Articles & Stories
Resources to inspire, challenge, and inform
I stood in my kitchen, dirty dishes piled up on every counter. Water was leaking from under the sink, from under the dishwasher, all over my hardwood floor. Just another Saturday, I thought as I rolled my eyes and tried to take calming breaths. We did the dishes in the bathtub, only to make dinner which of course, led to more dirty dishes piled up again.
Digital communication, including texts and emails, is a great way to communicate information and facts quickly, efficiently, and effectively. But what texts and emails can’t communicate are emotions, your heart, eye contact, non-verbal cues, forgiveness, love, etc…all the things that are required for a relationship to really flourish. Those things can only be experienced in true relational connection…face-to-face.
The following was written by Sara Frank, the mother of Allison Frank. It details what God did in Allison's life through the faithful prayer of her parents, family, and friends. "A little over three years ago, our oldest daughter was diagnosed with juvenile dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune disease that can attack the skin, muscles, and internal organs. At our first appointment with the rheumatologist, he told us we needed to start her on medicine right away.
Let’s face it…many of our kids have been struck by the “arrow” of entitlement. They’ve developed an attitude that says “I deserve more and better”. You can quickly spot entitlement if you hear your kids constantly complaining, “It’s not fair!”. Entitlement is destructive because it results in the act of greed. In order to kill greed, we must to train our kids to be grateful. How do we help foster an attitude of gratitude in our kids amidst a culture of entitlement?
“Bad company corrupts good character.” We’ve all seen this play out again and again. A “good” kid gets in with the wrong crowd in high school and ends up addicted to drugs. An NFL player making millions of dollars gets arrested for robbery. His coach’s response: “He’s gotta get a new crew.” A high school student who is “on fire” for Jesus, goes off to college, makes new friends, and comes home no longer believing in or following Jesus. Why do stories like this happen?
As parents, how do we protect our kids’ hearts from being destroyed by the consequences of their choices? We all need to understand The Principle of Consequences. The Principle of Consequences is this: If we’re on path A, we will end up at destination A. We choose the positive and negative consequences we will experience later by the path we choose to be on today.
This letter was sent to us during our inaugural year for Vacation Bible School (which we now call Summer Blast). Such a powerful story of how God transforms lives during this week for our children. Dear Relevant VBS Volunteers, I just had to write and tell you all thank you. I know this past week at VBS has meant many very late and stressful nights, busy days, time off work, time away from your children, and busy, hot, chaotic days with 100 young children!
What if I told you there is ONE THING that would… Transform you? Draw you closer to God? Lead you to experience His active presence in your life more? Improve your relationships? Proclaim the good news and love of Jesus in the world louder than anything else? Would you want to know what that one thing is? Would you do it?
Winning can be an exhilarating experience. Often, winning produces a physical action like shouting or jumping. No matter how big or small, whether it’s winning a game, a prize, or the lottery, we internally rejoice. But what happens when we lose? Losing also results in a physical reaction. Slumped shoulders, pouting, or a fake smile that covers up the angry emotions inside are just a few gestures we witness. While winning brings a sense of pride and joy, losing can make us feel jealous and ashamed.
Do your words fill others with joy or kill their joy? The words we speak to others are a really big deal to Jesus and an issue of obedience. Our obedience to what Scripture teaches is make it or break it in our experience of Jesus…Joy Himself. Choosing to be joy-filling people to others probably affects our joy much more than how they treat or speak to us.
This post is a summary from our Your Marriage Can Thrive sermon series. You can listen to the series on our Sermons page. Regardless of the past or what stage your marriage is currently in…your marriage can THRIVE! But a thriving marriage will require… 1. Two good forgivers, 2. Accepting one another’s faults, and 3. Spiritual oneness.
Have you ever noticed yourself behaving like those you’re around? We’re all part of a family in some way, shape, or form. From a young age, we see how children resemble their parents. Kids take on the mannerisms, vocabulary, attitudes, and even beliefs of their parents. How often do you hear, “You remind me so much of your mom/dad”? We become and behave like those we identify with.
