Raising the next generation of children is more distracting than ever. We want to raise children with purpose, that excel not only in their pursuits but in the character that makes them victorious when life throws its challenges. How do you give your children the best opportunities without feeding the narcissism prevalent in our selfie society? By giving them integrity. Building children requires integrity: the wholeness that comes from knowing who you are, what you stand for and what you…
This message needs to be shouted from the rooftops! See Leslie Vernick’s website for more help on dealing with abusive and troubled relationships… Leslie Vernick These days we are influenced by a culture of talk and tweets. We’re told to express our feelings, hold nothing back. We’ve all seen in national news how people’s unrestrained talk and tweets get them into public hot water. Every day I see the relational fallout that comes from thoughtless, foolish, deceitful, and cruel words….
Influence: the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something. One day, I was trying to turn around a median in an unfamiliar area, when I realized I had gone the wrong way around the median. The worst thing was is that three cars were following me! That is the way our lives are: our lives are like a book that is read by others, making a huge impact for good or bad.[1]…
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. (Romans 12.1 Phillips) Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived. (1 John 2.6 MSG) Time. 24/7. A precious commodity. When we…
Be a Barnabas Joseph, a descendant of Levi, had been born on the island of Cyprus. The apostles called him Barnabas, which means “a person who encourages. He sold his field and gave the money to the apostles for the work of God.[1] He was a prophet and a teacher (Acts 13.1). When all the disciples were afraid of Paul after his conversion, it was Barnabas that took him and explained his conversion and verified his testimony.[2] Here is the…
WHY We Need to Live in Community All the gifts of the Spirit listed in Romans 12.6-8, 1 Corinthians 12.4-11 and 1 Corinthians 12.4-11 and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.22-23 all are clearly only usable in community; in fact many of the gifts and fruit are only usable when either facing adversity or to build up others in community. Living in community is the best anecdote for depression and lack of purpose and meaning in life. God…
