Back to the Basics

It has been over two years since I last appeared on this blog.  My life has seemingly come unraveled as of late.  I can only blame myself for it.  I am on a quest to get my priorities back where they belong.  God must come first, my wife second, my children third, and everything else will get figured out in the process.  This is a much needed process because when my life is unordered I become selfish and forget the most important things in my life.

The first step I am going to take in this process is to learn to know who God is and how my story connects with His.  I am going to find all of this out by going back and questioning everything I have been taught with the goal of having an authentic faith in the end.  I look forward to this but am scared at the same time.

So here I go.........

Question of the Day

If you could ask God one question, with the guarantee that He would answer it, what would it be?

Share your thoughts!

Praying for Our Leaders

1 Timothy 2:1-2. “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

I have tried not to say too much about the Obama address for tomorrow, but recent situations that I have been involved in have changed my mind. I believe that it is a disgrace the way many people are dealing with the Obama speech to the schools. Many people are in an uproar about this speech and are holding their kids out of school so that they will not have to listen to the message. Many have written their local schools and asked for it not to be shown. I believe all of this has been done out of fear and pure ignorance.

I have been among people who share the same faith background as me who think that his message is negative. They feel it is better for their kids not to have this negative influence in their life. They act as if it their 'Christian' duty to protect their kids from the "evils" of Obama, but the way they have gone about it is nothing Christ-like at all. What kind of message do we think we are sending our children when are encouraging them not to listen to the leader of our country. We are telling them inadvertently that we should only respect those who agree with us. That simply is not the message of Christ!

As a Christian I need to be praying for my leaders. As a Christian I need to teach my children about discernment. As a Christian I need to discuss with my children how to make good decisions and educate them on why other choices can be harmful to them. All of this can be accomplished without becoming hypocritical and displaying a negative attitude before our children.

I pray that each of us can actually listen to the message before passing judgment. If we can accomplish this then we can set an example for our children instead of filling their head with prejudice propaganda that does not lead to a life of holiness.

Take a minute and read the message http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks

You may be surprised that it is not so evil at all.

The Ministry of Teaching

On Monday I will start my second year teaching Bible and Counseling at Harding University. This is by far the greatest job in the world! I get the opportunity everyday to talk to people about their current and future marriages. I get to discuss how to communicate and deal with conflict better. I feel it a privilege to be in this position because I have some influence on marriages and families throughout this country.

It saddens me to hear about the divorces, neglect, and pain that many families go through. I believe that if most people had the opportunity to learn some basics about how to be in a relationship with someone else then our families would be so much stronger. I know that I am not perfect, but I enjoy being able to share from my own mistakes so that others will not have to experience similar situations.

I pray that I can be an example through my own family and show people the glorious plan that God has for each of our families.

Please pray for this ministry and the lives that I come in contact with everyday.

Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places

In their book, Getting The Love You Want, Drs. Harville Hendrix and Helen Hunt encourage people never to get divorces or to break up with their long-term partners because eventually whatever issues led to the trouble in one's current relationship will surface in future relationships. It is their belief that one might as well stay and work them out in the current one.

What do you think? Is this advice that couples should be listening to or is there a better way?