Family devotions work....but the results are not always evident short-term. That’s why I was so blessed to read about how my good friend E. Tyler Rowan and her family spend time together with family Bible reading. Doug and I have been faithfully at this "Family Devotion" thing ourselves for nearly 20 years. Tyler is one courageous woman, and she really hit this issue on the head! Click over to her site today and take a look at her post (Im)perfect Family Devotions, and tell I sent you.
Archives For December 2011
By Lisa Cherry
Have you been enjoying sampling Daily Bites for Parents? These bites are designed to strengthen your parenting skills in one minute or less per day. Here's today's sample:
Daily Bites for Parents: It’s Essential
The average age of internet exposure to pornography is now eight years old. Internet accountability and filtering is no longer optional, but rather essential for all family members.
How do you eat an elephant? …One bite at a time
How do we increase our parenting skills? …One bite at a time …One minute a day.
Subscribe to Daily Bites for Parents here, and please forward this bite to parenting friend.
By Lisa Cherry
We're sampling from Daily Bites for Parents. Here's today's sample:
Daily Bites for Parents: What Are We Expecting?
Have you ever considered removing the television from your home…or cutting off your cable…or severely and systematically limiting your family’s viewing? Even we adults cannot handle the worldly pull of programming and commercials. It reduces our spiritual power. What are we expecting for our kids?
How do you eat an elephant? …One bite at a time
How do we increase our parenting skills? …One bite at a time …One minute a day.
Subscribe to Daily Bites for Parents here, and forward this post to a parenting friend.
By Lisa Cherry
I haven’t met a mom yet who’s told me she knows everything there is to know about parenting. We all have room for improvement. That’s why I am convinced that our new Daily Bites for Parents will be a blessing to you.
I wrote about this recently, and now I’m reposting a few of the recent “bites” for you to sample.
Who would not want to take one minute or less per day to strengthen and increase her parenting skills? I am reading mine every morning..... Because I constantly need my parenting focus sharpened!
Subscribe today and start receiving a new bite tomorrow morning. Please forward this bite to a friend.
Here's your first sample:
Daily Bites for Parents: High Five
Kids never outgrow their need for appropriate physical affection. Even a strapping 17-year-old needs a good high five or a pat on the back from Mom and Dad.
How do you eat an elephant? …One bite at a time
How do we increase our parenting skills? …One bite at a time …One minute a day.
Subscribe to Daily Bites for Parents here.
By Lisa Cherry
My last two Acquire the Fire events have been astounding. Not that I haven't seen God do some amazing things with the POTTS (Parents of Teens and Tweens) before. But the meeting in Phoenix was remarkably similar to the amazing meeting in Anaheim I had just a few weeks ago. In both of these cities, a key word transformed our parent meeting. The word was "REMNANT."
When I was a kid I used to go to the fabric store with my thrifty and frugal grandma, Mom Renshaw. Mom seemed to rarely shop for her fabrics on the full price rack. She was always looking for a bargain. So it is not surprising she found amazing uses for those little rolls of material they kept in the bin at the end of the sales counter. "Why look here, Lisa. This is such a nice piece and it is marked down to a great price," I can still hear her voice echo in my memory. I personally wasn't a big fan of those odd looking little rolls tossed rather carelessly in the pile. I preferred the carefully categorized fancier bolts down the main aisle for my new dress selection. But Mom Renshaw would just smile knowingly and assure me, "Lisa, this will do just fine."
Maybe that's why the word "remnant" has always felt so negative to me. Leftover. Bargain-basement. Cheap. Those are the words I hear in my head when I read "remnant." So when I first sensed the Lord calling me to study and speak on the concept of His "remnant" on the earth, my little girl side wasn't initially thrilled.
I have heard it said that the Lord always preserves a group of His people upon the earth. He always has His folks set apart to do His work even when the masses refuse to go His way. They are His REMNANT. Obviously, those who make the remnant are special. They are not like the leftover odds and ends tossed in the cut-rate bin at the fabric store. They are the ones with the special assignment. Perhaps I need an upgrade to my thinking. Instead of thinking "leftovers" I need to think "chosen."
What if God is assembling His remnant in America today? What if that remnant is not the castaways, but instead, the chosen few who have not aligned their lives to other projects? What if the remnant is the main piece, the one of highest worth?
As I pondered these thoughts aloud with my new POTTS friends in Anaheim and Phoenix, a new penetrating question emerged. Are we, fellow parents, aiming out families intentionally for the remnant? Are we discipling our own offspring as if they will need to stand alone for the God whom they serve even in the midst of a culture (and sometimes church) gone mad? Are we raising the next generation of leaders equipped, passionate, and powerful in His Kingdom?
The Holy Spirit showed up in power as we fellowshipped over these deep questions. His presence was so apparent, we could sense the thickness of the air. Time seemed suspended, and no one moved from their seats as we wrestled the next question on our heart. Lord, what must we do to prepare? How do we aim our kids for the remnant? And Lord, how long do we have for this assignment?
Friends, I do not have all the answers to these deep questions yet. But I am sobered, and I am humbled. God is calling to those who have an ear to hear. The hour we live in is extremely critical.....and our choices can impact a generation. So...are you aiming your family for the REMNANT?
