daddy4ms

This is a blog post by Steven Furtick, author of Sun Stand Still & pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. I have a simple goal in parenting. When you read it you’ll probably yawn. You’ll wonder how it fits with a prayer I included in Sun Stand Still that I pray for Elijah and Graham almost every day: “God, raise up my sons to be the greatest men of God of their generation.” But it’s my goal nonetheless. And it’s actually just as bold and audacious as my prayer for them. My goal in parenting is to raise my kids to have a boring testimony. In other words, to stay out of trouble and love Jesus all their lives. Exciting, I know. But actually, it really should be. I know that in the church we usually privilege and promote Christian horror stories where God brings someone back from the edge of doom. But trust me, these stories that bring an audience to tears brought far more tears to the parents while they were actually living through them. I don’t want that for Holly o

I didn't have time to write a post yesterday in honor of my beautiful daughter, Mackenzie. So, I am writing it a day late. While I am wishing "Happy Birthday" I will also say it to my college roommate, Ed, whose birthday is today. Happy Birthday to you all! As I reflect on Mackenzie's birthday, I am reminded of God's faithfulness. I wrote a post last year describing Mackenzie's first days out of the womb. She was born at 35 weeks and spent 2 weeks in the hospital. As we looked at pictures last night, it is a reminder of the great care she received, but more importantly of God bringing her through a difficult time. Bethany and I are continually amazed at how God gave us peace despite Mackenzie's health situation. I am so excited to see how God uses Mackenzie in the future. She is a true servant. She loves to help others and always considers others. She will go along with things to avoid conflict in the home. She is a caring, sensitive young lady.

My kids are on Spring Break this week. On Monday, it was my day off, so I spent the day having fun with them. After sleeping in, a requirement on "daddy days", we started out on a walk from home. We headed down Main Street in Hesston to avoid the wind. Our first break was at the Hesston Library. The kids enjoyed the new computers in the children's area and I picked up a magazine & the book "Between A Rock & A Hard Place" by Aron Ralston . I was intrigued because Bethany and I watched 127 hours the night before. After about 30 minutes, we headed to the kids' favorite (and mine too), Lincoln Perk. The kids ate a chocolate chip muffin, cinnamon roll, and Mitchell had a decaf blended caramel latte. I know I am a bad father for letting my 11 year old son have coffee, but it is a special treat and not very often. After the Perk, we stopped to play at King Park. The kids got along very well today so it was a good start for the morning. After lunc

Well, I had another great day of reading & good coffee at the Perk today. I am reading several good books right now. For staff meetings, I am reading Sticky Teams. I continue in my reading of Radical, The Christian Atheist & The Dad in the Mirror. Last week, I shared several quotes from Radical so this week I will share from The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel . These quotes come from Chapter 7: "Jeremy, like other Christian Atheists who've tried to change and failed, wrongly believes that God simply can't change him." "He (Satan) lies to us until we're convinced that we're stuck and can never escape our problems." "Addictions are idolatry. We're trying to meet some need that only Christ can, looking to anything but him." "Admitting our problems is only the first step. After that, we must invite God to work, because he is the one who can change any problem." "God is bigger than our problems, no matter wha

On Thursday, I continued reading through Radical by David Platt . Several are reading this book and good friends in Colorado are leading an adult Sunday School class through the material. Chapter 3 was a great reminder and encouragement to me. I encourage you to read this book, but thought I would share several quotes to pique your interest. "But this story (you will have to get the book to know which story) was a clear reminder to me that two thousand years ago when believers proclaimed the name of Jesus, it caused the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the dead to rise. The name of Jesus had the power to cause evil spirits to flee and to bring the most hardened hearts to God. And the reality is, two thousand years later the power of Jesus' name is still great. . . So the challenge for us it to live in such a way that we are radically dependent on and desperate for the power that only God can provide." "In the gospel, God confronts us with our utter inability