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Praying Over and Over and Over…
Last Wednesday, I gave a short devotional at Lebanon Road about praying to God for the same thing over and over again. We have all done it before, but sometimes, I think we feel as if we are annoying God or that it is useless to just keep expressing the same things, even if they are burdening our heart. As is often the case, though, my children helped me out on this one. Mary Carol showed me something in her room over the weekend that was so precious. It was a little chart that she got, I’m guessing from her Bible class. It had the names of the seven days…
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3 “Odd” Things I’m Praying for Today
We are to put all things before God’s throne in prayer. Christians understand that. But, let’s be honest, nearly all of us get into a “rut,” and pray for certain things at certain times of the year. I struggle in that way, too. But today I’m making an extra effort to pray for three things that are a bit “out of season.” Here they are: 1. College students. Yes, they are in school, but we often only pray for them as the semester starts and then again around finals week. But they continue to face difficulty and temptation throughout their days and weeks in school. Pray for them today! 2.…
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7 Things I Need to Pray for Every Day
One of my resolutions for 2010 was to keep an updated prayer list. I didn’t do so hot, so I “rolled” that resolution over to 2011. So far, not so good, but I haven’t given up on it yet! To help me out, I sat down recently and made a quick list of some of the things that I need to take before God every day. Here are some of the things I thought about. 1. My marriage. Leah is a precious gift, but marriages don’t work unless those in them work! I don’t want a “good enough” marriage. I want an off-the-charts-wow-this-is-amazing marriage, and God can do that! 2.…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: “Prince of Peace, Control My Will”
[NOTE: Each Thursday, we reflect on a hymn, usually ones that are suggested by our readers. If you would like to add your favorites to our list, leave a comment with up to three suggestions and we’ll write about it in the future.] ——————————- Nearing its 200th birthday, the hymn “Prince of Peace, Control My Will” continues to be sung as a simple, but insightful prayer to God for His guidance in our lives. Another blog writer gives this good history of the song: The text was written by Mary Ann Serrett Barber, who was born in England in 1801, the daughter of Thomas Barber. During her life, she had…
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Public Faith Makes the News
I would like to thank Tim Hill, a deacon at Lebanon Road, for showing me this story. He mentioned it in our Bible class Sunday morning, then sent me the information when I said I’d like to share it through the blog. Thanks, brother! —————————————– One of the changes that many people have seen in our society over the past several years is the removal of Christianity from public areas. Many reminisce about days when someone led a prayer over the public address system to start the days of school, and prayer was also publicly practiced in many other areas of life. When I was a teenager, I still remember…
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Friday Links Roundup: Great Young People Edition
I love young people. For just under 9 years, I served as a youth minister, the last (nearly) 7 years in Haleyville, Alabama. One reason we were so glad to come to Lebanon Road is that, even though I’m not the youth minister, I can still be around the young people here and help at camp and in other areas. Last night was the final Summer Youth Series in this area for 2010. Lebanon Road hosted one of these about 2 months ago, and last night I went over to the Mount Juliet church of Christ for the final one of the year. The announced attendance was 480, and there…
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7 "P's" That Will Improve Your Home
We are involved in a series on the home at Lebanon Road, and so most of what we are doing is promoting the use of our home life to glorify God. (The picture is of our PowerPoint title slide.) We have looked at the God-ordained fact of marriage, some principles for dating, and some encouraging words for those who are single. On Sunday, Lord willing, we will look at marriage. Since we are focused on that subject, I thought of some things for our Wednesday list that might help improve your home. To help, they all start with “P.” I hope you’ll add to the list in the comments! 1. Prayer.…
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12 Things I've Learned about Myself from Parenting Small Children
Next week, our adopted treasure (Mary Carol) will turn four years old. Her smile still lights up our world and Turner’s laugh is a sound I love to hear every day. Parenting isn’t just an exercise in helping little ones learn, though. There are so many things we learn about ourselves–some good and some not-so-good–from parenting little ones. Here are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned in the past four years. 1. I need more patience. True confession time: I want my kids to be the age they are, but have the maturity and patience of an adult. I get totally frustrated far too easily. 2. Even small…
