Family

  • Church Life,  Family

    “How’re You Doin’?” vs. “How Are You Doing?”

    As some who read this may know, I had a couple of issues with my health within a relatively short time frame a few years ago. It was during that time that I learned the difference between “How’re you doin’?” and “How are you doing.”   After my health was better, Donna and I were steroid-usa privileged to spend a few days at the Freed-Hardeman University Lectureship. It is always a profitable experience for us.   The wonderful fellowship we get to enjoy with people of “…like precious faith…” (2 Peter 1:1) is one of the highlights of our year as well. We are looking forward to another highlight in February of next…

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  • Church Life,  Family,  Parenting

    What Makes You a Winner?

    Friday night football in small towns is a great event. I remember spending lots of Friday nights watching the Dexter (MO) Bearcats play and enjoying the pre-game and half-time shows by the band. A couple of weeks ago in southeast Missouri, the Jackson Indians played the Cape Central Tigers on Jackson’s home field.  The game was really hard on Cape Central and the final score proved it. The final score was 35 – 0. Games like that are hard to take. You practice (in a lot of heat, I might add) and you travel to the town of the opposing team. Your hopes are high. The stands are full of fans. The cheerleaders are leading cheers…

  • Church Life,  Family

    Effective Communication

    Many years ago when I was in college (ouch, that hurts to say), I took a class on “Marriage and the Family.” I still have all the notes from the class and just recently I was dipping back into my folder for the sake of reviewing God’s allowances of divorce in the Old Testament. This, of course, would have been in regard to the question the Jews posed to Jesus about divorce in Matthew 19. Well, sometimes the search for something specific leads to the discovery of something else for which you were not looking. Instead of reviewing God’s thoughts about divorce I ended up pouring over some notes I…

  • Church Life,  Family

    September 12th: A Full Mast Day

    Driving down Willow Avenue towards the church building for work on a Thursday morning I saw something that made me pause and be thankful. It was a flag at full mast. The day before, our country had commemorated 9/11 and every flag was flown at half-mast. We were remembering and still mourning a terrible event that happened in America 18 years ago. There are certain days that will always be half-mast days. Have you ever seen a flag at half-mast and not know why it had been lowered? If you have, then perhaps you found yourself quickly checking the news. This reminds me that oftentimes people are in mourning over…

  • Church Life,  Family

    A Combination That is Difficult to Beat

    One of my favorite books in the Old Testament is the book of Nehemiah. It, of course, provides the reader with details concerning the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. From a historical perspective, that makes it interesting. However, that is not the only thing that intrigues me about this book. There are a number of lessons that are still useful for us today.   Without going into detail, I would suggest, for example, that present-day leaders could learn a great deal from the qualities, personality, strategies, etc. of Nehemiah himself. We can also learn a lot from the people who “…had a mind to work” (Neh. 4:6). The book of Nehemiah contains one…

  • Family,  Legacy of Faith Podcast,  Parenting

    Episode 127: Parents, Teach Your Children Compassion

    https://media.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/content.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/Legacy_Podcast_127.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS (Player not displaying or working? Click here to listen.) After a little podcast hiatus, Adam and Leah are back. This week, they talk about how parents need to instill the concept of kindness and compassion in their children and why that is valuable for spiritual reasons and for reasons even the world recognizes. Resource “I Raised 2 Successful CEOs and a Doctor — Here’s One of the Biggest Mistakes I See Parents Making” [CNBC] More from A Legacy of Faith To subscribe to A Legacy of Faith by email for free click here. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes Subscribe via rss Find…

  • Church Life,  Family

    It Made My Day!

    I’ve been going to the gym lately trying to keep my knee joints moving so I can keep my own knees and not end up with some foreign parts in my body. I can hardly believe it, but I really like going. I get up early, throw on some exercise clothes, brush my teeth and hair and drive to the gym. I’ve met a few really nice people there. The young man named Joe, who helped me learn how to use the machines, was very kind to this older lady who needed a lot of help.   There are a couple of women about my age who also happen to like the early…

  • Church Life,  Family

    “Whatever the Cost” : 3 Words that Make Me Think

    Do you ever stop to think about the words you sing as you worship? Since we are supposed to “…sing with the spirit…and with the understanding…” (1 Cor. 14:15), it seems to me that this would be an advisable thing to do.  At times, this is also a sobering thing to do. In fact, it could be downright challenging. I love the song, “I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary.” I especially like the sentiment expressed in these words:  “And when time has surrendered and earth is no more, I’ll still cling to the old rugged cross.” However, there are some lyrics right before those words that challenge me. If I’m really engaged…

  • Family,  Parenting

    Welcome, Grady!

    Today [Wednesday, ADF] was a special day. For the first time since Lyssabeth, a new baby was born into our family. Jeremiah’s niece, Lauryn, and her husband Chayce, welcomed little Grady to the world today. It is so fun to see those 10 perfect toes and sweet little lips and cheeks! And, we are thankful for modern medicine as Grady has had to have a little help keeping his oxygen up today. If you know me personally or read my posts, you know that my mind tends to spiral quickly. I was thinking about the joy of Grady’s coming and then the thought hit me of what a hypocritical world…

  • Church Life,  Family,  Parenting

    Thank God for Squirming Kids: Why Congregations Should Reconsider Children’s Church

    It seems to be happening in more and more places. It is about time for the sermon to begin, and a boatload of parents carry or walk their precious children to a different part of the building and then return for the lesson. The kids are in “children’s church” and the adults are in what is sometimes jokingly called “big church.” Today, I want to urge congregations to rethink this approach. Typically, when people want to start (or defend) “children’s church,” they give the same couple of reasons. Admittedly, both are understandable, but both also need to be thought through carefully. Some suggest that children’s church gives young people a…

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