There's been a book that has been a comfort to me in my walk with the Lord as I parent a prodigal by Ruth Bell Graham called Prodigals and Those Who Love Them: Words of Encouragement For Those Who Wait. Waiting on a prodigal is hard, and this isn't a how-to book but a book of prayers and promises and meditations in the Word for troubled hearts. One section of the book that was a comfort to me and my hope is it will be to you too - whether you have a prodigal or not was the section titled: ... continue reading...
God Appoints Our Portion
I don't like to be interrupted. My heart is not always ready to do what God has appointed for me at the moment. I seem to forget that God appoints my portion. Most of the time I don't see it as an appointment from God but as an interruption. Those interruptions show that I have a heart that needs to be pruned because my heart should be saying "Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king decides" (2 Samuel 15:15). Whatever I'm doing at that moment is not more important than ... continue reading...
Podcast Ep 45: Our Best Parenting is Done by Prayer
God’s Word reminds us: I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. ~ John 15:5 “apart from me you can do nothing” is a continual reminder that I am utterly dependent on the Lord to do anything. There are many things I can do without dependence on Christ, but the reality is I have achieved “nothing” in God’s sight. This is so true in the raising of our children. Our children are a ... continue reading...
Podcast Ep 43: Hope for Imperfect Parents
How many imperfect parents out there? Raise your hands. I’m hoping all my parents out there raised their hands. We are going to experience failure in our parenting – it’s not an option but a reality in our lives on this fallen earth. Don’t we all find ourselves at times sure that we’ve ruined our children? How many times have we yelled, acted rashly in our correction and the list of mistakes and sinful responses towards them we’ve made over the years sadly goes on. We’re going to fail – ... continue reading...
Cultivating a Gentle Spirit
What does it look like to have a gentle spirit? We live in a world where it can be quick to pass judgments instead of seeing the best in others. We can find ourselves expressing our opinions harshly when we differ from one another. Watching debates between Christians online when there is a disagreement makes me cringe a bit when I see the responses towards one another not gentle and kind. Disagreement is inevitable, but there is a way as believers that God's Word lays out for us what that ... continue reading...
