Tag: christian

Devotion · family · sunday devotion

Start building your trust #SundayDevotion

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Start building your trust in God day by day!

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Form New Habits

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

God’s Word teaches us that when we receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, He gives us a new nature. He gives us His nature. He also gives us a spirit of discipline and self-control, which is vital in allowing us to choose the ways of our new nature. He gives us a sound mind (see 2 Timothy 1:7), and that means we can think about things properly without being controlled by emotion. The way we once were passes away, and we have all the equipment we need for a brand-new way of behaving. God gives us the ability and offers to help us, but we are not puppets and God will not manipulate us. We must choose spirit over flesh and right over wrong. Our renewed spirits will then control our souls and bodies or, to say it another way, the inner person will control the outer person.

Without God’s help we have difficulty doing things in moderation. We frequently eat too much, spend too much money, have too much entertainment, and talk too much. We are excessive in our actions because we behave emotionally. And after the thing is done and cannot be undone, we regret doing it. But we can choose to form new habits, not doing something just because we feel like it, but instead doing what will produce the best result in the end.

We do not have to live in regret. God gives us His Spirit to enable us to make right and wise choices. He urges us, guides and leads us, but we still have to cast the deciding vote. If you have been casting the wrong vote, all you need to do is change your vote. Forming new habits will require making a decision to not do what you feel like doing unless it agrees with God’s will.

Trust in Him
God wants you to live out of your new nature, not your old one. Every time you put your trust in Him and cast the deciding vote to obey, His Spirit transforms you and makes you more like Him.

From the book Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2012 by Joyce Meyer. 

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Devotion · family · Family Share · fatherhood · motherhood

#Devotion Sunday

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Please watch the video 🙂 

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“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
Romans‬ ‭10:9-10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭1:9‬ ‭NIV‬

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John‬ ‭10:28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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Kids 1st Day of School praying with DAD

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Devotion · Family Share · photography

Leaving a Legacy for Your Child

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Leaving a Legacy for Your Child

The space shuttle Columbia – most of us didn’t know much about the amazing crew on the ship’s last mission until they were lost in that awful re-entry tragedy.

Now, we understand what truly outstanding men and women these people were – beginning with their commander, Rick Husband. Hearing from his family and friends, it quickly became clear that he was a magnetic follower of Jesus Christ. He quoted memory verses from Joshua 1 to prepare his crew the night before the launch. He prayed with his crew just before they met the press and boarded the shuttle. He molded his diverse crew into a bonded team.

And then there was the really touching thing he did for his kids before he left. He made 17 videos for his daughter and 17 videos for his young son, each one a “devotional with Daddy” for each day he was scheduled to be gone – it was Daddy with the Word of God and Daddy praying with them. Can you imagine what a treasure that has been for them?

He left them the kind of legacy God intends for every father to leave – a contagious love for Jesus, the teaching of God’s words and God’s ways, and a consistent life of Christlike love and purity.

The answer to, “How do you know that’s what a father’s supposed to be doing?”, is found in

Ephesians 6:4. It says, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

There are men who might say, “That’s women’s work.” There are men who try to delegate to their wife the spiritual leadership for which God holds them accountable. Throughout the Bible – beginning with Adam – God makes it clear where the buck stops when it comes to spiritual leadership in a family. It stops with the man.

And that’s not supposed to be a bad thing. It means that a man can leave a legacy for his children that can literally change their lives and last forever. That’s an exciting prospect! Rick Husband modeled this God-given assignment of being your children’s spiritual coach when he left God’s Word for his children along with hearing him talk with God on their behalf.

One reason some men haven’t stepped up to building spiritual legacy could be fear of failure. We men tend to only do things where we’re pretty sure we won’t look stupid. We ask out a girl only when we’re pretty sure she won’t shoot us down. We show up for a sport where we can look reasonably coordinated. And because trying to lead our family in praying and exploring God’s Word is unsure ground, we tend to shy away from it, or we hide behind the fact that we think our wife is better at it. But God doesn’t buy any of that. There’s only one way you can be a failure in being a spiritual leader for your family – and that’s by not stepping up! Just do it – however clumsy and unsure you may be at first.

When your children remember you, will they remember a praying man, a godly man, one who loved and lived by the words of God? It’s the greatest legacy you can give them. In the words of the psalmist,

“We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord” and will follow God’s mandate that men should “teach their children, so the next generation would know…even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God…” (Psalm 78:4, 6, 7).

