We were so blessed to be able to see family this weekend! It is always a joy to spend time with our family. We live quite a distance from all of our family so each trip is special. This weekend we were on a trip to speak at a church in GA (more on that in a future post) and we detoured to FL. We enjoyed one evening of family fun with my parents, my sister, brother-in-law and two nieces. I love you all! We ate the most delicious steaks ever (Thanks Dad!), told stories, and laughed until our sides hurt. Family time is like taking a vitamin. I feel better afterward and it is good for me. I am so blessed to have a family that is still so close. We even had a "surprise" birthday party for my little guy who will be seven this Saturday. My sister made a cake with the best frosting ever! (Thanks, Em!)
Being a close family takes work! We have some basic principles we all try to live by which make remaining close a possibility. As our family has grown and distance now separates us, staying close can be a challenge. We talk every day...that helps. :) We do lots of communicating (Eph. 4:15) and forgiving (Eph. 4:32). We do lots of loving one anothe r (John 15:12). I miss them all so! My two nieces are growing up far too quickly. I treasure each moment with my family! I am so thankful my husband loves them all too. :)
My heart hurts each time we back out of the driveway; however, I am thankful. We leave simply to obey the Lord. There is great joy and contentment that comes from serving God. So as mile after mile passes on the Interstate, I am thankful we are going home. Home to our church family. Our church family has become so dear to us. In the absence of "real" family, our church family stands in the gap. In fact, my boys are blessed with "family" all over the world. God has blessed us with not only a family by blood, but a family of the heart. This weekend we were able to visit some of them in GA. Another such family will be arriving here to spend a week in just a few days. Some are serving on the mission field in faraway lands like Africa. We are blessed to have such a "big" family! God is good!
I am capturing my two nieces (I hope!) this summer for a few weeks. We are trying to get schedules to coincide. I will have several weeks on non-stop fun activities to plan, What is your favorite family activity?
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Memorial Stones
We had a wonderful service at our church last evening. Our guest speaker, preached from Joshua 4. We were challenged to put up some reminders or lasting testaments to God's working in our lives. Joshua commanded the children of Israel to take 12 stones, one from each tribe for a rememberance of what God had done. Joshua 4:6,7-That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
The fact is, our children will and do have questions about why we go to church, why do we read our Bible, why do we serve God. They may ask do we have to give in the offering, etc. We as parents must be ready to answer them with thoughtful answers. If we merely dismiss their questions as unimportant or assume they are being disrespectful we fail to do as we ought. As our children grow they must develop a PERSONAL relationship with Jesus Christ and I mean far beyond the point of salvation! Truly it ought be every parent's desire to see their children accept Christ's gift of salvation, but we will fail as parents if we do not encourage and help foster a long-lasting relationship between our children and the Lord. Far too many older teens or college age people are dropping out of church and becoming involved in ungodly things. Many times this "failure to thrive" in church is because it is not personal to them. As a pastor's wife this grieves me. I hate to see young adults drop out!!! We as a church are working hard to minister to this age group. It can be such a challenging time. However, as a mom, it scares me. I constantly ask myself what can I do to "transfer my faith" if you will. At some point I know it comes down to each of my boys and their relationship with the Lord. Until that time, while they are under my roof and influence, my husband and I strive to point them to the "stones" of our faith!
We try to live out a genuine faith, not just put on a church face as we head out of the door on Sunday. We have Scripture hanging in a few places in our home. We listen to Godly music we hope will penetrate their hearts. We memorize Scripture together. We attend church together. We serve the Lord together at our church. We spend time in daily life talking, listening, and answering questions. We pray as a family and try to be quick to give God thanks for answered prayers. We share our testimonies with them. We encourage them to have a daily quiet time with the Lord and maybe more importantly we try to model that for them.
I am always trying to find new and more ways to encourage my boys. What are some things that your family does to point your children to the "stones" of your faith?
The fact is, our children will and do have questions about why we go to church, why do we read our Bible, why do we serve God. They may ask do we have to give in the offering, etc. We as parents must be ready to answer them with thoughtful answers. If we merely dismiss their questions as unimportant or assume they are being disrespectful we fail to do as we ought. As our children grow they must develop a PERSONAL relationship with Jesus Christ and I mean far beyond the point of salvation! Truly it ought be every parent's desire to see their children accept Christ's gift of salvation, but we will fail as parents if we do not encourage and help foster a long-lasting relationship between our children and the Lord. Far too many older teens or college age people are dropping out of church and becoming involved in ungodly things. Many times this "failure to thrive" in church is because it is not personal to them. As a pastor's wife this grieves me. I hate to see young adults drop out!!! We as a church are working hard to minister to this age group. It can be such a challenging time. However, as a mom, it scares me. I constantly ask myself what can I do to "transfer my faith" if you will. At some point I know it comes down to each of my boys and their relationship with the Lord. Until that time, while they are under my roof and influence, my husband and I strive to point them to the "stones" of our faith!
