Think About It

The idea of parenting is an interesting concept.  Basically, we take an infant who can do nothing to care for themselves and, in a short two decades, we train them to function independently.  No, we can’t teach them everything in that period of time, but we provide them with the capacity to fend for themselves.   Have you ever really given much thought to what they need to know when they leave the safety of our homes and head out into the word?  Here are a few principles that will serve them well for the rest of their lives: 1.  They need to take responsibility for their own choices .  We have all been given the blessing of being able to be independent thinkers.  That is great, but it comes with a price – accountability.  We can whine and fuss and blame all we want, but satisfaction will only come when we are grown up enough to be responsible. 2.  They need to realize their responsibility to others .   Selfishness and is...

I am not sure what prompted the issue:  maybe it was trying to decide where we were going to go for supper … it could have been trying to make a choice about how we were going to spend our vacation … maybe it was trying to decide between which new electronic device(s) I was going to buy.   No matter what the prompt was, I found that I was feeling stressed about what I was going to do.  Then, all of a sudden, it hit me – I am stressing out over blessings!  Why in the world should I be worrying about the wealth of riches I had been handed; I should appreciate what we have been given and not fret about having to make decisions about several good options!  It’s not like I am having to choose between good and bad – when it comes to choosing between two good options I should be satisfied, not stressed. Many of us grew up with the spiritual song “Count Your Blessings” and, while it a great song, maybe a follow-up title could be “Appreciate Your Blessings”....

          Last Week Our Community Was Shocked By The Loss Of A Young Adult!            This could have been the headline in our local media today – but, we are not alone because this could be the banner in any region of the county on just about any day.   It is sad and it is true!   While the loss of a young person can be devastating to friends, family and the community as a whole it can also be used to serve as a reminder that life is not certain.   A young age is no guarantee of a future life.             With this mind, the question of the day is “What do we need to do TODAY?”.  Is there a bridge that needs to be rebuilt?  Is there a project that needs to be completed?  Is there a dream that needs to be realized?  Is there a spiritual commitment that needs to be made?  It is easy to become complacent and believe that there will always...

When Jesus was instructing His earliest disciples He did some teaching about making vows or taking oaths.  The concept was simply that a person’s word should be good enough on its own – disciples shouldn’t have to “swear” to make something believable.  In summarizing His instruction He said, “ But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.” (Matthew 5:37)  Over the last few days I have found myself contemplating this concept.  No, I am not routinely swearing oaths or taking vows, but I am discovering that the more I talk the more dumb stuff I say.  Rarely do I get in trouble for saying too little, but on several occasions I have made the mistake of saying too much.  When I talk too much I tend to be insensitive to others and I am apt to discuss things that are superficial at best.  The more words I use the more I am tempted to focus on myself and the less influence I seem to have on others....

Over the last several decades I have watched as people, fueled by social outrage, have turned on their own communities to express their frustration.  Through the years many of our major U. S. cities have experienced rioting and, as a part of that, I have been amazed that rather than directing their destructive behavior toward outsiders, they burn and loot their own neighborhoods.  I am sure there is an explanation for it, but it escapes me. Having said that, there is something similar that personally happens inside many of us.  How often to do harm ourselves when we are at odds with others?  Nelson Mandela once said, “ Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”.  Others have observed that hate and anger are both caustic emotions that eat away at the vessels that possess them.  Like a community that turns on itself, people who become bitter inexplicitly seem to do more harm to themselves than they do to focal point of t...

According to the weather folks, today is supposed to be a hot one in our neck of the woods.  I know that some of you have been dealing with hot weather for a while and our temperatures in the 90s would almost feel like a relief.  I have never really been someone who enjoyed hot weather, but I am trying to learn to make the most of it.  First of all, as I think back on all the sub-zero days that I have experienced over the past quarter of a century, a little warmth doesn’t seem too bad.  Yet, I have also been thinking about how the warm weather actually serves to praise God.  Let me see if I can explain.  In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer is the hottest time of the year and July is one of the hottest months.  God created a world that is so reliable and dependable that we can bank on the fact that if it is July there is a good chance it is going to be warm (hot).  In a sense, the presence of July’s temperatures prove that there is a God of ord...

As I was driving to church last Sunday morning I heard a bluegrass song that really struck me.  I think the name of the group was the NewFound Road and the name of the song was “I Need You Lord”.  The thing that touched me was the sentiment of the chorus that said, “You can make it without me, Lord, but I can’t make it without You.”.  As I thought about this concept I reflected on all the different ways that we seem to express our indispensableness to God.  We say thinks like “I am in the Lord’s Army” or “I am an ambassador for the Lord.”.  We proclaim that our church is “On fire for the Lord” or that we are “Doing great things for the cause of Christ.”  While I am sure God is pleased when we are faithful to Him the truth is that He doesn’t need us to accomplish His will.  Sure, it is great to be on His team, but if He chose to do so He could send ten thousand angels to do the work we are doing.  God doesn’t need us; however, we do need Him....