We never know when our own mission on earth will end. Therefore, we can’t waste another day working on our spiritual legacy. The greatest gifts you will leave your children will not be in your will – they will be in your life – as you pass onto them your living faith in your living God!

Further study

Malachi 4:5-6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Going Deeper

One thing I need to do more of to leave a spiritual legacy with my family is…

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
5And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
10And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not, when thou shalt have eaten and be full.
12Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
14Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you.
15(For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
16Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
17Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
18And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers,
19To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the Lord hath spoken.
20And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, what mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?
21Then thou shalt say unto thy son, we were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
22And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
25And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. Deuteronomy 6: 4-25
Info: Bible and Daily word with Ron Hutchcraft
Devotion · Family Share · photography

Unfinished Business

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Unfinished Business

Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

It was a nostalgic time when we drove away the last time from our home of 24 years. We left behind a lot of memories in the walls – and a couple in the tree in the far corner of the backyard. See, when the kids were little, we wanted to build them a tree house. So, we made a plan, got some lumber, and started our little project. We laid down a couple of boards between two branches; it was the beginning of a floor for the tree house. Then we took a break. And we never went back. Oh, yes, we intended to finish that house, but right up until the day we moved out, those boards were all that ever happened.

That’s not the only house a parent intended to build and never got done. In fact, many of us Moms and Dads knew how we wanted our family to be – how we still want it to be – but somehow the home, the family we intended to build never got finished did it? Even as our children were leaving for college, we talked about how quickly the years had melted away and how we were feeling there was so much unfinished business in our kids’ lives.

Maybe you’re a mom or Dad, and you can see in your relationship with your children a lot of things you wish you had done, or a lot of things you wish you hadn’t done. Like us with our tree house…the intentions were good, but something happened along the way. Your children may still be fairly young, still at home, but already you have regrets about what has or hasn’t happened in your relationship – in their lives.

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But it isn’t over yet. In fact, the Bible offers a blueprint for hope and for healing. If you can find the courage to activate this powerful step, you may still be able to take care of some of that unfinished business. God says in James 5:16, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Let’s apply this to a broken or strained or a hurting family relationship – a part of your home that never got finished. God is calling you to fervent prayer for that person that’s on your heart. And He is calling us to “confess our sins to each other”, too. In the case of your son or daughter, that probably means saying some of the hardest words in the English language for a parent to say, “I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

For someone you love, just your recognition that you were wrong could start a healing process in both of you. Tell them you’re sorry for any way you feel you have failed them; that you want the future to be different from the past; give them the “I love you” that they may have been waiting for a long time. Give them your blessing, your approval, your praise. They may have been starved for it for years. It’s never too late to say, “I love you.” It’s never too late to say, “I’m sorry.” It’s never too late to say, “Let’s make a new beginning.”

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Oh, it will take some humility, because it’s pride that keeps walls from coming down. It will take God’s courage, but it could heal so much in you and so much in that person you love. But the home, the family, the relationship you never finished can still be built if you can say three life-changing, life-giving words,

“I was wrong.”

Further Study

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Going Deeper

Someone I need to say, “I was wrong” to is…
One way I failed my family is…
Something I can do to resolve the conflict in my family is…

Thank You Ron Hutchcraft for the study 🙂 Resources: The Bible, images from pixabay.com
Devotion · Family Share · kids · reeding · Review

Protecting Your #Child from • Soul Poison •  #Parenting 

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Protecting Your Child from “Soul Poison”
There are some decent, even values-oriented things on television for children these days. But, as you know very well, there’s a lot of garbage, too. And in between those two extremes, there are shows that are mostly good but have some words scattered in them that little ears shouldn’t be hearing – or big ears, for that matter. Along comes a service called TV Guardian – which automatically replaces a naughty word with a nice word, thus removing what could be bad for your child. Occasionally, the replacements are actually a little amusing. Like the word “sex,” for example. The replacement word is “hugs.” Which gets a little interesting when someone asks, “So what will be the hugs of your baby?” But I do think TV Guardian is a pretty good idea.

Something like TV Guardian was invented for parents who realize a very important assignment that they have; to protect their children from anything that could harm them. Of course, a parent is going to protect their son or daughter from physical harm – like getting too close to the edge of a cliff or running onto the Interstate. But Mom and Dad have no less a responsibility for protecting their kids from things that can hurt their soul. And there’s a lot of soul poison out there.

There is a ten-word challenge that underscores where the front lines of the battle are for any life – including that of your children. Proverbs 4:23 begins with these attention-getting words, “Above all else…” Then these ten words – “Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” In other words, be careful about what gets into your heart – or into your child’s heart – because it is the reservoir from which everything else flows.

