A Prayer for Fathers

A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation. God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land. (Psalm 68:5–6) Lord, You are good to give us fathers. Far too often it’s a difficult role and thankless job. Therefore, we pray that You would encourage all the men in that place today. Guard their hearts. Strengthen their resolve. Help them embrace the joy that comes with the rearing of their children.

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Leaving a Legacy of Trust

How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. (Psalm 40:4) Our heavenly Father, how grateful we are for Your Son, Jesus. Where would we be without Him? How could we operate our lives without firm confidence in Him? It is sweet to trust in Jesus, to take Him at His word. And we willingly do that, our Father.

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For Becoming Better Parents

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4) Thank You, Father, for being the perfect Parent. Thank You for those times that You’ve taken us to task, though the reproof sometimes seemed more than we could bear. Encourage us with the truth that whoever the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

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Comparison

If I may select a well-known phrase from the cobwebs of the fourteenth century and wipe away the dust to garner your attention, it is: COMPARISONS ARE ODIOUS. Odious . . . disgusting, detestable. If you want to be a miserable mortal, then compare. You compare when you place someone beside someone else for the purpose of emphasizing the differences or showing the likenesses. This applies to places and things as well as people.

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Dialogues of the Deaf

It is impossible to overemphasize the immense need humans have to be really listened to, to be taken seriously, to be understood. No one can develop freely in this world and find a full life without feeling understood by at least one other person . . . . Listen to the conversations of our world, between nations as well as those between couples.

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All Those Idols

IDOLS TAKE MANY FORMS. A church building can become an idol to us, when all the while it is simply a place to meet and worship our Lord—nothing more. Your child can become your idol. In subtle ways you can so adore that little one that your whole life revolves around that precious gem. Your mate or date can be given first place in your life and literally idolized.

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Five Cheers for Mom

What does motherhood require? Transparent tenderness, authentic spirituality, inner confidence, unselfish love, and self-control. Quite a list, isn’t it? Almost more than we should expect. Perhaps that explains why Erma Bombeck used to say that motherhood takes 180 movable parts and 3 pairs of hands and 3 sets of eyes . . . and, I might add, the grace of God.

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The Blessings of Family

A FAMILY IS LIKE MANY THINGS, perhaps most like a garden. It needs time, attention, and cultivation. The sunshine of laughter and affirmation. It also needs the rains of difficulties, tense moments, and serious discussions about issues that matter. And there must be spadework, where hardness is broken loose and planting of fresh seeds is accomplished with lots of TLC. Someone recently passed on to me suggestions for fifteen rows worth planting:

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Stay in the Kitchen

NOT LONG AGO I was reading through Psalm 78 when my eye fell upon verse nine. I was intrigued by the strange stroke of the psalmist’s pen. See if you get the same vibes: The warriors of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned their backs and fled on the day of battle. Like foxes hunted by hounds, they ran. The only weapon they used to restrain the enemy was a cloud of dust they stirred up as they retreated en masse, in a hurry, while “armed with bows.”

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Letting Loose

ARE YOU BETTER AT smothering than loving? That’s why you are blown away with the thought of relaxing your gargantuan grip on the things and people you love the most. Letting something precious go is, on occasion, unbearable. The parting cannot happen without inward bleeding. It’s hard to let go. Turning loose heightens our stress.

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