Monday, October 31, 2016

Happy Reformation Day!

It was on October 31 of the year 1517 that Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.  His act along with many other men and women through the years played huge parts in us now being able to know we can have a personal relationship with our God.  Luther and other reformers obeyed God and were bold in faith.  We can celebrate that boldness in remembering to be bold ourselves on this day and others for the cause of Christ.

So, today before everyone comes to our doors for candy and a scare, let’s help our kids know that this day is really a day to celebrate the One who created it.  Our God gives us strength to be today’s reformers. 


I’m glad for present-day reformers – Christians like Danielle V. in my high school that lived out her faith no matter who said she was different.  She was a big part of my faith journey – she prayed with me to receive Jesus as my Savior.  Wouldn’t it be awesome to know your kids and my kids are out there being that kind of reformer for others?!!

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

For His Mercy Endures Forever

I was reading Psalm 136 where every other line is "For His mercy endures forever."  Immediately I thought of how we teach our kids - through repetition.

“For His mercy endures forever” Psalm 136

So many times, God repeats a phrase in His word (His love letter to us, the Bible) to get our attention on what is truth, how we should obey, how we should judge things, etc.  He knows us. He knows many of us just skip over passages without receiving the meaning.  In this Psalm He shows us this technique in order for us to not forget His character. What are we repeating over and over to our kids?

“For His mercy endures forever” Psalm 136

Yesterday we went to a birthday party and I had the opportunity to encourage our son.  He came to me with a concern about some other kids at the facility we were at and how they weren’t playing fairly.  Knowing him I gave him a good plan of action reminding him that he is a good friend (Proverbs 17:17 & 18:24). 

 “For His mercy endures forever” Psalm 136


I know I usually need to hear stuff more than once to get it to sink in to my heart and mind.  How about you?  How about your kids?  Let’s encourage our kids over and over again the message of the gospel and how God has a purpose for them.