2 timothy 1:5

with my mom's birthday in a few days, this commentary on 2 timothy 1:5 is particularly poignant. paul commends timothy for his "sincere faith," and it "dwelt" first in his grandmother and mother...

thus pious women may take encouragement from the success of lois and eunice with timothy, who proved so excellent and useful a minister. some of the most worthy and valuable ministers the church of Christ has been favoured with, have had to bless God for early religious impressions made upon their minds by the teaching of their mothers or other female relatives.
-matthew henry

what a privilege. thank you Father! give us grace and insight for the task of helping our children know and serve You.

shine like stars

gospel-centered people are under the command of God to create alternative cultures of honor, called churches, where people are lifted up, their accomplishments celebrated, their strengths admired, their weaknesses forgiven. this new relational environment has high standards, in keeping with the glory of the gospel.
-ray ortlund

do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ i will have reason to glory because i did not run in vain nor toil in vain

we can't afford default

sometimes george barna, with his facts and figures about the status of the american church, can daunt me and make me feel weary. sometimes i want to say, i get it. things are rough. but what can i do in my corner of the church? give me some homework and some hope!

and he gives just that in his book about the spiritual transformation of our kids and the importance of kids ministry. about halfway through a chapter with statistics ad nauseam, i almost wanted to give up. but he closed the chapter by explaining that despite the growing complexities of the world and his seemingly daunting statistics, the needs of our children remain the same- to be trusted, to be given security, to be loved and to have significant purpose in life. with that, i was hooked and energized. due to the staggering state of the church, and the vast needs children have, and the great task of building up the next generation, he asks the poignant question, can we afford to let our future leaders be shaped by default?

unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. in vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat- for he grants sleep to those he loves. children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them

bold, i approach

so i heard abortion survivor gianna jessen speak a few weeks ago & i'm following her a little more closely now via FB. her updates are all over the place yet encouraging! i'm tucking this one away today & hoping it blesses you too.

"if i could give one piece of advice, it would be this: pray daring prayers. keep praying them through the years that you are mocked, if you have peace inside. pray them, cry them, sing them, breathe them. Jesus is real. every piece of your heart matters to Him. He will recompense all."

let us hold fast our confession.... let us come boldly to the throne of grace

friendship & home

"friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. if i had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, i think i should say, 'sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.' i know i am very fortunate in that respect..."
-cs lewis

our citizenship is in heaven. in the meantime of full realization of this, my theory is place is about people. which is why i'm in south carolina right now, with as frequent as possible travels to california and texas.