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Job’s Reaction to a Really Bad Day
What is your first reaction when things go badly for you? What would you do if you lost just about everything except your life? What if all of that happened almost “all at once?” As I try to internalize those questions, I’m not always completely satisfied with my answers. I’m afraid that, at the very least, I would have a “pity party.” I’m afraid that the question, “Why me?” would come to my mind (and might even be expressed). I would hope that I would not blame God, but I know many who have done just that. Most of us are at least somewhat familiar with the book of Job. As we open the book, we…
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Your Face Says It
Have you noticed how many people aren’t smiling these days? Everywhere I look, lots of people are walking around with a sad, straight, or frowning face. Now, I realize that smiling all the time would seem kind of weird, but when in a crowd of people, shouldn’t we at least try to smile at those with whom we establish eye contact? Thinking about this reminded me of a conversation I had with my mother near the end of her life. She was living in an assisted living home near me, and I was able to visit her every day. As she became more and more feeble, she began to talk about…
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7 Family Devo Ideas for Families with Teens
Though not perfectly consistent with it, we are big advocates of family devotionals. However, when the kids are a little older, it can be more difficult to find ideas. Many websites, blogs, and books are out there with ideas for little children or elementary-aged kids, but what do you do when you are dealing with teenagers? Since that’s the stage of life we are in, I thought it might be helpful to give a few ideas that you might want to try. We’ve tried all of these. Some have worked better than others, but all have been a great encouragement. Appian Media Videos We love the work done by Appian…
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Lucy or Lucille?
Those of us “of a certain age” have fond memories of the television show I Love Lucy. We laughed at the antics of the fictional families of the Ricardos and Mertzs. We knew that “Ricky” and “Lucy” were Desi and Lucille in real life. Some may have also known that things weren’t quite as amusing “off the set” as they were when they were acting. I guess that we didn’t care much about that. I suppose that we were mostly interested in what they could do for us as far as entertainment was concerned. After I Love Lucy ended and after her divorce from Desi Arnez, Lucille Ball attempted somewhat of a comeback…
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Why We Kick Off Lads to Leaders So Early
When this post will be released, we will be just a few days from kicking off Lads to Leaders at Central for the 2022-2023 year with a meeting, meal, and our first event sign-ups. Last year, when we did this so early, I literally got messages from preachers and youth ministers telling me we were nuts. They may have been right, but here we are again. Why? It is because of what we saw at the national convention in Nashville just a few weeks ago. Central is not a large congregation. We are not one of those churches that brings triple-digits in attendees to convention (this year was our largest…
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Keep Checking
I saw something recently that reminded me of an incident and a conversation I had quite a few years ago. I’m glad that I saw what I did. I needed the reminder. It might be that you could also benefit from my reminder and my experience. The incident occurred when our family lived in Dexter, Missouri. I was driving up to the house of one of the members of the congregation where I preached at that time. I thought it would be “just another visit,” but it turned into a life lesson (at least for me). The brother I went to see was doing something to his own house that he did for a living…
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What Does It Take to be a Mother?
No, this isn’t going to be a biology or physiology lesson, but the biology and physiology of conceiving a child really should be taught by parents to our children in the home. They need to learn that when an egg in the woman is fertilized by a sperm from a man, a child is conceived. That child will continue to grow inside the woman for approximately nine months and then be born making her the mother. But there’s so much more to motherhood, as God intended it, than just this textbook description. Maturity. A woman (along with her husband) should recognize that life is sacred and a gift from God…
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The Hug That Was Years in the Making
It happened three years ago now, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. For many years, because I was preaching, I was not able to be with my mom on Mother’s Day (or my dad on Father’s Day). She was with dad, worshiping while he preached and I was preaching elsewhere. I did my best to call on Mother’s Day and it was always a joy to hear her be happy to hear from her son, but there was just something different about not seeing her on that special day, and knowing that I couldn’t see her. Then, as you likely know, we moved to where my parents live…
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Wanted!
Expert in just about everything – often without formal trainingWilling and able to organize, lead, and motivate – without being perceived as a leaderLong hoursAlways on callNo real job description“Target” for criticism from others (most of whom don’t really understand the situation)No salaryNo vacation timeNo established sick leaveNo company funded insurance or retirement planOften under (or not) appreciated Do you know anybody who would sign up for that? I do! In fact, I am blessed because I have had and/or currently have five such people in my family. Two of them, Virginia Faughn and Ruth Turner, have left this life, but have left behind an amazing legacy in a lot of ways. Three…
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Power of Prayer
Today’s post is not long or overly profound. It is simply a reminder of something all Christians (including me) should know. However, sometimes we forget. We forget to utilize the most powerful resource we have: prayer. And I don’t just mean our individual prayers. Although it is an undeserved honor and privilege to talk to our Heavenly Father (Heb. 4:16; 2 Chron. 7:14), and He wants to hear from us about our concerns (1 Pet. 5:6-7), we are also told to pray for one another (James 5:16). Now, if you are like me, you have no problem getting those requests and being honored to be asked. But when was the…
