Family Connection
10.25.2010
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV)
I sat next to my friend, Doug White, in the ER this past Friday and read these words to him (Doug’s wife, Kym and his parents were in the room as well. Doug had an accident; he fell off the back of a golf cart at work and fractured his skull. As of this writing, he is still in the ICU recovering. Please pray for his healing and for strength for his family). As I read the words out of Philippians, I was struck by the power contained in the passage; how we can trust in and rely on our Heavenly Father in all situations. We can rely on Him when things are going well, and we can rely on Him when things are difficult. We can trust God no matter what!
We live in a world where tragedy occurs on a daily basis. We cannot turn on the news, or open a newspaper without reading about something bad happening to someone, somewhere. The children in our lives are growing up in the same world; what can we do to help prepare them to face the hard things in life? We can help them understand that we can trust God no matter what.
This week, I would encourage you to have a conversation with the children in your lives about a time when God came through for you. Tell them about a time when you really needed to have God show up, and He did. Even though things may not have turned out the way you would have liked them to; talk about a time when you felt a peace that transcends all understanding and how God saw you through that time (maybe He is still seeing you through even now). I want to encourage you not to worry if you don’t have all the answers, just rest in the fact that the peace God gives doesn’t have to make sense to us, in fact it’s supposed to transcend all understanding. My friend Kym is resting right now in that same peace that doesn’t make any sense based on circumstances.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H
PS-I did receive permission from Kym to share their story with you.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Family Connection 10.18.2010
Family Connection
10.18.2010
“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:1-6 (NIV)
“Make wise choices!”-Any parent of a middle school or high school student to their child
One of the best things we can understand about being parents is that we are to train up our child in the way he/she should go. Even though the years may seem to fly by, God gives us the time we have with our children to prepare them to follow Him as they grow. If we find ourselves calling out to our children that we want them to make wise choices when they are in their teenage years, we should work on teaching them how to make wise choices while they are young (remember that most of the things our children know are “caught” rather than “taught” so we should make sure we are asking God how to make wise choices ourselves).
A couple of years ago I read the book, The Best Question Ever by Andy Stanley, and in it he highlights the importance of asking the question, “Based on my past experiences, current realities and future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing for me to do?” This may seem like a simple question but I have found this question to be very helpful personally as I have faced difficult decisions and one we ask our children on a regular basis (In fact, it was almost two years ago I asked myself that question in regard to my weight and that led me down a path where I ended up losing about 40 lbs).
The book of Proverbs is full of ways to find God’s wisdom and is very useful for training up our children. There may be some things in Proverbs that your children aren’t facing at this point but probably will some day. I would encourage you to take the time to focus on God’s wisdom with your children and train them up in a way where they can see what a “wise choice” looks like. I would encourage you to point out examples from your life when you make wise choices and if you feel especially brave, point out those times when you have made unwise choices and the consequences that have followed. When we spend the time helping our children make wise choices now, this training will assist them later on in life.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H
PS-Thank you to the 39 people who responded to my email last week, your responses will help us make a better ministry for your children and family.
10.18.2010
“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:1-6 (NIV)
“Make wise choices!”-Any parent of a middle school or high school student to their child
One of the best things we can understand about being parents is that we are to train up our child in the way he/she should go. Even though the years may seem to fly by, God gives us the time we have with our children to prepare them to follow Him as they grow. If we find ourselves calling out to our children that we want them to make wise choices when they are in their teenage years, we should work on teaching them how to make wise choices while they are young (remember that most of the things our children know are “caught” rather than “taught” so we should make sure we are asking God how to make wise choices ourselves).
A couple of years ago I read the book, The Best Question Ever by Andy Stanley, and in it he highlights the importance of asking the question, “Based on my past experiences, current realities and future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing for me to do?” This may seem like a simple question but I have found this question to be very helpful personally as I have faced difficult decisions and one we ask our children on a regular basis (In fact, it was almost two years ago I asked myself that question in regard to my weight and that led me down a path where I ended up losing about 40 lbs).
The book of Proverbs is full of ways to find God’s wisdom and is very useful for training up our children. There may be some things in Proverbs that your children aren’t facing at this point but probably will some day. I would encourage you to take the time to focus on God’s wisdom with your children and train them up in a way where they can see what a “wise choice” looks like. I would encourage you to point out examples from your life when you make wise choices and if you feel especially brave, point out those times when you have made unwise choices and the consequences that have followed. When we spend the time helping our children make wise choices now, this training will assist them later on in life.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H
PS-Thank you to the 39 people who responded to my email last week, your responses will help us make a better ministry for your children and family.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Family Connection 10.11.2010
Family Connection
10.11.2010
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’-which is the first commandment with a promise-‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1-4 (NIV)
“Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.”-Robert Fulghum
Did you know that the goal for our ministry is: “To create a partnership between church leaders and parents who are committed to a systematic plan of action where their sons and daughters develop faith and character in Jesus Christ.”? It is, or if that is too wordy; try this: We want to help you, in whatever way we can, to raise your children to follow the Lord. In fact, we want to do whatever we can to help you live out the words of Ephesians 6:1-4.
This is a huge goal, and one we cannot accomplish without your help. As a ministry to children and families we need to know the areas where you need the most help. We would like feedback from you so we can make sure we are doing whatever we can to provide the resources you need to raise your children in the Lord; that is why I am asking for your help.
Please take a few moments to send me an email with the answer to the following questions:
1. How can we, as a ministry, come alongside and support you as you raise your children?
2. What are some of your greatest needs as a parent?
3. What type of biblical support can we offer to you as you strive to raise your children in the Lord?
4. What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing parents today?
I would really appreciate you taking a few minutes to answer the following questions and sending your responses back to me. Please don’t assume someone else will answer so you don’t have to, you would be surprised how few responses I actually get when I ask for responses; I really want to hear from everyone. I don’t promise we can meet all of your parenting needs, but we do want to build a ministry that serves you as you parent your children. Thank you for your time.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H
10.11.2010
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’-which is the first commandment with a promise-‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’ Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1-4 (NIV)
“Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.”-Robert Fulghum
Did you know that the goal for our ministry is: “To create a partnership between church leaders and parents who are committed to a systematic plan of action where their sons and daughters develop faith and character in Jesus Christ.”? It is, or if that is too wordy; try this: We want to help you, in whatever way we can, to raise your children to follow the Lord. In fact, we want to do whatever we can to help you live out the words of Ephesians 6:1-4.
This is a huge goal, and one we cannot accomplish without your help. As a ministry to children and families we need to know the areas where you need the most help. We would like feedback from you so we can make sure we are doing whatever we can to provide the resources you need to raise your children in the Lord; that is why I am asking for your help.
Please take a few moments to send me an email with the answer to the following questions:
1. How can we, as a ministry, come alongside and support you as you raise your children?
2. What are some of your greatest needs as a parent?
3. What type of biblical support can we offer to you as you strive to raise your children in the Lord?
4. What do you think are some of the biggest challenges facing parents today?
I would really appreciate you taking a few minutes to answer the following questions and sending your responses back to me. Please don’t assume someone else will answer so you don’t have to, you would be surprised how few responses I actually get when I ask for responses; I really want to hear from everyone. I don’t promise we can meet all of your parenting needs, but we do want to build a ministry that serves you as you parent your children. Thank you for your time.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H
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