Yes, one front in the battle for a child’s pure heart is related to what they listen to and watch. It’s amazing how we will allow someone to portray right in our living room, on TV, DVD, or Netflix, things we would never, ever allow to be done in our living room – sexually, for example. We allow comedy into our home and into their heart that trivializes sin that ruins lives; not realizing that our kids are learning to laugh about things that are eternally serious. No matter what the parental peer pressure of what other parents are allowing and what the culture says is “must see” stuff, we’ve got to stand our ground on not allowing our kids to mentally eat out of the garbage can.

 
But guarding their heart is so much bigger than TV or movies or music. It’s about the poison that comes from us. The bitterness they’re learning by listening to us, the anger, the self-centeredness, the putdowns of other people, the names they hear us call people, the prejudice they hear in the way we talk about others, the disrespect they hear us expressing toward people at work, at church – or even toward their Mother or Father. That’s more deadly poison than anything the media can pump out. Our precious children need “Parent Guardian” – to protect them from the poison that they see modeled in living color by a Mom or Dad.

The DVR in your son’s or daughter’s heart is always recording. It’s always capturing what it hears, and the impressions are shaping who they’re becoming. You are the guardian, assigned to your child by God, to protect that young heart from poison and infection – even if (especially if) it’s coming from you.

Going Deeper

One undesirable trait I see in my child that reminds me of myself is… One thing I could do to help them and me grow in that area is…

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Proverbs‬ ‭4:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Tweet: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs‬ ‭4:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬ - Via- @4Guys_1Girl

“I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise. I will be careful to lead a blameless life— when will you come to me? I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart. I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil. Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not tolerate. My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me. No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence. Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭101:1-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Study by Ron Hutchcraft
Devotion · Family Share

Who was ? Ana ” The Prophet   ” ? 

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Anna, the daughter of Penuel, was eighty-four years of age and long widowed. Apparently she was a member of the resident staff at the temple in Jerusalem, devoting herself to continual service in the temple. The text does not indicate why she was called a “prophet.” Her unnamed husband might have been a prophet, or perhaps she herself had spent time praising and bearing testimony or even foretelling future events under divine inspiration. In simplest terms, she obviously was a woman through whom God spoke. As a descendant of the tribe of Asher, Anna looked for the Messiah as the prophets Isaiah (Isa 9:6) and Micah (Mic 5:2) had foretold.

When Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple to present him to the Lord approximately a month after his birth, they offered their sacrifices according to ancient law. He had been circumcised on the eighth day, probably in Bethlehem. Now the days of Mary’s purification were completed (see Lev 12:4). As they were in the temple, a devout man, Simeon, was moved by the Holy Spirit to be present and to hold the Infant in his arms.

Anna watched as Simeon prayed, knowing in her heart that the Messiah had come. Luke’s description of this woman helps the reader to understand the respect and veneration that she commanded. A lifetime of prayer and fasting made her comments worth reporting. She, a recognized prophetess, confirmed God’s gift of redemption and her words resonated with all who looked for salvation (Lk 2:38).
Anna personified in her day those who “serve the living and true God, and . . . wait for his Son from heaven” (1Th 1:9–10). She is a model for us; like her, women are to “live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for that blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12–13).

Daily Devotional.
Devotion · Family Share

“Seek First the Kingdom”

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“Seek First the Kingdom”

If our mission from Christ is to “seek first the kingdom of God,” how can a successful, God-honoring marriage not be marked by mission? We’re not told to seek first an intimate marriage, a happy life, obedient children, or anything else. Jesus tells us to seek first one thing, and one thing only: His kingdom and His righteousness (the two words define and build on each other, creating one common pursuit). A successful marriage is not only supported by a kingdom pursuit, but in many ways the pursuit is a prerequisite for post-infatuation intimacy.

Life without this aim, and marriage without this purpose, is going to lose a lot of its luster. “We hunger for this today: cooperating together, meshing, working like a mountain climbing team, ascending the peak of our dream, and then holding each other at the end of the day. God has planted this hunger deep within every married couple. It’s more than a hunger for companionship. It’s more than a hunger to create new life. It’s a third hunger, a hunger to do something significant together. According to God’s Word, we were joined to make a difference. We were married for a mission.”

Being “married for a mission” can revitalize a lot of marriages in which the partners think they suffer from a lack of compatibility; my suspicion is that many of these couples actually suffer from a lack of purpose. Jesus’s words given to individuals in Matthew 6:33 are perhaps even truer in marriage. When we give away our life, we find it. When we focus outside our marriage, we end up strengthening our marriage.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,20but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6: 19-21

* Is your marriage one with mission? How can you and your spouse more fully live a life of mission as a couple?

