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Parental Sin: Modeling Repentance for Your Children
I must admit the idea of generational sin has made me both angry and terrified. First, angry because I didn’t want to be responsible for anyone else’s sin, and second, terrified because of the overwhelming guilt I would feel causing someone else to sin. The truth is that we all sin and our children are often witnesses to our sin. They also remember our sins quite clearly! I can attest to that as a parent of adult children. But they also remember our repentance. About ten years ago, I was in the store with my kids who were around nine and 12 years old at the time. The week had…
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Broken, Stubborn and Unworthy: Responding to God’s Call
I recently read through Exodus and Jonah, one on my read-through the Bible in a year project and another as a study my sister led. Reflecting upon both, I was struck by how much I resonated with Moses and Jonah. When God finally called on Moses to deliver his people out of slavery, he found him as a fugitive shepherd having wandered in the wilderness for 40 years after he had murdered an Egyptian. Moses did not exactly have a stellar past. Moses was also shy and awkward in public speaking (Exodus 4:10-12) and not charismatic in nature. Rather than let Moses get out of the call, God provided a…
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Working Geniuses and God-Given Talents
Take a Look at 6 Working Geniuses and Your Natural Talents A genius by no means am I! However, I wanted to reflect on an exercise we did last fall at our annual planning retreat for work. I sell real estate, aid in running our construction business, homeschool and am a contributor to this blog. In preparing for our retreat, we took an assessment that reviewed our 6 working geniuses by The Table Group. The Table Group states that everyone has natural, God-given talents when it comes to work (and my guess is…life in general). After answering a number of questions, you are provided with your results. Although there are…
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A Tribute to Mother’s Day
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. Proverbs 31:25-31 Mothers play…
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A Devotional for the Anxious Heart: 1 Peter 5:6-7
Scripture: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.” (ESV) Thought: Our pride, or refusal to depend on God and be subject to him) often is the root of my anxiety. Pride keeps us captive to worry, anxiety, and dread because we are constantly trying to be “enough”. We are not enough on our own—never have been, never will be. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit are we made whole, new creations in Christ. Application: What do you do with worry? Are you humble enough to…
