Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

The Perfect Pastor’s Wife

Posted in Family, Marriage on March 1, 2010| 2 Comments »

I am one of the most blessed men in the world!  I have three amazing sons who have been the joy of our lives since their respective births.  I also have a beautiful, caring and committed wife of nearly 20 years.  I don’t normally do this, but I need to take this space today to tell you about my wife.  She is the perfect pastor’s wife – I mean perfect!

She is not the normal “traditional” pastor’s wife.  She doesn’t play the piano or enjoy singing in the choir – and for me, that is perfect!  She doesn’t like being in the spotlight at all.  So some may ask, “Then how can she be the perfect pastor’s wife?”

She is compassionate and caring to a fault.  She has a quiet strength that comes out in many ways.  This past weekend, we walked with some dear friends through a very difficult time.  Kristi was right there with me, ministering to the family in the hospital and in their home later.  I am so proud of her.  The coolest thing is that she didn’t even realize that she was doing it.  It just happened out of her loving and compassionate heart!

The perfect pastor’s wife!

Read Full Post »

The Wisdom of a 10 Year Old

Posted in Community, Family, Hope on February 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I had a parent tell me this story yesterday and I wanted to relay it to you.  This particular family got some bad news on Monday and they were talking and crying and praying through and sorting out all that this news would mean for them.  In the midst of the discussion, their 10 year old daughter made this observation.

“You know, God made the road and we are just the cars that drive on it.  Sometimes it snows and we slide into the ditch and get stuck.  But if we trust in God and pray, and with the help of God and our family and friends, we can get unstuck.  We are just stuck right now but we will get out.”

Wow – the wisdom of a 10 year old!

Have you slid into a ditch?  Are you stuck?  Reach out to God and to your friends and family.  God is faithful to pull us through!

Be blessed today!

Read Full Post »

Living in the Light

Posted in Family, Formation, Humor on February 1, 2010| 1 Comment »

When you have three kids, the word schedule becomes an illusive term.  When they were born, the word schedule meant that there were times to feed and times to sleep and times to play.  Now that they are older, those elements still exist, but it is harder to keep them tied to any particular schedule.  In fact, it seems to change from season to season and sport to sport.

We are currently in basketball season.  As such, because of the age of the kids, two of the boys have practice before school.  So that makes for some early mornings.  I normally take the boys to school so that means getting up and getting ready for the day in the dark so as not to wake Kristi.

This morning  I got up and made my way to the boys’ rooms to make sure they were up and getting ready.  Their lights were on and so my eyes adjusted to the brightness of morning.  But as I made my way back through the house to my room, my eyes were having trouble re-adjusting to the dark.  As I walked through our bedroom toward our bathroom I headed to where the door has been for the last seven plus years.  But because my eyes were not adjusted to the dark,  I navigated right into the wall – missed the opening by a foot!

(Kristi, if the thud of my head on the wall woke you, I apologize – but don’t panic, I’m fine.)

I am reminded that living in the light is so much better (and often less painful but not always) than living in the dark.  The contrast between light and dark is a  major theme in the Bible.  In fact, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”  You can read it here.  Jesus came to give us light – to show us how to live.  Without him, we would most likely be running into walls all the time.

Seek to live in the light today!

Read Full Post »

Christmas Can Bring Pain

Posted in Community, Family, Hope on December 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Christmas time brings a lot of joy – not only from the meaning of Christmas but also from everything else that comes with it, the food, the gifts and friends and family gathering together.  It is a fun time of year.

But today I have a burden and I want to share it with you.  While this time of year brings joy – for many, it also brings sadness and grief.  For those who have lost a spouse or child or parent  this year, along with the Christmas joy comes a sense of loss and mourning.  This is especially difficult the first Christmas after the loss.

If you are one of those who is living this experience, take heart.  God loves you and you will endure.  Allow yourself to remember and grieve, but also surround yourself with family and friends you love and simply rest.

For those of us who know friends and family who have lost loved ones this year I offer us a challenge:  Go out of your way this Christmas to let them know you love them and that you are here for them.  God calls us to laugh when our brothers and sisters in Christ are laughing and cry when they are crying.  Live that out this Christmas season.

Read Full Post »

Commitment That Costs

Posted in Church, Family, Formation on November 6, 2009| 2 Comments »

Wednesday I had the privilege of sharing a devotion with the Board of Directors for an association to which I belong and I thought it appropriate to share my thoughts here as well.  So, to fellow board members who might be reading today, please forgive me for the repeat.

