If it was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor!
Shouting to make your children obey is like using the horn to steer your car, and you get about the same results.
The smartest advice on raising children is to enjoy them while they are still on your side.
Avenge yourself ~~~ live long enough to be a problem to your children.
The best way to keep kids at home is to give it a loving atmosphere ~~ and hide the keys to the car.
Parents: People who bear infants, bore teenagers, and board newlyweds.
The joy of motherhood: What a woman experiences when all the children are finally in bed.
Life's golden age is when the kids are too old to need babysitters and too young to borrow the family car.
Any child can tell you that the sole purpose of a middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
Grandparents are similar to a piece of string ~ handy to have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of grandchildren.
There are three ways to get something done: Do it yourself, hire someone to do it, or forbid your children to do it.
Adolescence is the age when children try to bring up their parents.
Cleaning your house while your kids are at home is like trying to shovel the driveway during a snowstorm.
Oh, to be only half as wonderful as my child thought I was when he was small, and half as stupid as my teenager now thinks I am.
There are only two things a child will share willingly: communicable diseases and his mother's age.
Adolescence is the age at which children stop asking questions because they know all the answers.
An alarm clock is a device for awakening people who don't have small children.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
UNDERSTANDING THE GRACE OF GOD
Grace is defined in the Merriam Webster’s Dictionary as: help given to man by God [as in overcoming temptation] 2. Freedom from sin through divine grace. 3. A virtue coming from God. 4. A short prayer before or after a meal. 5. A temporary respite [as from paying of a debt]. 6. Approval, Acceptance e.t.c
Among Christians, grace is believed to be unmerited favor. Wayne Jackson wrote this: Grace Defined “Grace” derives from the Greek, charis. In secular Greek, charis was related to chairo, “to rejoice.” As far back as Homer it denoted “sweetness” or “attractiveness.” It came to signify “favor,” “goodwill,” and “lovingkindness” — especially as granted by a superior to an inferior.
In the New Testament, “grace” (156 times) takes on a special redemptive sense in which God makes available his favor on behalf of sinners, who actually do not deserve it.
Now this is what God’s Grace means to me:
Grace and truth came by Jesus: John 1:14 gives the following description of Christ; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”. John 1:17 further states; “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Grace is not earned on merit or your good works; it’s a gift from God. Eph. 2:8-9. Jesus Christ performed the work for our salvation. His death, His suffering, His blood earned the Grace (check) for us. No matter if you believe that you must live like the Amish with the absence of virtually all-modern luxuries. Or live in as a monk, priest, or nun. No effort you put forth will increase the value of the check.
Grace can only be accessed by faith. Eph 2:8-9
Grace should be a continuous process because you grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18, 2 Cor. 6:1, 1 Cor 15:10
Grace means living in obedience to God’s will. This divine influence is a gift or favor of God. When God’s grace is truly working in a person’s life it will be obvious.
God’s grace is available to every man and they have a choice to accept or reject it. Titus 2:11, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." It is interesting to note that God’s grace has been extended to all men, yet all men are not saved! That is not God’s fault though. For he came "to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10. This was the whole purpose of Jesus coming to earth. God purchased our salvation with his own blood, Acts 20:28. The price paid at Calvary is the ONLY price able to purchase our salvation. There are not enough good deeds available for any one of us to do to ever deserve God’s grace. Christ did the work to make salvation available to us.
Among Christians, grace is believed to be unmerited favor. Wayne Jackson wrote this: Grace Defined “Grace” derives from the Greek, charis. In secular Greek, charis was related to chairo, “to rejoice.” As far back as Homer it denoted “sweetness” or “attractiveness.” It came to signify “favor,” “goodwill,” and “lovingkindness” — especially as granted by a superior to an inferior.
In the New Testament, “grace” (156 times) takes on a special redemptive sense in which God makes available his favor on behalf of sinners, who actually do not deserve it.
Now this is what God’s Grace means to me:
Grace and truth came by Jesus: John 1:14 gives the following description of Christ; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”. John 1:17 further states; “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Grace is not earned on merit or your good works; it’s a gift from God. Eph. 2:8-9. Jesus Christ performed the work for our salvation. His death, His suffering, His blood earned the Grace (check) for us. No matter if you believe that you must live like the Amish with the absence of virtually all-modern luxuries. Or live in as a monk, priest, or nun. No effort you put forth will increase the value of the check.
Grace can only be accessed by faith. Eph 2:8-9
Grace should be a continuous process because you grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18, 2 Cor. 6:1, 1 Cor 15:10
Grace means living in obedience to God’s will. This divine influence is a gift or favor of God. When God’s grace is truly working in a person’s life it will be obvious.
God’s grace is available to every man and they have a choice to accept or reject it. Titus 2:11, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." It is interesting to note that God’s grace has been extended to all men, yet all men are not saved! That is not God’s fault though. For he came "to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10. This was the whole purpose of Jesus coming to earth. God purchased our salvation with his own blood, Acts 20:28. The price paid at Calvary is the ONLY price able to purchase our salvation. There are not enough good deeds available for any one of us to do to ever deserve God’s grace. Christ did the work to make salvation available to us.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Changing the Way We Speak By Renewing the Mind
Today’s Truth
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9 TNIV).
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9 TNIV).
Friend To Friend
Have you ever been to a rodeo and watched a lassoing contest? The little calf bursts from the stall and then the cowboy and his steed follow close behind. With his lasso in hand, the cowboy swings the rope in the air and attempts to lasso the little heifer before she escapes out the corral door at the opposite side of the arena. That is a vivid picture of what we must do with the words that attempt to escape the gate, the mouth…we must rein them in.
