There have been times when I have told my children as I was heading out somewhere that whoever wanted to go with me could and that all they had to do was just get in the car. Sometimes they have all chosen to go and sometimes not. It is nice when they all want to go, but I can’t force them if they do not want to. I wish I could at times because it is nice to spend time with them, but I know that I can’t, and I leave it up to them as to whether or not they will go. In Luke 23:

Years ago, there was an incident between my younger son and me when he had gotten in some trouble. He had to go to his room for a time out, and for what reason, I do not remember. What I do remember is when he came out, and we talked about what happened; he said he forgave me and wanted to know if I was going to ask him to forgive me or not. I almost laughed when he asked me this until I realized he was serious. I told him that I was sorry he had made a wrong choice and had t

Most parents have used the phrase at least once that fighting never solves anything. The saying is true, but there are those times when it seems as though a fight just has to break out. Emotions run at an all-time high during an argument, and the next thing you know, someone has lost their temper, they decide to throw the first punch, and then it turns ugly. In the end, the fight never solved anything, and the people are left with hurt feelings and oftentimes bruises. In the

Have you ever been on your way somewhere and had something happen to slow you down? Something unexpected, and it cost you time? Times like that are incredibly frustrating because you don't want or, in some cases, can't afford to be late. In Mark 5:21-43, we read about a Synagogue official Jairus and whose daughter needed healing. Jairus came to Jesus, asking Him to come and lay his hands on his daughter because she would die, and he agreed. As they were making their way to Ja

Have you ever been caught “Red handed” so to speak doing something that you knew you shouldn’t be doing? If so, you were most likely stunned, nervous and scared about what the repercussions would be. Its at those moments you realize it was not worth what you did, and you knew you shouldn’t have done it before you did it anyways. In John 8:1-11 there is a story brought to Him a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. They told Jesus that according to the Law of Moses

Often times I have heard the familiar saying “You won’t believe it unless you see it for yourself” or “Seeing is believing” and it usually means whatever it is I’m about to see is unbelievable. Whenever someone has said that to me and I go and see it for myself I find out they were right. I see that if I had not seen it myself I wouldn’t have believed them. The story of a man who has often been called “Doubting Thomas” was in one of these situations. His story is found in Joh

Have you ever done something for someone and chose to do it anonymously? It is always so much fun to bless someone anonymously and see how they respond. It is especially significant to bless someone and not receive a thank you because they don't even know it is you they should thank. Times like these are also great because it's genuinely about others' blessing that matters and not of ourselves and how it should always remain. In John 5:1-14, we read a story about Jesus healin

If you have children under the age of 18, it is crucial to make sure that your children have a place to live with people you trust if something ever happened to you. It's essential to legalize this by having a will stating who your children's guardians are to be, so it is not left up to the courts. Making this type of provision is hard because it makes you think of death, which is hard to deal with, but to ensure your children's wellbeing, it is something that you must do bec

Sometimes I have to tell my children when they want me to do something that they have to wait a minute (unless, of course, it’s very serious). It is not that I don’t care, it’s just sometimes they catch me when I am involved in something, and they have to be patient.  I do let them know; however, I will get to them just as soon as possible. Thankfully our God is not too busy for us when we have a need and answers us when we call unto him. In Mark 11:46-52, there is a story ab

It is a tremendous blessing to have at least one person in your life; you can totally trust. That one person who knows your deepest darkest secret and still loves you. That one person who knows everything about you and doesn't judge you because of it. To have that person in your life is truly a gift from God and should be greatly appreciated. In John chapter 4, there is a story under the heading of The Woman of Samaria. The story is that Jesus, who was tired from His journey,

I heard a line in a Christmas movie once where a woman told a man that the first gift ever given was a child- meaning Jesus being born. It was a great movie, and that line is one that I will never forget. Most people recognize that Christmas is about the baby Jesus being born, and that is Jesus' birthday, but do we understand it all? Do we really understand that through this child being born, we, the world, are not subject to living without Christ in eternity as long as we ch

I have often run into someone whose face looks familiar, yet I can't remember their name, and it is very frustrating. At those times, I can recall where I know them from, and yet I can't remember their name. This, along with being frustrating to me, is also embarrassing, leading me to try to remember people's names better. In John Chapter 1, there is a story about two men. One named Nathanael and his friend Philip. Phillip had just been in contact with Jesus, and Jesus had sa

Being a parent, all though rewarding can be very challenging at times. One of the areas that can be challenging is obedience. So often I have had to answer the question of "Why?" and there are times when my answer is simply "Because I said so." Typically, that answer does not sit well with them, but I have to remind them that even though they do not like or understand something I have asked of them, they still need to be obedient. Life is that way in all things not just with

Have you ever been helping look for someone and you hear someone ask “Where is their favorite place to hang out at? Where is that one place that if they could be anywhere they would want to go to?" When you go and look there you usually find that person and of course, it is a relief. However, what about when the missing person says, "Why were you worried- I thought you would know where I would be at?"  In Luke 2:41-49, we read how Jesus and his parents had experienced the sam

How many times do you suppose a parent of one or more children has ever said “Don’t worry about your brother or sister – you just do what I have asked of you?” Most likely several times and there will be many more to come. I have had to tell each of my children at different times to not concern themselves with what is going on with their siblings- that they just needed to concentrate on what was expected of them and what I was telling them to do. In John 21:18-22, we read how

There have been numerous times when I have done something for someone not because I necessarily wanted to, but out of the love that I had...

Fishing is something that everyone in my family enjoys including me. It is always so much fun to see who is going to catch "The big one"...

Often when I have had to tell my children no or have had to reprimand them about something it has caused them to not want to be around me...

It is always a blessing to have guests over dinner, however, when those guests are unexpected it can be a challenge. It can be...

Anyone who has more than one child has at least said one time "Tell me the truth, who did this?" Usually, the answer is "I don't know"...