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Home Christian Living Government / Society Home and Family Projects and Games Brief Thoughts Contact Us Welcome! We hope to post a variety of articles over time. Check the links at right to read some of our thoughts on topics of interest to us. It is our hope to encourage the Body of Christ to examine the traditions of men and search the Scriptures for guidance in every area of life (including home, family, education, health, wealth, government, and church). Most Recent Articles Life’s Many Open Doors Christmas Tree and Candle Decoration (craft) More Than Enough All About Changes main website Categories Welcome! Christian Living Government / Society Home and Family Projects and Games Brief Thoughts Contact UsProudly powered by WordPress What’s on Your Heart? (August 2023) Our family was recently helping the in-laws clear out some things that have built up in their home over time. As I was going through boxes of belongings that we had brought home to sort through, I came across stacks of cards that have been sitting in drawers and filing cabinets for years. There were cards for various holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays as well as get well wishes, thank you’s, and a smattering of congratulations and cards just for thinking of you.”. Many were store bought; some were handmade. Most included at least a brief note, and a large number had a letter enclosed. I spread some of them out on the table—selecting especially from those given within my husband’s immediate family when he was growing up—and took a photo because I wanted to remind us all that sharing our heart in words (whether written or spoken) is important. You might think very highly of someone, but if you never tell him so, he will likely never know. You might be praying for someone, but if you never mention it to her, she will go on feeling alone. Is there someone you know who could use a card or a letter this week? It only takes a few minutes to write a paragraph or two, choose an appropriate Scripture verse to copy, and address an envelope. Who knows—the recipient may value your words and your thoughtfulness so much that he or she keeps your missive for decades! Proverbs 25:11 says, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” A few well-chosen words can capture an otherwise fleeting sentiment and greatly encourage the heart of a family member or friend. Even as I was just rereading this before publishing it, the Lord brought the name of a friend to mind whom I know could use a reminder that regardless of the fact that everything” seems to be going wrong in the world, God is still very much in control. Time to take up a pen and follow my own advice! p.s. Another nugget I found when sorting through boxes of papers was A Parent’s Prayer.” It was originally written by Gary C. Meyers, founder of Highlights for Children magazine, and it had impacted my mother-in-law enough when she came across it that she had taken time to copy it out longhand on a sheet of school paper so to have a copy of her own. You can read it here . Whether we pray through this prayer, pray the Scriptures, or pray words that are entirely our own, let us be diligent in praying for our children, whether little or grown. Copyright (c) 2023 × Live Not by Lies (January 2021) On a more serious note, we discovered a book last year that we think is well worth recommending – Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher. The first half of the book is challenging reading, focused largely on historical events abroad (and why we should care) as well as the rise of soft totalitarianism here; the second half is challenging in its own way but is full of practical advice for living in perilous times. Our country is not what it used to be – hasn’t been for a long time – and we need to be prepared to stand in the days to come. This book will give you a picture of how other families have survived and thrived through hard times and how you can be equipped to do the same. Here are a few brief quotes to whet your appetite for this important work: The ordinary man may not be able to overturn the kingdom of lies, but he can at least say that he is not going to be its loyal subject.” You can destroy as much by failing to build as by actively wrecking.” [S]imply by staying sane when everyone else is mad, we may hope to convey the human heritage.” Christians should stop taking family life for granted, instead approaching it in a more thoughtful, disciplined way. We cannot simply live as all other families live, except that we go to church on Sunday.” The title of Dreher’s book comes from an essay by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn of the same title. If you’re interested, you can find that here . Geoff Botkin walks through the letter in this recent episode from his series Stand Up and Lead. Copyright (c) 2021 × He Was My Grandfather; I Loved Him. (June 2022) Image from the picture book They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson, winner of the Caldecott medal in 1941 I was re-organizing and cleaning in the bedroom a week or so ago when I came across a small photo album of some pictures my grandmother had given me from when I was growing up. My husband and some of our children were there, helping, and we stopped to flip through the album. When I saw one particular photo of a few family members sitting at a kitchen table, I stopped and put my finger on Grampey and held the book out so everyone could see better. He was my grandfather,” I said. Then the memory of this man that I loved—the man that that little girl with pigtails sat looking up at adoringly and chattering away at—came flooding back. All I could get out was I loved him.” Thank you, Lord, for strong and good” grandfathers and grandmothers, fathers and mothers. They are imperfect (as are we), but they are beautiful in our eyes. You have blessed us with the presence of each of them, using them to work out Your purposes in our lives, and we love them. Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.” Proverbs 17:6 Copyright (c) 2022 × Those Who Didn’t Go Astray (December 2020) Our family finished reading the book of Ezekiel together this morning in devotions. Tucked away in the last chapter is a verse with an important concept that might easily be overlooked amongst all the temple measurements, land divisions, and worship directives included in Ezekiel’s final vision. Chapter 48, verse 11 says, It [the holy oblation] shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.” Notice that God has reserved a special future blessing in the Millennial reign for the part of Israel that obeyed Him, that didn’t go astray when all the others went astray! Because God is immutable in character, He is still the same God today. I believe He is still looking for those who will obey Him in spite of what is going on around them, who will delight in the narrow path while the majority stumble blindly along the broad way. I encouraged my children again this morning to be like the sons of Zadok so that God may someday say of them, This blessing shall be for the sons and daughters of the Beals, who kept my charge, who went not astray when the children of America went astray.” You can encourage your children, mothers, to approach the Scriptures this way. It is the Living Word, and we can find out how to relate to our Heavenly Father, how to please Him, and how to walk after Him and think His thoughts after Him by reading both the Old Testament and the New with the expectation that He wants us to glean something from them. God still looks for those who will serve Him faithfully, and He still wants to bless them! Teach your children how to hear the voice of the Shepherd and how to follow Him only, so that your descendants may be among those who not only live in the safety of the will of God in their lifetimes but...