Have you ever been to a rodeo and watched a lassoing contest? The little calf bursts from the stall and then the cowboy and his steed follow close behind. With his lasso in hand, the cowboy swings the rope in the air and attempts to lasso the little heifer before she escapes out the corral door at the opposite side of the arena. That is a vivid picture of what we must do with the words that attempt to escape the gate, the mouth…we must rein them in.
The Bible teaches us to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Once we lasso a thought (take it captive) we can decide which words leave the gate and which words need to be tied up and secured. Studies show that we speak at about 120 to 180 words a minute. Seems like we need to do a bit more lassoing and a lot less running on.
Let’s take a look at this little heifer: our words, and how to rein them in. First, a thought bursts forth from the stall called the brain. It runs across the mind headed for the door called the mouth. In a split second, we must determine if that thought is of God or if it is against the knowledge of God. If we determine that the words are not of God, then we lasso the thought with the Word of Truth and it never makes its way out of the gate (the mouth). If it passes the God-test, we allow it to go free.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
To live free: worry less
By T Suzanne Eller.
July 29, 2011 | Faith: Knowing Christ, Feelings: Intentional freedom
How can worry add one more day to your life? Wrong question. How can worry take away the day you were given?
The root word in scripture for worry is “strangle”. That changes the way I view worry. It’s not productive. It chokes the hope out of me.
A recent study stated that:
80% of the things we worry about never come to pass. . . which means a lot of emotional energy expended for nothing.
Of the remaining 20%, when it came to pass 18% was much easier to work through than expected. The results were different than the worry. . . which still means a lot of emotional energy expended for nothing.
The remaining 2% was where worry merited attention. But not in the form of worry, but rather in the form of action.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to hit the end of my life and find that I’ve devoted 98% of my life to worry. Rather, I’d love to know that I lived life fully, and when that 2% hit I dealt with it action and attitude anchored in faith.
Monday, August 1, 2011
WHO ARE YOU WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING?
I read an article in a christian newspaper [Light of the World] and it truly got me thinking. As the author rightly put it in his article: ARE YOU AN FBI CHRISTIAN? It dawned on me that some of us are truly double agents, we have a personae for the world and another personae in the church hence my question who are you when no one is looking, do you have a different personality in the church, another one at home and another one at work?
We are witnessing an unprecedented advent of attendance in the pentecostal movement but are we truly seeing changes in our environment or communities or are there christians that will dine with the devil on Saturday evening at night clubs and then come Sunday morning they are lifting up hands in praise and worship? Are you able to stand and defend your faith when confronted or are you going to give excuses or make comments like " actually I am not a believer, I just go to church to fulfill all righteousness" or I live with my parents and since they go to church or Sundays I just go with them so they won't nag me or my wife/husband nags me until I go with her/him".
Last week I shared my conversion experiences and I included the dates, can you remember your conversion date, when you truly made a commitment to follow Jesus? Matthew 5:13-16 said we are the salt of the earth and the light of world and of what good are you if you lose your saltiness or your light is hid under a bushel or table. When you present a different personae every where you go, then you are double faced and you are hypocrite. Can your co-worker, wife, family testify that you are a person of integrity? can they vouch that you are a child of God? then you are blessed but if you are teased at work or at home when you open your mouth to profess your faith then you need to examine your lifestyle and make changes where its needed.
I have a lot friends on social networking sites and sometimes what they write on their status page makes me wonder what they must be thinking or where they are when they wrote those status messages and it truly makes me doubt their salvation, sometimes I have sent them public and private messages to watch their utterances or what they type on those pages because it sends the wrong messages but sometimes as the bible says "out of the abundance of heart the mouth truly speaks" in these cases their hands when typing truly speaks what is in their heart.
We are hypocrites when we cannot show the world that we belong to the family of God and that is the message we are sending to people around us, when we can not be trusted to represent Christ in our families and communities, when we choose to be politically correct rather than stand by the authority of God's word.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ because it is the power of God unto Salvation to everyone who believes to the Jews first and also to the Greeks. Rom.1:16. I am a believer and I stand on the Authority of God's word.
We are witnessing an unprecedented advent of attendance in the pentecostal movement but are we truly seeing changes in our environment or communities or are there christians that will dine with the devil on Saturday evening at night clubs and then come Sunday morning they are lifting up hands in praise and worship? Are you able to stand and defend your faith when confronted or are you going to give excuses or make comments like " actually I am not a believer, I just go to church to fulfill all righteousness" or I live with my parents and since they go to church or Sundays I just go with them so they won't nag me or my wife/husband nags me until I go with her/him".
Last week I shared my conversion experiences and I included the dates, can you remember your conversion date, when you truly made a commitment to follow Jesus? Matthew 5:13-16 said we are the salt of the earth and the light of world and of what good are you if you lose your saltiness or your light is hid under a bushel or table. When you present a different personae every where you go, then you are double faced and you are hypocrite. Can your co-worker, wife, family testify that you are a person of integrity? can they vouch that you are a child of God? then you are blessed but if you are teased at work or at home when you open your mouth to profess your faith then you need to examine your lifestyle and make changes where its needed.
I have a lot friends on social networking sites and sometimes what they write on their status page makes me wonder what they must be thinking or where they are when they wrote those status messages and it truly makes me doubt their salvation, sometimes I have sent them public and private messages to watch their utterances or what they type on those pages because it sends the wrong messages but sometimes as the bible says "out of the abundance of heart the mouth truly speaks" in these cases their hands when typing truly speaks what is in their heart.
We are hypocrites when we cannot show the world that we belong to the family of God and that is the message we are sending to people around us, when we can not be trusted to represent Christ in our families and communities, when we choose to be politically correct rather than stand by the authority of God's word.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ because it is the power of God unto Salvation to everyone who believes to the Jews first and also to the Greeks. Rom.1:16. I am a believer and I stand on the Authority of God's word.
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