children

Easy Listening

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But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy.             James 3:17 ASV

If you asked our sons who they liked going hiking with, they would have pointed to me; but if you asked them who they talked to when they were in trouble; that would have been their mom. It’s not so much that Nancy went easy on them, but, she made them feel welcome to tell her their problems. She was easy to be entreated.

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James tells us that we need to ask God for wisdom and that among its qualities is being easy to be entreated. Maybe some of us struggle with making others feel welcome to share their troubles; because we don’t believe that God will listen to ours. But the amazing truth is that God welcomes us when we come with problems or even just small stuff that we struggle with.

 

Always remember that God never asks us to do anything that He hasn’t already done Himself. He is easy to be entreated; willing to listen and ready to teach us to listen to others, when we ask.

The Sabbath is an Adventure!

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If you turn your foot from the Sabbath from doing your own pleasure on my Holy day and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable, If you honor it, not going about your own ways or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord… Isaiah 58:13-14a ESV

Ever hear the expression “Sunday driver”? That was someone who driving too slowly and just enjoying the scenery. If you are like me maybe sometimes you flash your lights or mutter under your breath about how they are holding up traffic. But how about making time next Sunday to take a slow drive in the country after church? If your schedule is too full to do that, maybe you need to boldly wipe it clean. It isn’t a sin to slow down.

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Do you remember walking out of school for the first day of summer vacation when you were a kid? The idea of months of unscheduled time ahead felt like an adventure. In our childhood imagination and the sky was the limit as to what was possible. The same holds true for the Sabbath. There are endless possibilities as to the blessings that God will fit into it when we launch out into the adventure in faith of what God gave His Sabbath to be!

 

Staying Connected

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Making Connections

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.  Philippians 4:9 ESV

One of my least favorite bumper stickers says, “We are spending our children’s inheritance” Usually this is on the back of a shiny new RV or expensive camper.

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But Paul has better things in mind for us of the older generation. Of course the most important things we leave our children are not money or possessions. Paul begins by telling his friends, the inheritance he is giving them begins with what he has taught them. Our words to our children can hurt or heal; they can criticize or praise. Once a word is spoken it can never be unsaid and so it helps to slow down long enough to think before we launch into an angry lecture or sarcastic response.

Next Paul points his friends to the experiences they have shared together. Some of us plan events with our families such as a day at an amusement park or a meal at a fancy restaurant as a way of making memories. But Paul reminds his friends, of what they have seen, not of their “special” days but on their ordinary days together. When we walk with our family and loved ones with honesty, humility and grace they receive an eternal inheritance. In fact the most important thing that we will ever do is to pass along the peace that comes through our living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.