* Ref: The Bible & Breath Spiritual Passion into your Marriage

Devotion · Family Share

“Divine Dependence”

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“Divine Dependence”

If your marriage and family feel like a joke or as if they’re bordering on chaos, it’s not anything that God hasn’t seen or isn’t capable of redeeming. So much of Christian teaching today is about us developing “our” gifts, improving “our” talents, reaching “our” potential, yet so much of Jesus’s teaching and modeling is about surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit. Let’s allow marriage to teach us to trust this Holy Spirit. He’s proven Himself. If we truly want to transform our marriages, we must learn the glory of divine dependence.

God will never call us to do something without giving us everything that is necessary in order for us to finish the task. It may not be all that we think we need, but it will be all that we do need. This is not to say the job will feel easy. But God promises through Isaiah, “He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power” (Isa. 40:29 NASB).

Don’t pass over this thought, because it’s crucial: Isaiah 40:29 assumes that God will call us to various tasks for which we lack enough power on our own.

The “secret,” then, to a truly sacred marriage is actually a person, God’s promised Holy Spirit. Because God is such a relational God (meeting our need for salvation by sending His Son), it shouldn’t surprise us that He meets our need for transformation by also sending Himself in the person of His Holy Spirit.

Since marriage is one of the most profound acts of worship any two believers can ever share, it is impossible to be married in a sacred manner without the Holy Spirit being active in our lives, helping us to understand what it means to love, giving us the power to love, convicting us when we fail to love, renewing our hearts when we grow weary in love, and pouring out hope when we grow discouraged in love.

The Lord gives strength
to those who are weary. Isaiah 40:29 
 But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.” Acts 1:8

* Do you lean on the Holy Spirit to strengthen you and your marriage? What is a specific situation where you lacked ability, but were strengthened by the Holy Spirit?

____The Bible & Breathe Spiritual Passion into Your Marriage.
Causes · Depressed · Devotion · Family Share · Health · kids · love · Mental Health

From One Who Was Cut And Pierced For You; He understands!

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Suicide among young people is on the rise. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is now the third leading cause of death for youth between ages 10 and 24. Some states even report it as the leading cause of death in this age group. “It results in approximately 4,600 lives lost each year. The top three methods used in suicides of young people include firearm (45%), suffocation (40%), and poisoning (8%). ” Deaths resulting from suicide are only part of the problem. The CDC states, “More young people survive suicide attempts than actually die. A nationwide survey of youth in grades 9–12 in public and private schools in the United States found that 16 percent of students reported seriously considering suicide, 13 percent reported creating a plan, and 8 percent reported trying to take their own life in the 12 months preceding the survey.”

It’s obvious that suicide is becoming a serious problem with our youth.

The telltale signs

There are usually warning signs that let you know when your teen is struggling emotionally — the kinds of struggles that lead to suicidal thoughts.

  1. Depression. This is not simply a child having a bad day and feeling down. All children have those from time to time. This is about a child feeling depressed day after day — a feeling of hopelessness. You can’t seem to cheer him or her up.

  2. Other suicides. When a fellow student commits suicide, it puts the thought into the minds of others.
  3. Too much stress. Kids are under a lot of pressure in school and far too many pressures at home.
  4. Involved in drug and alcohol abuse. When these abusive behaviors are present, likelihood of suicide increases.
  5. Bullied at school or on social media. We hear continually about bullied kids being so hurt and ashamed that they finally can’t deal with the hurt anymore.

When these factors are involved, it doesn’t mean your child will commit suicide. It just means you need to pay attention, improve your relationship with your child or consider getting some professional help.

What parents can do

These reports are daunting, and parents may wonder what is to be done to stem this tide. No parent wants his child to die — and most certainly not by suicide. Here’s the good news. There are specific ways parents play a vital role in helping prevent their children from committing or attempting suicide. The following are the most powerful things a parent can do.

Create a strong family environment

This is done several different ways:

  • Eat meals together as a family at least five times a week. This creates a safe place where family members can talk about what’s going on in their lives, laugh and share their concerns.
  • Play together. Do fun things. Board games, ball games, bowling, picnics, camping — anything fun and wholesome that brings the family together.
  • Visit relatives. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins bring a great deal of support and love into a child’s life. Make this happen for your family.
  • It’s reassuring to know that parents, siblings and loved ones care about you. This happens from continual association with each other in the home — in a congenial atmosphere. This doesn’t mean there won’t be arguing at times. That’s normal. It just means you keep the family activities going, regardless. Remember to tell your kids you love them. That matters. They need to hear it often.

