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Pandemic: Fear, Fun, or Fatal
Growing up is hard enough. A child’s body, world, and language is in a constant mode of change. Facing change causes a certain level of anxiety all on its own. This generation is now facing a pandemic. We’ve been told that most children are not at high risk, but we know that some are. Wondering if it might be them can be truly terrifying for some children. Do you know what is going through your children’s minds?
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Tips for Teaching #1
I want to share some tips that will hopefully help us better prepare our children for the difficulties of standing strong in the faith. Encourage children to ask the hard questions. If they aren’t asking, ask them! Teach them how to wrestle with the Word of God to find the answers. We tend to shy away from the questions that are hard to answer or maybe can’t really be answered. Learning that we can’t demand answers but must be humbly thankful for the revelations God gives is a hard lesson to teach and even harder to learn. I was recently talking with a woman who grew up in a Christian…
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Worship While You Wait
Waiting is the hardest thing I am ever asked to do. If I am waiting for something good, then it is difficult because I am so excited and can hardly wait for the party or the present or the event to happen. If I am waiting for something bad it seems even harder. I don’t want it. Yet, I know it is coming so I just want it to happen already. How good are you at waiting? When it comes to children and waiting…well, if you are a parent, you know how draining that can be on everyone. In my last blog I talked about the importance of waiting…
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What is Christmas Without a Christ-child?
The future of our world depends on steady hearts and strong hands from the next generation. The next generation always comes to us first as a child. The children we teach today will be the future leaders of our homes, our churches, our country, and our world. They are valuable even when many times they don’t feel that value. Christmas is a perfect time to emphasize the importance that God has placed on children. “The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and stimulating in all creation.” — Ray L. Wilbur, third president of Stanford University “Every child you encounter is a divine appointment.” — Wess Stafford, President…
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Nuggets of Truth in Narnia
C. S. Lewis is truly a gifted writer. If you haven’t read his Chronicles of Narnia, it is never too late to dive into this world of talking animals, a wardrobe with a secret pathway into Narnia, and adventures that range from creation to the final judgment. Nestled in the context of the make-believe world of Narnia are many nuggets of God’s truth.One good example is found in the book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This is a story of danger and courage with great insights on the issue of forgiveness. Forgiveness is a difficult issue for everyone. It is hard for us to admit that we need it and may…
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Teaching Children to Live Love
Obedience is one of the universal things that both parents and teachers seek to produce in children. As Christians obedience done with a wrong motive may look like obedience to us but it falls short. When it comes to obeying God, the heart attitude is as important as the action. A simple observation of their actions will not be enough to prove Biblical obedience. Sometimes a child gets it right by accident. They didn’t intentionally decide to obey but circumstances were such that without thinking about it they chose the right action. There are children who obey for fear of the punishment and with resentment in their heart. Other children…
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WHO DOES GOD WANT TO TRAIN OUR CHILDREN?
I was encouraged, by a dear friend, to read the article, “Five Reasons Why the Children’s Minister Is the Staff Position in Greatest Demand.” Here is the link to the article: http://thomrainer.com/2018/02/five-reasons-childrens-minister-staff-position-greatest-demand/ Most of the comments were from people concerned about who they thought should be teaching our children about God. I was left with the question in my own heart: Just who is God holding responsible to teach our children and what does it mean to meet that responsibility? There are very few easy answers when it comes to raising children. Take schooling for instance… Children are schooled in public, private, and boarding schools; while still others homeschool. We…
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Praying for Heroines
Do you have any special women or girls in your life that have made a difference? Let’s take a moment to focus on our heroines. Time to give them some prayer support. When I was growing up many women were housewives, stay at home moms. They were somehow lesser than the working women by our cultural standards. There was even a popular song with lyrics like these, “Oh, such are the dreams of the everyday housewife you see everywhere any time of the day; an everyday housewife who gave up the good life for me” The song begins with her looking in the mirror and seeing that time has…
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Praying for Heroes
Everybody loves a hero. We watch the stories of public heroes unfold on the news and in docudramas and our hearts are moved so that we long to be one. But what of the unsung heroes of the heart? They seldom make headlines. Even fewer of them become known to anyone other than their own family. Heroes of the heart are the men and boys in our lives that live and work among us as dependable husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers. These heroes are our heroes because they belong to our hearts. Their selfless love has changed our worlds. True Heroes of the heart make a difference not just…
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Christian Parenting Mistakes: #5 Not Helping Them Embrace Their Spiritual Gifts
Just as sad as mistakenly raising cultural Christians who know the talk but can’t walk the walk because they have not yet accepted Christ as Savior, is the mistake of having a child in our family or classroom who has accepted Christ as Savior and yet we don’t help them discover and use their spiritual gifts. We hamstring their spiritual muscles and hamper their growth in Christ when we don’t help them learn how to spiritually exercise. When a person believes in Christ He is placed into the body of Christ. He is born again and given spiritual gifts. However, most churches function as though these gifts can only be…