As I read Luke 14, I find that Jesus offers a lesson on what he expects of us who call ourselves Christ followers – believers in the way.  I have often struggled with this passage (you can read it here).  Jesus’ command to forsake (even “hate” in some translations) our families has been hard for me to understand.  I have always felt that my relationship with God should be my first priority and that my relationship with my family should be a close second.  But Jesus uses some pretty strong language suggesting that we have to completely forsake our families in order to follow him.

But as I meditated on this passage this week, I began to realize that Jesus was attempting to make a strong point both to his listeners and to us, that following him will be costly and that we should stop and count the cost before committing to follow him.  Now you may be thinking – well yeah, what is so hard to understand about that?

But I think what hit me between the eyes in this meditation is that Jesus was not just making a point, he was giving a warning.  We tend to “sterilize” Jesus words sometimes, but I think we loose the impact when we do that.  What Jesus was saying was that we need to really be sure we are ready to commit everything we have and are to him.  I think what he was saying was this, “Now wait a minute before you just jump on board because everyone is doing it.  I don’t need half-hearted, fair-weather followers.  In order for God’s plan to work, I need followers who are all-in, sold out, no turning back kind of followers.  If that is not you – then go follow someone else.”

While this may seem harsh, imagine with me for a moment, what would the church look like if everyone in it had this level of commitment?  What would our world look like if our churches were filled with believers committed to this level?

I dream of living in that world!

Read Full Post »

Just Have Fun

Posted in Family, Humor, Motivational on November 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I was reading over some notes I took from a seminar this past summer with Ruth Haley Barton and I began to have ideas for a blog post dealing with what she said.  But for some reason, as I meditated on how to put my thoughts into words, it dawned on me – most of my posts lately have been pretty  serious.  I mean, I hope that you have found some glimmer of benefit from some of them, but by and large, the content has been fairly heavy.

Soooo – today, something different.  Today, we talk about fun.

Why in the world would someone who is not a follower of Christ want to choose a life that he or she perceives as dull, boring and demanding?  Answer – he or she won’t!  The life of a Christian should be fun, exciting and filled with adventure.  Is yours?

Here is what I want you to do – quit reading this and go have some fun.

Ok – you are still reading!  That can mean only one of two things.  Either you aren’t paying attention or you don’t even remember how to have fun.  If you fall into the first category – go back to the top of this post and start over.  If, however, you fall into the category of not knowing how to have fun, here are some suggestions:

  • Go to lunch with someone for no reason at all
  • Take off early, rent a movie and just kick back this evening
  • Go out to a nice dinner with your significant other
  • Pull out  a game you haven’t played in a while and get the kids gathered around the table and have a game night
  • Read a book that has nothing to do with your job or anything else you could actually learn from
  • Get on the intercom in your office and keep paging yourself (don’t even disguise your voice)

Be creative – God has a great sense of humor!

HAVE FUN!!!!!

Read Full Post »

Make Time For The Important Things

Posted in Family, Parenting on October 12, 2009| 1 Comment »

This past week was extremely busy for me.  Normally, I have an evening or two at home with the family but this past week it didn’t happen.  Then the weekend was crazy with things going on at church as well.  Consequently, I spent no time with my family the entire week.  I have to tell you, as I drove to the office today and thought about the week ahead, I was convicted.  I have all these important things on my calendar for this week and, again this week, my family isn’t on the list.

So my challenge today is to look for ways to adjust and put in some quality time with my family.  God has called each of us to carry out the plan God has for us.  And in doing that it is very easy to get so busy doing good things that we lose focus on the best things.

Don’t lose sight of the greatest blessing God has given you – your family.  Make time for them today.

Read Full Post »

The Strength of a Family

Posted in Family on August 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday I mentioned my boys and today I am still thinking about the importance of family.  I realize that not all families are strong and healthy, but I was reminded last week of the importance of close family relationships.

I had the privilege of being in the right place at the right time.  I struggle to call it that because it seems wrong to think of it in that way, but reflecting back on it, I can’t think of a better way to describe it.

Billy had been suffering for a while.  When I got to his room last Thursday, I knew he would not be with us much longer.  So I stayed with the family.  About 4:30 or so he took his  last breath.  I don’t know if you have ever been in that situation but it does not matter if you think you are prepared or not, it is never easy.

But my point is this.  I had the privilege of being there in that moment and watching that family rally around that patriarch and lean on one another.  It truly was a beautiful picture of a family in action.  There was sincere sadness but there was also a strength present in their midst.

Thank you Patsy, Steva, Vicki and Randy for reminding me how important it is to be part of a family.  God created the idea of family and you truly lived out an element of what God intended last week.  I know God was and is pleased.

For the rest of us: pray for your family today and then pick up the phone and call them and tell them you love them.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts