Oftentimes, when my husband leaves for work in the morning, he will tell the kids that he wants “a good report” when he gets home. It is, as you can imagine, always very helpful to me as I can remind the kids of dad’s words throughout the day.
No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the Lord’s people. 1 Samuel 2:24
There was a man in the Bible, a priest, who did not get a good report about his sons while he was away. Eli, the priest over Samuel, found out that his sons were not honoring God in their offerings and they were also sleeping with women who served at the Tent of Meeting.
Continue Reading »
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it.” Psalm 139:13-14 NLT
Pretty much my entire life has been spent measuring myself up against the standards of this world, always feeling as if I am not enough. It has been a constant struggle to truly accept and appreciate who I really am.
My soul thirsts for a respite from the constant media barrage of perfect models, families, and women in ministry. I watch and wonder, “Will that ever be me?”
Continue Reading »
This is a bug house. It’s meant for young explorers to place their backyard prey into without suffocating them like our generation did when we simply put the bugs into a glass jar with some bits of grass and a couple holes poked in the lid.
A couple of summers ago I discovered a new use for it. Actually, my 2 year old son discovered it–it can also function as toddler trap.
I entered into the scenario when I heard one of those screeches usually reserved for an episode of sibling rivalry. I came around the corner to serve as referee and found my son with his hand in the bug hut, stomping his feet and shaking it.
Continue Reading »
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Eph 6:18
Of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is often the hardest for me. I do talk to God all day, and I guess that’s prayer, but some days I feel like only emergency prayers get tossed heavenward. You could say that God certainly gets all kinds of requests from me, that’s for sure. But somehow, I’m not so sure that’s what the scripture above means.
Recently, my children and I have been discussing prayer.
Continue Reading »
This evening my girls were entertaining themselves with an App on my iPhone called, “What Does My Name Mean?” They were having a great time finding the meaning of their names, their siblings and friends. This got me thinking about my own name. By birth, I am “Barbara”, which means “Stranger”. When I was younger this use to always bother me. I didn’t like being referred to as a stranger. But as I’ve gotten older and have come to know Christ, I have fully embraced this birth name. I AM a stranger in a foreign land. I am simply passing through.
Continue Reading »
I have found a sweet spot with my ten-year-old son. The time that he will actually talk to me and tell me the deep things of his heart is at night before he goes to bed. He does not always want to talk, but usually if I am exhausted and ready to drop into bed fairly quickly, he is ready to do some heavy chatting.
Tonight, we started talking and he said that he either wanted to be a preacher or a game producer, meaning he wanted to make new DS games available to kids. I told him that whatever he should do, the Lord would make it clear to him and that the Lord could use him in whatever career choice he made.
Continue Reading »
Written on
July 10, 2010 by
Gina in
Blog
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14
I was a bit surprised by an article I read lately, about a mom who openly admitted she’s bored with her children. And it got me thinking…
Most times, I feel I lack the nurture gene, and yes, I admit I feel like this woman at times. Bored of playing with toys and dolls, aggravated by the never ending kiddie board game, and frustrated by driving my kids all over town.
I’m not one of those moms who loves to play with her children for the simple fact that I’m a type A personality, a Choleric/Melancholy, who sees so much to do around the house that playing a game often feels like wasting time.
Continue Reading »
My kids are super excited about the Fourth of July. They love the parties, the decorations, and the fireworks. They love that I pull out some red, white and blue craft for us to do. They love that we always buy or make a new patriotic shirt or outfit to wear. They love that we usually take a trip, maybe to the beach or the mountains.
But I’ve been reflecting on why they should love the fourth. They should love it not for the fun things we do but for what it stands for… freedom. I’m thinking I need to do a better job of teaching them what freedom means and why it is important.
Continue Reading »
