what in the world are you eating ?
I’ve heard those words before … usually after I’ve been caught with a half full bag of M&M’s or with an empty hot fudge sundae container in the back floor of my Jeep. I’ve yet to learn the consistent habit of eating healthy and when my discipline and self control both go out the window … I feel lousy. As parents we need spiritual disciplines … and we must teach our children these same disciplines as well. This week I met with a young man who claimed Jesus as his Savior … yet admitted he was off God’s path. In …
Christianity 2009.10: The Finale
Ask any combat veteran what got them through the hell we call war and most will tell you a story of camaraderie, Intestinal Fortitude and a great leader. The veterans of WWII’s Easy Company all speak highly of the exceptional leadership of Dick Winters, the companies senior officer. Major Dick Winters exhibited these leadership traits: * Exceptional Courage * Never asking his men to perform a task he would not do. * Putting his men’s needs in front of his own. * Strict adherence to moral attributes and values. * Setting the example and leading the way. * Grace and …
Christianity 2009.9: Parenting Spiritual Champions – Part II
In this post we will continue to look at some real world statistics on parents who have raised Spiritual Champions. By this, I mean children who are now adults and display the Legacy Character Traits and consider themselves active, saved Christians who are still working on spiritual growth as young adults or parents themselves. Traits of Parents Who Have Raised Spiritual Champions: Part 2 7. Focus on Godly Character Rarely in the parenting research I look at do you find something that is 100% across the board agreed on by parents, however, focusing on Godly character and character traits was …
Christianity 2009.8: Parenting Spiritual Champions
For the first 7 posts of this topic, I have focused on what I perceive is the current problem with Christianity and why we (Christians) are being the subject of increased attacks and skepticism especially from the younger generations. Next, we will look at some real world statistics on parents who have raised Spiritual Champions. By this, I mean children who are now adults and consider themselves active, saved Christians who are still working on spiritual growth as young adults or parents themselves. Traits of Parents Who Have Raised Spiritual Champions: 1. Parenting is their primary job. Parents of spiritual …
you want me to do what ?
Jesus was sitting in a fishing boat teaching a large crowd who had gathered along the shore. Afterwards He instructed Simon Peter to row out into deeper water and cast his nets into the lake. Now Peter and the boys had been fishing all night and had caught absolutely nothing … and they had apparently sat through an early morning sermon as well. Hungry and tired, I’m certain they must have been ready for some sleep. Peter, is an expert fisherman … after all this is what he does for a living. In the back of his mind he probably …
not my fault … not that bad
Recently, the Chicago Cubs were on an extended losing streak. This prompted a local sports radio talk show host to make this statement: “Its time for some personal accountability.” After a few minutes I realized those words could also apply to God’s expectations regarding my spiritual accountability. When I was a kid I learned to cuss from my buddies in school and around the neighborhood. In junior high I once shop lifted a pair of socks for basketball. In high school I experimented with alcohol and lied about it. As an adult I fell to acts of sin which led …
4 Essential Elements for Parenting
Listed below are what Dennis Rainey describes as the 4 essential elements for parenting. I caught this a while ago on a Family Life Today radio broadcast and wanted to share them here. It makes a lot of sense and keeps it simple. Would love to hear thoughts, ideas, suggestions, etc. from all the Dads out there who have a whole lot more experience as parents than I do. I’m posting this minutes after coming in from outside, playing with my daughter (Summer, who is almost 3) and two of the neighbor kids. They were playing baseball and hockey… no, …
The Experts Say (Only for the fathers of girls.)
(This is something I wrote for Kai, my ten year old daughter, while I was on my way to Israel…so guys who don’t have daughters, you’re dismissed until the next topic…) How long does it take to become an expert? The experts say it takes 7-10 years and 50,000 “chunks” of new knowledge. You can’t paint a picture in Sunday School class, sit around and in 7 years call yourself an expert. You have to gain new knowledge and continue to gather this new knowledge everyday for 7 years. Many of your friends will appear to be experts at many …
Love and Donuts
I went with my son Noah to Krispy Kreme donuts to grab some glazed donuts. We got to the counter and he asked me if he could have a chocolate milk. I thought to myself “Buddy, you are going to have a sugar overload…but okay.” I said “sure”. Then he asked me if he could have two donuts. My alarm went off “warning, warning…you are about to hit sugar coma…do not, I repeat, do not let him have another donut.” I said “sure”. The alarm came back on “hello? Is there a responsible parent …
the book that matters
Kids and adults that read seem to have advantages too numerous to list in this brief communication. I have probably read more books in the past 5 years than any other 5 year span of my life. I would like to think that I am much smarter now … but that is very debatable. Right about now you probably think I am going to preach about God’s book … the Bible … and its value in your life. However, there is one book that may be of equal importance with scripture … and that book is called the “Book of …
