daddy4ms

I am currently reading through Think Again by Jared Mellinger.  A review of the book will be posted tomorrow on the blog.  Here are some quotes from the first half of the book that I have enjoyed: The more we are captivated by Christ, the less we are caught up in self. Fear, false guilt, unbelief, and many other daily struggles are weeds that grow in the soil of thinking about ourselves too much, and thinking about Christ too little. Jesus rescues us from the introspection that would make us unfruitful and ineffective by fixing our eyes on him. What we learn is that the gospel rescues us from self-hatred and self-esteem by destroying the idol of self and replacing it with Christ. Satan's strategies for keeping us in sin is by leading us to dwell excessively on our sin. The devil's lie is that the more we focus on sin, the more we will be free from it. But ruminating too long upon our ruin is not a virtue. The Spirit's goal in showing us our sin is to drive us to Chr...

I would like to share some of my favorite resources to use with family during Advent. I hope they will be a blessing to you and a way to fix your eyes on Jesus during this Advent.  The Donkey in the Living Room by Sarah Cunningham--I met Sarah at the D6 Conference in Louisville. This is a fun tradition that was established in her own home as a child. We used this resource last year as an ebook, but it is available now in Christian bookstores.  Adorenaments or The 12 Names of Christmas by Family Life--These have been a favorite tradition for our family. This has been edited to include an adult version and child version. Each of these ornaments uses a name and image of Jesus and includes a brief reading for each Adornament or name of Jesus. The ornaments are great for families with younger kids.  The ADVENTure of Christmas by Lisa Whelchel--We used this several years ago in our family. Lisa shares the stories of many of the traditions that we participate in during th...

Here is a great quote and reminder for all of us from J.D. Greear in Jesus Continued : Constant feelings of guilt, paralysis, and restlessness are dead give-aways of the co-Messiah complex...Until you get off the saving throne and back into the position of creaturely servitude, you'll always be out of balance--because in your zeal to be a help to God you make the mistake of trying to be God. You'll never have the slightest idea how to balance rest and labor, enjoyment and sacrifice--in fact, the very ideas of balance and rest will seem ludicrous to you. And of course, you can't sleep, because gods can't nap. They have a universe to run. But thank God, we serve a God who doesn't lack for resources. Because he never slumbers or sleeps, I can. These are powerful words for all of us who need rest.  Get your eyes focused on Jesus not your busyness for Jesus.  He can do more through the Holy Spirit working in us in a second than we can do in a lifetime "worki...

I am posting today at 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting today on great resources for Advent or Christmas.  Stop over there to see my suggestions.

Let me first state that I am not an expert on this topic.  The counseling community has been doing this for years.  However, when it comes to those in the church, we seem to forget this as we deal with situations and our own sin. What am I talking about?  Fixing symptoms rather than the roots. Three Scriptures that I want to share are: 10  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV) 3  For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5  We destroy...

Here's a reminder from For King and Country from Hebrews 12:2: