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Category: Devotional

Spiritual Warefare or Bad Luck?

The 13th Unit of DiscipleTown is due out any moment now. It’s been another exciting one to write! It is such a privilege to get create these idea-packed children’s church units for Discipleland. So far I’ve written on “How to Worship God“, “How to Use My Bible“, “How to Grow Spiritual Fruit“, “How to Make Good Friends“, “How to Follow God’s Plan“, “How to Make Good Choices“, and “How to Be Faithful Workers“, “How to Pray“, “How to Build Character“, “How to Explain My Faith“,  “How to Discover Gifts & Talents“, and “How to Meet with God“. Each one has presented it’s own unique challenged and each one has had things go wrong in the process as though someone or something is resisting this process! At times I wonder if I just have really bad luck – or if it is indeed spiritual warfare as I push forward to create these units that help kids become better Disciples of Jesus. On this latest one – it got CRAZY as I tried to finish the videos that will help children to understand the overview of the New Testament. While sometimes I’ll be hit with technical issues, like sound only coming out…

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Seek and Ye Shall Find…

So how do Daddy and Son survive in the store when Mommy is shopping forever? Why, we play hide n seek, of course! I love hunting for my son, and I love how his giggles give him away, or how he is oblivious with his feet sticking out. And I love the look of pure joy on his face and how it lights up when I find him! We both hide from Mommy every night at bedtime, and it’s a challenge to find a new stop where a grown man and a boy can hide from Mommy, but we do pretty good, and while sometimes she plays along, sometimes we fool her pretty good. The goal is always to hear, “That was a good one!” But the truth is, there aren’t too many places to hide a little boy, and he’s pretty easy to find if you look. That’s the nice thing about our Heavenly Father too. God has good things for us, and if we are willing to look, He hides them pretty easy too. After all, didn’t He say, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”…

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A Happy Grace-Filled Easter to YOU!

Happy Resurrection Sunday… Hello Friends. Grace = Getting what we don’t deserve. (vs. Mercy = Not getting what we DO deserve!) That’s what this weekend is all about. It’s about the Grace God showed us by looking past our short-comings, our failures, and our imperfections… and loving us anyway. It’s about wanting us to be Family in spite of us. It’s about Him DYING to make us Family, even though we were wrapped up in ourselves and our needs. We’ve all got people in our lives (and families) and drive us nuts and who are wrapped up in themselves. People who have let us down. People who don’t deserve a second chance. People who don’t deserve forgiveness. People who are a “lost cause.” Christ was demonstrating for us what He expects of us by what He did for us. While WE were a lost cause, beyond hope, undeserving, selfish and wrapped up in OURselves – He died for us, and then did the biggest “come back” in His-Story to redeem us. We have no excuse to hold anyone at arm’s length or hold a grudge. Those who have truly experienced Grace, find it so much easier and natural to extend…

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Leadership Lesson from Mushing

Today was a VERY exciting day for my little boy! For he got to go MUSHING! It was an exciting day for ME, because I got to drive my family on a sled across the snowly plains with mountains on all sides of me! What a thrill it was indeed! Luke got to see some dogs, which he LOVES but can’t own due to daddy’s alergies (and no e-mails about allergy-proof dogs, we aren’t going there, been there, tried that!) Here’s proof that I LIKED the dogs, just ain’t gonna OWN one! But mushing was a BLAST! And being on the sled with my wife and son inside was a really cool feeling! (Quite literally too) I realize those dogs were in more control than me – but I since another guest DID wipe out (woman driver, ha!) there was some steering to it! And I was the only one that got to do some downhill driving, though it was mostly level the whole way. We never got over 15 MPH, but it was very windy and snowing, so not sure I’d want to go faster…. nah… I wish I could have, just not with the family on board! But…

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NO MORE Making Time for Family

I’ve made a decision, and by God’s grace and power, I’m sticking to it. Are you ready? Here it is: Never again am I going to make time for my family! That’s right. I am DONE making time for my family. No more. Never Again. I Quit. I’ve spent over ten years making time for my wife, and then when I became a dad I started making time for my son too. And I was totally wrong to do so! I have learned my lesson, and have made a personal commitment to never ever again make time for either of them. Have I lost my mind? No, quite to the contrary – I have finally found it! While I have always claimed to put family first – my proof was in all the time I “made” for them. The days off, the dates, the dinners, the vacations, the coming home for a meal, the night time feedings and play time on the floor… all the things I took a break from ministry to do. What?!?!? Did you just hear the insanity in that last sentence?! The “break from ministry” I took to “make” time for my family? I’m ashamed to…

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