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Taking Responsibility for Our Choices
“God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 God made humans different from the rest of His creation. In His loving kindness He made man in His own image. What a gift that is. Yet in that very gift he gave us another gift, the gift of choice. Every day we all make hundreds or maybe thousands of choices. Many of them are done without a thought. I don’t know about you, but I don’t always think about what I am doing when I do it; especially if it is something that I do all…
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Parenting inclusive kids in a cancel culture
I distinctly remember a birthday party in elementary school that I didn’t get invited to. I’m sure there were many I wasn’t invited to, this just happened to be one I knew about. It was one of the cool ones that involved a limo, in elementary school! And, we lived in the country. So, the limo was extra impressive. It was one of those moments in life where the event was special so the guest list was particularly slim. It was a small school, and I’m pretty sure my personality made me believe I was friends with everyone. At the time, some of my closest friends got to ride in…
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Confidence Rightly Placed
Recently, I came to the end of my backpacking skills. As I faced terrain that was new and difficult, I found myself desperately depending on the Lord for everything. My fear of slipping, tripping, falling, and even collapsing hurled me at the feet of Jesus. Praying to, singing about, and reflecting on Him enabled me to endure the physical, emotional, and mental challenges. “And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places” (Hab 3:19) pounded through my mind and heart multiple times. I wasn’t hiking Mount Everest, but this trail was my high place! Fear is common to humans. Fear can come…
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Traversing Change in a Changing World
Letting go and holding on are very important skills for traversing a world of change. The amount of baggage they carry can make all the difference.
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Kids, Critical Thinking and Christianity
My five-year-old rushed into my room after finishing up a bible study with my husband to proclaim, “Mommy… you are breaking the law of God!” My first inclination was, What in the world is my husband teaching the kids? My second gave away my pride. Who does this kid think he is? It would have been so easy to reprimand my son for calling into question my righteousness before the Lord. I could have sent him away and told him that he cannot disrespect mommy like that. Earlier that morning I disciplined him for making a wrong choice. In doing so, I hurt his feelings. My husband has been going…
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Loving and Giving
“For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
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No Fear…”Seeking My Favorite Things”
What are your favorite things? According to the familiar song, “My Favorite Things” written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, these are a few of Maria’s favorite things. Julie Andrews, who portrays Maria, in the award-winning musical “The Sound of Music” gives a list of some of her favorite things to help the Von Trapp children from being afraid of the storm. “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, Brown paper packages tied up with string These are a few of my favorite things.” As the song continues, the lyrics are uplifting and fun. In the movie, Maria whisk through the music with delight to…
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Training the next generation to seek Jesus; the call to intentional parenting
I am an experienced camper. Growing up, my family camped across the United States from the Mexican Border to New York City. We tent camped during tornadoes, temperatures above 100 degrees, and flooding rain. I remember hunkering down in a bathroom during a tornado warning only to share the bathroom with the biggest scorpion my little eyes had ever seen. As a child, I couldn’t decide if I would rather suffer through the storm in the tent or cower in the corner with the scorpion. Included in my memories of these cherished family adventures were Sundays on vacation. My Dad always traveled with a suit. His mother was elderly, and…
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Processing Pain
If you don't like where you are, keep walking." Pain happens. We don't get to choose the when the where or the how. But we can choose to process it in a healthy The devastation a child feels, from having the wrong answer when asked a question in front of their class, clarifies the importance of a right answer. From childhood we push forward in a pursuit of knowledge as though finding the right answers guarantees success.
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Called To Disciple
Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to have experienced and learned from Jesus during His earthly ministry? The other day my husband and I were having a conversation regarding the way we respond towards different people and their circumstances. He told me that I was like the apostle John and he was more like Peter. Who was John? Well, John was spoken of as the disciple Jesus loved. (John 13:23) The Scripture is clear that John was the brother of James and the son of Zebedee. (Matt. 4:21-22; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16). He was a fisherman by trade and an ordinary man. Many are familiar with John because he wrote five books…
