Here are some websites that help families in a variety of ways…
familytime.com
familieswithpurpose.com
familylife.com
focusonthefamily.com or family.org
parenteen.com
heritagebuilders.com
familytimes.org
fathers.com
allprodad.com
Mad, Sad, or Glad November 18, 2009
In his book, Wild Goose Chase, Mark Batterson says that if something makes you mad or sad or glad then God wants you to do something about it.
I want to suggest that there are things that make us mad, sad, or glad and we need to do something about it immediately. Like the Samaritan who helped that man beaten and left for dead (in Luke 10). There are some things we don’t need to pray about! We know that God wants us to love Him and love others. When we see someone with a need and we have the power and/or resources to meet that need we should do something!
“Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone, especially to our Christian brothers and sisters.” Galatians 6:10
Then there are times that something makes us mad or sad or glad and we know that God wants us to do something but we’re not sure what. That’s when we need to pray and seek godly advice. Pray like nothing will happen unless God Himself shows up supernaturally and does a miracle. After seeking wise, godly advice you need to act. Act as if is totally depends on you – as if God won’t do anything unless you act on His behalf!
What makes you mad, sad or glad?
Can you do something about it right now?
Who can you go to for godly advice?
Pay Attention To Who You Pay Attention To November 17, 2009
One of the ways God speaks to us is through other godly people. The wisest man in the world, Solomon, had much to say about getting wise advice (just read through Proverbs).
Interestingly enough, Solomon’s son Rehoboam (Bo) struggled with this. 1Kings 12 records the transition from King Solomon to Bo becoming king. I’ll try to summarize it…
The people of Israel gathered together to make Bo king. The people had Jeroboam (Jerry) go with them to make a request of Bo. They said, “Lighten our work load and lower our taxes and we will be your loyal subjects.” (people are still saying this to the governing leaders).
Bo did a wise thing. He asked for three days to decide what to do. The he made another wise choice he sought the advice of the older men who were his father’s advisors. These men told Bo to serve the people and give them what they ask for and he would be the king everyone would live happily ever after. But (there is always a but), Bo rejected their advice and sought out the advice of some of his friends he had grown up with. No doubt these guys were hoping for a position in the new realm. These guys told Bo to be even tougher than Solomon was and show the people who’s Boss.
When Jerry and the people of Israel returned three days later, Bo addressed the crowd and told them he was bigger and badder than his daddy ever was. The work load and taxes would increase not decrease! Bo paid no attention to the people’s request or the wise men’s advice. As a result the people made Jerry their king and the nation of Israel was divided.
Bo should have paid attention to who he was paying attention to. The consequences of his decision changed the history of the nation of Israel!
One lesson we learn from Bo is…
The best advice in the world is useless if your mind is already made up!
When you need advice…
*find someone who has “been there and done that.” You’ll benefit from there experience.
*find someone who can see the big picture. You’ll benefit from their perspective and objectivity.
*find someone who has more knowledge. You’ll benefit from their expertise.
If you’ve already made up your mind then don’t waste your time seeking advice, but if you really want advice then…
PAY ATTENTION TO WHO YOU PAY ATTENTION TO!
credit: Andy Stanley in Discovering God’s Will small group study
Questions for Small Groups November 16, 2009
Here are three great questions to be asked in our small groups…
1. What is God teaching you? What are you learning from reading your Bible?
2. What is happening in the lives of three people you are praying for?
3. What is happening where you serve? How are you using your spiritual gifts?
Listening To God November 16, 2009
The next few blogs will be about the main thoughts from my message at FUEL on 11.15.09…
People tend to listen to people…
they trust
who are seen as important
who are controversial
who are in authority
who say what we want to hear
who tell a story
who are famous
who are there
But, who should we listen to? Advice is everywhere, but godly advice is harder to find.
“The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush, but the words of the godly save lives.” Proverbs 12:6
When we want to know what God wants us to do it is important to listen to Him. God speaks to us through…
1. The Bible – Psalm 119:105
2. THe Holy Spirit – Acts 20:22; John 16:13
3. Common Sense (wisdom) – Proverbs 2:1-11; 13:16
4. Advice of godly people – Proverbs 12:15; 13:20
5. Circumstances – Mark 4:35-41; James 1:2-4
Who do you listen to?
Do you need some good, godly advice?
When was the last time you listened to God?
Some New Ideas… November 12, 2009
Today was a day full of new ideas…
Some of the church leadership visited a great location for a coffeehouse ministry in our community.
We are considering a different approach to summer camp and missions. What if we combine these two ?
We want to create a Home Field Advantage resource center in the fellowship mall to help people love God, love others, and live it everyday.
We want to offer Home Field Advantage courses/workshops to equip parents to be the primary faith-trainers of their children. What if we offer them on Wednesday nights and/or Equipping weekends? Can we offer them during any of our other programs?
We want to empower parents and teenagers to initiate small groups. How can we get parents of middle schoolers to initiate small groups for their kids and their kids friends? How can we get high school students to initiate small groups with their friends and peers?
We are starting to think “orange.”
Life Goals November 6, 2009
I am in the process of making a list of goals that I hope to accomplish. I’m not sure how spiritual or realistic they all are, but oh well…
celebrate 50 years of marriage with Becci
take each of my kids on a mission trip
take Becci to Hawaii
take my family to Australia and New Zealand
have a house on the beach or in mountains
greatly influence my grandchildren
make a family crest
serve/lead a simple church/ministry
walk Ariel down the aisle
have all my kids love God, love others, and proving it everyday
I will upgrade this list regularly.
Simple, Not Easy November 5, 2009
I value simplicity, but sometimes when I talk about being simple or doing things in a simple way it is mistaken as taking the easy way. That isn’t what I mean at all. In fact, I think it is much harder to be simple than to be complicated. It is incredibly hard to remain simple. And it must be official because someone has named this paradox Meyer’s Law:
“It is a simple task to make things complex, but a complex task to make them simple.”
It is very difficult to take control of my schedule and only do a few things well instead of doing everything there is out there to do. This is true in my home, my job, and my church.
I must constantly be prioritizing and asking…
What should I do more of?
What should I do less of?
What do I need to start doing that I haven’t been doing?
What do I need to stop doing altogether?
What is on your “to don’t” list?
More or Less? November 4, 2009
The goal: to build families who love God, love others, and live it everyday!
What do we need to do more of?
What do we need to do less of?
What do we need to start doing?
What do we need to stop doing?
Speaking of Change… November 4, 2009
In his book, Focal Point, Al Ries says,
“there are only four different things you can do to improve the quality of your life and work:
1. You can do more of certain things.
2. You can do less of certain things
3. You can start to do things you are not doing at all today.
4. You can stop doing certain things altogether.
Once we know what the goal/desired outcome is we should ask…
What do we need to do more of?
What do we need to do less of?
What do we need to start doing?
What do we need to stop doing?
Why are we so afraid to stop doing certain things?