We try to live out a genuine faith, not just put on a church face as we head out of the door on Sunday. We have Scripture hanging in a few places in our home. We listen to Godly music we hope will penetrate their hearts. We memorize Scripture together. We attend church together. We serve the Lord together at our church. We spend time in daily life talking, listening, and answering questions. We pray as a family and try to be quick to give God thanks for answered prayers. We share our testimonies with them. We encourage them to have a daily quiet time with the Lord and maybe more importantly we try to model that for them.
I am always trying to find new and more ways to encourage my boys. What are some things that your family does to point your children to the "stones" of your faith?
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Preparing my life for revival
As our church continues in our revival services this week it has been amazing to watch God work. We have had people saved and baptized. People have joined the church and come to rededicate their lives to the Lord. I love watching God work! We serve a big God!!!
Each day before the services I have prayed as David said in Psalm 19:7-14 which says, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold. yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be in innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
I am excited about what God will do tonight....
Each day before the services I have prayed as David said in Psalm 19:7-14 which says, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold. yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be in innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
I am excited about what God will do tonight....
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Revival...am I ready?
Today began our special revival services at our church. We as a church clearly understand that revival is not something scheduled or planned just because it shows up on our church calendar. In recent weeks we have been taught what must be true in our lives for real revival to occur. We must have humble hearts eager to hear what God has for us and the discipline to live it. We must pray and seek God's face. 2 Chronicles 7:14-If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Those things are easy to talk about but sometimes more challenging to live out each day. As I sat in church this morning I had to ask myself if I was truly ready for God to give me personal revival. Am I willing to obey the Holy Spirit? What if He asks me to do something difficult? What if I have to get out of my comfort zone? On and on my list of many (too many) excuses parades through my mind.
I want to live in such a way that God can do a work in me! I want to come to church ready to worship and learn. That means my investment of time in church starts long before I open the doors and walk through them. It starts at home in the stillness of my quiet time, asking God to prepare my heart. It requires me to confess any and all known sin to my Savior. It means that I purpose to give my whole heart and attention to the service while I am there. I do not allow myself to stay distracted when something catches my attention. I silence the voice inside of me that starts hoping "so-and-so" is listening, because you know, she really needs this sermon. I come with a hungry heart, eagerly listening and applying what God has for me. Being ready for revival requires me to bring my Bible to church. I want my own handbook for living, ready to be referenced and read. I find I am much more attentive when I can open my very own Bible and read God's Word for myself. I want to follow along with the preacher and make sure what he is teaching comes from the Bible.
I, along with my family, and our church family have been faithfully praying and asking God to do a work in us. Am I ready for revival? I am claiming Psalm 10:17- LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear.
Those things are easy to talk about but sometimes more challenging to live out each day. As I sat in church this morning I had to ask myself if I was truly ready for God to give me personal revival. Am I willing to obey the Holy Spirit? What if He asks me to do something difficult? What if I have to get out of my comfort zone? On and on my list of many (too many) excuses parades through my mind.
I want to live in such a way that God can do a work in me! I want to come to church ready to worship and learn. That means my investment of time in church starts long before I open the doors and walk through them. It starts at home in the stillness of my quiet time, asking God to prepare my heart. It requires me to confess any and all known sin to my Savior. It means that I purpose to give my whole heart and attention to the service while I am there. I do not allow myself to stay distracted when something catches my attention. I silence the voice inside of me that starts hoping "so-and-so" is listening, because you know, she really needs this sermon. I come with a hungry heart, eagerly listening and applying what God has for me. Being ready for revival requires me to bring my Bible to church. I want my own handbook for living, ready to be referenced and read. I find I am much more attentive when I can open my very own Bible and read God's Word for myself. I want to follow along with the preacher and make sure what he is teaching comes from the Bible.
I, along with my family, and our church family have been faithfully praying and asking God to do a work in us. Am I ready for revival? I am claiming Psalm 10:17- LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear.
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