Matthew 10 Do Not Worry! We hear the word syndrome, but do we know what it means? Here is one definition: A distinctive or characteristic pattern of behavior. Worry falls into that category and our children often exhibit this due to varying circumstances. Another word for worry is anxiety or being anxious. One of the greatest challenges in our children’s lives is that they tend to worry. They worry about many things. Worry is one of those nagging sins that we and they carry like a trophy and it disturbs not just ourselves but spills over into our relationships with others. We worry about what tomorrow will bring or we…

Author: Lucille Williams Why is it so hard to live by grace for ourselves as a parent? As I was raising my children when they had behavior that was, let’s just say, “unbecoming,” my first instinct was to blame myself. Did I not teach them right? Did I not model good behavior? Is this because of the fight I had with hubby this morning? Is this my fault? And now that my children are all grown (and they seem to be struggling in an area) it can sometimes morph into self-blame, again. Did I totally miss the mark on my parenting? How can this be happening, didn’t I teach them…

Sunday School Chronicles Me: So when we last left off, Jonah was telling the Ninevites they had 40 days to get right or get gone. What do you think the people of Nineveh chose? Kid 1: To get right? Kid 2: To get gone! Me: First answer obvi! They chose to do the right thing. Did God force it? Kids: No! Me: No. God gives us choices but He will never force or make us do anything we don’t want to do. That’s not who He is. That’s not how He rolls. Through Jonah, He gave Nineveh choices. Luckily for Nineveh, they chose right. They didn’t just apologize, they showed…

Summer is here and with it comes vacations or holidays as the UK says, time to relax and turn back to reading some new and old favorite books. Children enjoy this time, and we should as well. But, as we read, we are cautioned to be alert to this deadly d sin: sluggishness or dull. We can read but not comprehend. We can read but not enjoy it. We can read but not utterly understand the author’s motives and thought process.   The author of Hebrews chastises the reader with these words: “On this topic we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become…

Life After a Heart Attack by Lucille Williams I feel like I’ve been given a second chance at life. Not that my life was bad before, on the contrary, I was quite happy with my life, but when your husband has a major heart attack while you’re holding his hand, it changes things. It changed my perspective. It changed my outlook on life. It changed everything. Even though I wasn’t the one experiencing the actual heart attack I went through it too. I went through the fright. I went through the tears. I went through realizing this could be the end for him. And at the same time, I knew…

Sunday School Chronicles Me: So last week we learned that God commanded the big fish to swallow Jonah and spit Jonah up on the dry land of Nineveh. Kids: EWW. Me: I know! But that’s exactly how it happened. So Jonah goes right back to where he started. He tells the people that Nineveh will be destroyed in 40 days. Kids: What??? Really? Me: Yes! Whether they like it or not, they’re getting permanently evicted in 40 days. How do you think the Ninevites handled it? Kid 1: They were mad. Kid 2: Some started leaving. Me: Well, they prayed. Not only did they pray, they apologized for hurting God…

Phil 2 Real Life Joy Children learn an acronym and recite it: J-O-Y which translates to Jesus first, others second, yourself last. We all need to use that in our witness and our everyday life. Paul wanted his precious Philippians believers to “recite” this in real life scenarios. He wrote to the church: “each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.” [Phil 2:3b] Further, he used the example of Christ who although he had the rights to be King of Kings, he chose instead to be a servant,which he demonstrated by washing the feet of his disciples. As he finished this…

How to Have a Meaningful Relationship with Your Kids by Lucille Williams There’s a video circulating where parents are asked, Who would you most like to have dinner with? Some of the answers were: Paul Hogan, Justin Bieber, Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix… It’s fun to watch what people say and see how their spouses respond to the answer. But what was most interesting was when the parents’ kids were interviewed and asked the same question… Who would you most like to have dinner with? “Does it have to be someone famous?” one boy asked. The interviewer said, “No.” This boy then answered, “Family.” One child said, “Mom and Dad.” Another,…

Sunday School Chronicles Me: So, last week, we talked about Jonah being so pressed, that he went the literal opposite direction of where God told him to go. There’s a huge storm rocking the boat and Jonah convinces the crew to throw him overboard. Kid 1: That’s crazy. Me: I know right! Well, Jonah gets his wish and is thrown into the sea. This wasn’t like The Little Mermaid or Finding Nemo. There was no singing crab, no sea witch trying to steal his voice, there wasn’t a fish with short term memory loss who just kept swimming. Class: *laughs* Me: My dude went overboard and straight into the mouth…