Attend religious services

In a recent article, Greg Hudnall, a suicide prevention trainer, says of the youth, “[R]eligion helps them feel a connectedness, and that connectedness is very powerful.” This same article reports that “the students who reported high levels of religious participation — attending services one time per week or more — were half as likely to have contemplated suicide.”

Hudnall goes on to say, “One thing parents and religious communities can do is help youths deal with disappointment, psychological stress and failure.”

Keep a close eye on your child’s behavior and demeanor. To prevent suicidal thoughts, be diligent in involving your child in family activities and religious experiences. These two traditions have proven to be highly effective in curtailing suicide. If suicidal signs persist, seek professional help. It’s a fact that some suicides will happen even if parents do all they can to be there for their children. When this happens, parents who know they did what they could to save their children can, at least, find a measure of peace.

Together, Gary and Joy Lundberg author books on relationships. For more from the Lundbergs on improving communication, see “I Don’t Have to Make Everything All Better.”

via Protecting your child from the expanding risk of suicide.

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Now this article called my attention. Not only because I’ve been suffering from the depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms and having a difficult time these past couple of years of my life more than others. But because I read in a group yesterday, on a board a mother crying out for help because her daughter is a cutter. The daughter just told her about it and she didn’t know what to do. Her husband didn’t understand and wanted to keep quiet about it just between them. (Normal .. Some people are embarrassed ) not something easy to deal with specially if your family is a family that a lot of people look at as a good, healthy family. For an example; My husband is a Pastor and I’m the messed up wife lol. Is how I see it (OOops Joke about it ). Am I embarrassed? I was at the beginning for a long time, but not anymore. and you might ask me. Why not anymore? Well, I’m the one that needs the help, and I’m the one that knows if I don’t get it, or look for the help now things can get worse and than what? Will being embarrassed help me than? So that’s what I did. Regardless of what people might think or will think of me or my family I’m getting the help I need. I don’t care what others think of me or my family. I’m doing this for us. Not for them. So I think it’s very important for You as parents to talk to your kids and be aware of whats going on with them and not just your kids but your spouse as well. Give them the help they need. Trust me as I say this.  If your TEEN comes to you and tells you ” Mom or Dad I’m a cutter I need help.”  They NEED help, and YOU will NOT be able to provide that HELP they are seeking unless you have the structure to do it all alone and most of us don’t. GET PROFESSIONAL HELP. If you could provide that help they wouldn’t be doing what they are doing in the first place. They would just come and talk to you and solve the problem. They cut to feel relieve, to release the pain, to feel alive. Depression is not something you can wake up one day and say ” Oh it’s all gone. ” Please use the helpful links and seek help.

🙂 Hugs to all 🙂 

For Women 

Crisis HelpLine

PTSD

Devotion · Family Share · love · reeding · Review

” God as Father-In-Law “

EllyFilho1 Comment

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It came almost as a warning, and frankly, I needed one at the time. I was a young husband, and during an intense time of prayer, I sensed God telling me very directly that Lisa wasn’t just my wife, but she was also His daughter, and I was to treat her accordingly.

This was a moment of revelation for me, and the force of this insight grew once I had kids of my own. If you want to get on my good side, just be good to one of my kids.

Conversely, if you really want to make me angry, pick on my kids. Be mean to them. My blood pressure will go up if your name is even mentioned because I’d much rather you mess with me and with one of my kids.

So, when I realized, I was married to God’s daughter—and that you, women, were married to God’s sons—everything about how I viewed marriage changed. God feels about my wife—His daughter—in an even holier and more passionate way than I feel about my own daughters. Suddenly, my marriage was no longer about just me and one other person; it was very much a relationship with a passionately interested third partner. I realized one of my primary forms of worship throughout the rest of my life would be honoring God by taking care of a woman who would always be, in His divine mind, “His little girl.”

We often hear pastors contemplate the fatherhood of God, a wonderful and true doctrine. But if you want to change your marriage, extend this analogy and spend some time meditating about God as Father-in-Law. Because when you marry a believer, He is!

1 John 3-1
Galatians 3:26-29

* Have you ever thought of your spouse as the son/daughter of God? How does this change your relationship (both actions and attitudes) with him/her?

(Book Breath Spiritual Passion into your marriage)