH PERSON IN THE FAMILY. God must have a sense of humor. Why else would He put polar opposites in families. I wrote about this recently in detail (here). Every person in your family is valuable and important. God made them just the way He wanted them. There should be no black sheep or outcasts in families.
- A HEALTHY FAMILY VOWS TO NEVER ABUSE, SHAME OR INTIMIDATE ONE ANOTHER. The most deeply wounded in this world are those who have looked to their parents for love and support, but instead of receiving love they were yelled at, kicked or hit. Parents who abuse, shame and intimidate their children take home all the prizes at a "soul-shattering" contest. Healthy families don't do this!
- A HEALTHY FAMILY SHARES A COMMON SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION. Families today don't need a little dose of God but a LARGE dose of God. Families need dads to be the spiritual leaders in the homes and not just send their families to church but go with them.
- A HEALTHY FAMILY INSTILLS A SENSE OF RESPECT FOR ONE ANOTHER. Parents should start teaching their children at a young age that God loves everyone. He doesn't love one class of people more than another or one race of people more than another. Red, yellow, black and white, they are all precious in His sight. We are to respect others, because God loves them.
- A HEALTHY FAMILY TEACHES BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS. It's frustrating to look around and see that no one wants to take responsibility for their actions anymore. Everyone is looking to blame everyone else for what they did wrong. It's time that we start teaching in our families again that we take responsibilities for our own actions.
- A HEALTHY FAMILY PLAYS TOGETHER. The most vivid memories I have as a kid are those that involve a time that we were playing as a family. A vacation, a backyard ballgame or a trip to grandparents. Playing as a family is essential. It builds lasting memories and teaches us it's okay to have fun. I believe the family that plays together stays together.
- A HEALTHY FAMILY CELEBRATES RITUALS AND TRADITIONS TOGETHER. Rituals and traditions teach your children permanence. It tells them ahead of time, "we'll be together again next year." I have a friend that always took his four boys to the state basketball tournament every year. They stayed in the same hotel, ate at the same restaurants and stopped at the same places. It taught his boys that it didn't matter how crazy things got in life sometimes, they always knew that come spring they'd be going to Austin for the basketball tourney with dad. They would be together and everything was going to be okay.
- A HEALTHY FAMILY SEEKS HELP WHEN THEY HAVE PROBLEMS. Healthy families don't sweep problems under the rug. They don't pretend like everything is okay. Instead, a healthy family seeks help when they have a problem they can't handle by themselves. They seek help from a counselor, minister, elder or friend. But what ever you do, don't just ignore it and think it'll go away.
HOMEWORK: How about a little homework assignment? I'm planning on sharing this list with my family tonight at supper to see what they think. I plan on asking them how we are doing on these things and see if they can think of any others I've missed. I challenge you to do the same. Sit down with your family and talk about the list, and ask them, "How are we doing on each of these? Are we a healthy family that's batting 1000 or are we striking out on some of these?" Then after discussing the list, post it on the refrigerator or some place that it can be seen, so it will remind you of what you've promised each other. Besides in a few months your son or daughter will probably look at it and remind you, "Number 8 on this list says we're supposed to play together ... do we intend to do that in my lifetime?"
Labels: Family, Top Ten List
Monday, September 03, 2007
CALL IT LUCK, BUT SPELL IT G-O-D
I had watched Tay grow up from a small child to a beautiful 18 year old girl. She'd come all the way through the church's youth program and would be leaving for college that year. She was always happy and cheerful, but that night at camp I could tell something was bothering her. She seemed worried for a Christian girl who seemed to have it all together. I finally asked her, "Tay, is everything alright?"
She said, "I'm struggling with what I can pray to God about. I'm just not sure God is concerned about the things that are really bothering me right now."
I was a little confused, so I asked her to tell me what she meant.
I remember she said with big crocodile tears in her eyes, "I'm really struggling with making my car payment and my relationship with my boyfriend. Can I pray about these things to God? They are not really "spiritual" things!"
As I listened to her, I remember thinking how much her earthy father loved her and what a great relationship they had together. So I asked her, "Tay, if you are having problems with your car payment and your relationship with your boyfriend do you think that your dad would want to know?"
I remember her quick answer, "Sure, he loves me and wants to know everything. In fact, he'd be hurt if I didn't tell him those things."
I replied, "Then what makes you think that your Heavenly Father would feel any different? If your dad loves it when you climb up on his lap and tell him all your concerns, then why would your Heavenly Father be any different? Believe it or not Tay, your dad doesn't love you half as much as Heavenly Dad does."
I remember her not saying a word for the longest time as she thought about that concept of God. Then a big sweet smile came across her face. She had gotten the picture.
As she walked off, I asked her where she was going. "To pray," she said.
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." ~Luke 11:9-10 (NLT)
(Have you ever had one of those moments when you felt like you said just the right thing at the right time to help someone? Call it luck if you want - as long as you spell luck G-O-D.)
Saturday, September 01, 2007
SEX OFFENDER LOCATOR TOOL
I read recently on Church Relevance.com that Vision 20/20 has created a free online sex offender locator's tool that lets you search for predators within a specific community. The tool not only shows you the location of each registered sex offender in you community but also allows you to learn more about each sex offender including what offences they have committed and a what they look like.
This is a great resource for church security departments who want to be aware of and be able to recognize people who visit their church who have previously been convicted of a crime such as “lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years” or “child pornography.”
Sadly, did you know that 16% of boys and 20% of girls are sexually molested before their 18th birthday? It is our responsibility to keep the children safe while attending church. Be aware of what threats may be living just a few blocks away.
Just out of curiosity ... does your church or place of employment do any background checks on teachers or staff?
This is a great resource for church security departments who want to be aware of and be able to recognize people who visit their church who have previously been convicted of a crime such as “lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years” or “child pornography.”
Sadly, did you know that 16% of boys and 20% of girls are sexually molested before their 18th birthday? It is our responsibility to keep the children safe while attending church. Be aware of what threats may be living just a few blocks away.
Just out of curiosity ... does your church or place of employment do any background checks on teachers or staff?
Labels: General
