Seeking Kindness
She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.Holland?
Here’s an inspiring and wonderful article about God’s perfect providence in our lives.
Thank you, Lydia @ themommypages.blogspot.com!
Proverbs 16:24
I saw this lovely “word art” on Pinterest and discovered it’s for sale at Red Letter Words! Maybe it’s time to start Christmas shopping for someone special… or some beautiful words for you own walls!
Please Help Today (November 4, 2011)
Today’s the last day to vote for ABBA Fund (adoption funding helpers) to win up to a $50K grant from @GivingOfLife. Please take a minute to go vote here: http://givingoflife.com/browse/abba_fund
ABBA Fund provides interest free loans for adoption. Church partnerships and Legacy Child loan funds. ABBA Fund helps families overcome the financial barrier to adoption by maximizing the $13,170 per child federal adoption tax credit.
Visit www.abbafund.org to learn more
Hollow
Right now I’m reading Hollow Kids which is a fascinating book from a secular perspective on how we’ve lost a generation or more to the “self-esteem myth,” by Laura L. Smith, Ph.D, Charles H. Elliott, Ph.D.
“[T]he central problem with placing excessive emphasis on developing high self-esteem is that doing so leads to increased self-absorption. This intense focus on the self lays a foundation for misery…. The way to reclaim a generation lost to the myth of self-esteem and fill the hollow places in our children’s souls [is] with humility, values and grace.” pp. 24-5
Humility?
Grace?
You don’t say.
As a Christian and a Christian parent, I want to teach my children to love and imitate CHRIST.
Just look at Philippians 2:3-11. Paul, under inspiration, instructs: “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
How could my responsibility be anything else, given Ephesians 2:4-10?
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Overheard on Saturday
I met a dear lady named Ruth. She has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren and was sharing some general observations during a very sweet and special wedding shower. This one tiny excerpt keeps coming to my mind:
“It just makes me so sad when parents bring up problems from the day at the dinner table. ‘Do you know what Jonny did today?!’ Dinner should be a time of joy and having fun together. There’s another time to address serious issues.
My husband and I have been with people we know, and they just tear into the children at the table, and I watch their little tummies tighten up, and it is so sad.”
I know her words aren’t inspired, but there IS a time and place for everything, is there not?
Could you make the dinner table a refuge instead of a judgment seat?
Grace?
“When we ignore sins our children are caught up in, that is not giving them grace.
That has a different name, and it is judgment. Think of Romans 1:24, “Therefore God gave them over to their sins”. That was not an example of grace. Sin is like water. Children can drown in even a little bit. Looking away when your kid is stuck in some petty sin is like walking away from a kid floundering in really shallow water, and it is not grace. If you love your children, you grab them and haul them on out of that. You get them all the way out. You don’t watch from the house to see if it gets a lot worse. You don’t decide that it is their problem, and wish them the best. You don’t decide that there will be more time another time to get them out of that water another day. You don’t sit beside the pool and chat to friends or post about it on Facebook.
Grace is action.”
~ from Rachel Jankovic at: http://www.feminagirls.com/2011/09/30/ungraceful-parenting/#more-3613
Wow.
Once again, she hits the nail right on the head.
Rachel Jankovic: Motherhood is Application
Encouragement to keep on keeping on
If you can, take 10 minutes to read this inspiring article called “Motherhood as a Mission Field.”
It’s just what I needed to keep me going this week!
Monday Mornings ~ May 16, 2011
by Claudia Barba
Our friends had invited us to what they called a “Friday night fish fry,” so I dressed the way any good Southern girl would dress for catfish, hushpuppies, and sweet tea. But we weren’t in the South anymore. When we arrived at the address we had been given and were offered valet parking for our Volkswagen bug, I knew I was in trouble.
Fish fry? It was a gourmet seafood buffet in an elegant setting–china, crystal, string quartet, and all–and everyone but me had known to dress up. Way up. Our friends quickly forgave my fashion faux pas. At least they seemed to get over it much faster than I did, and it did give us all something to laugh about. But a very young pastor’s wife living in a new city wants to do everything just right, and I still wince when I remember being so badly dressed.
After that, I learned to ask more questions and so far have managed not to repeat that exact mistake. But more often than I’d like to admit, I’ve been a poorly-dressed ministry wife, clothed in garments entirely unsuitable to my calling.
That’s not the Lord’s fault. The day He took me as His own, I gave Him my filthy rags and put on Christ instead. Since He’s faultless, I ought to be always perfectly turned out. But sometimes, without planning to, I slip back into my wretched, stinky rags. Temper, resentment, envy, fear, egotism, and deceit slink out of some secret closet in my heart and slither onto me before I even notice. Yikes, those clothes are ugly–and sometimes I even wear them to church! Others may not notice (hypocrisy’s a handy cloak), but I know without doubt that I’m badly dressed, and that it’s certainly nothing to laugh about. The Lord’s not impressed with my ensemble, either. It’s not just unsuitable; it’s hideous. And prickly and uncomfortable.
I can’t wait to change, and I don’t have to. Even in the middle of the church lobby, I can turn to my Savior and by His grace swap those ill-fitting works of darkness for the armor of light. Suddenly I’m dressed just right—in the tender mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering that are always in style for a ministry wife, entirely appropriate for every occasion.
What did you wear to church yesterday? If the answer makes you cringe, don’t despair. The Giver of all good gifts will gladly provide perfect garments. Whether it’s to church or to a “fish fry,” you and I can always be dressed just exactly right.
(Isaiah 64:6, Galatians 3:26-28, Romans 13:12, Colossians 3:12)
NEWS FROM CLAUDIA BARBA!
My husband Dave has just finished a book for men in ministry. Press On! is a small book packed with encouragement for your husband to enjoy God’s calling and carry on through difficulties. It’s a Biblical, practical, and often funny book (and the last chapter was written just for you). Wherever you are in ministry, we’ve probably been there! I’m also happy that my second book of Bible studies for women has been published. When Christ Was Here examines the truth of Christ’s incarnation and its practical implications for a woman’s life. Both new Barba books are available from JourneyForth (www.bjupress.com).
Dave and Claudia Barba have many years of experience in church planting, evangelism, speaking and helping ministries all across America. They particularly have a heart for running alongside and helping young church planters. Learn more about Claudia’s life and ministry at www.ipresson.com. Also, you can email Claudia (cbarba@ipresson.com) if you would like to be added to her Monday Morning email list and receive fresh installments of her Monday Morning column!
Give Them Grace
How are parents to raise children so they don’t become Pharisees (legalists) or prodigals (rebels)? It’s all about grace-filled, gospel-driven parenting, says the mother/daughter team of Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson. Christian parents, in their desire to raise godly children, can drift toward rule-centered discipline. There is, however, a far more effective method—a grace-motivated approach that begins with the glorious truth of God’s love for sinners.
In Give Them Grace, parents will learn how to connect the benefits of the cross—especially regeneration, adoption, and justification—to their children’s daily lives. Chapters address topics such as our inability to follow the law perfectly, God’s forgiveness and love displayed at the cross, and what true heart obedience looks like. Fitzpatrick and Thompson also discuss discipline, dealing with popular culture, and evangelism as a way of life. Parents will find this book a great resource for raising grace-filled, Jesus-loving kids.
Availability: Coming Soon
Expected: May 31, 2011
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