We’ve often covered topics relating to our responsibilities as parents, and we’ve discussed this passage in Deuteronomy. “…you shall teach them [God’s Laws} diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” That’s pretty intense because you will be teaching all the time.
Teaching the Bible to your children can be challenging since you have developmental issues mixing with doctrinal issues. And I am going to tell a couple stories about myself.
When I was young, I attended a church that was very missions oriented. They had mission conferences often and people would come forward saying God called them. Lots of them talked about how they didn’t want to be on the mission field, but they were miserable not following God. I assumed if you didn’t want to do missions, then God had called you. That was the last thing I wanted, which meant I had to do it. So I said God called me to be a missionary.
The other story is about my family. Mom and Dad had a name for each grandparent. For instance, my grandmother on Dad’s side was Granddad Thomas. On mother’s side, it was Granddad Cofer. My uncle was Eugene. I never saw his name, so as a child, I envisioned his name to be U.Gene because he was my uncle. It made sense to me that the U was a shortened form of Uncle. Once I grew up and heard the name Eugene, I realized my mistake.
Both of these stories show that children think differently when they are young. Realizing their developmental stage helps to understand how our children might get confused. My guest is Jann Martin, who holds a degree in Elementary Education.
Women like clothing. That’s a part of who we are. I think about the story of Adam and Eve in the garden, if they had been there long, (I don’t think they were) I suspect Eve would have found a way to decorate and dress up. Maybe it would have been as simple as a flower in her hair, or maybe a necklace of four leaf clovers. Eve was a woman like we are, and we love to enhance our appearance. I have this longing inside to live in the Victorian era when dresses were lush and elegant. But today there’s a trend toward torn and ragged. Not my style!
Unfortunately, we have to watch what we wear because men are attracted by the visual. Job talked about making a covenant with his eyes, and he lived a long time ago. Scholars think Job was one of the first books penned, and yet he knew to watch where his eyes landed.
Look at what Paul wrote to his mentee, Timothy: “ Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments; but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness.” (I Timothy 2:9)
How can we obey this passage and not look frumpy? When I was pregnant with my fifth child, I said I would never dress blah. People would say I was worn out. I like to sizzle with an outfit that coordinates. Many of you ladies feel the same way.
Today my guest is Allie Shirley. Allie teaches about modest clothing and clothing website where you can buy your next outfit.
2:00 What is modest?
4:20 What are some things you can think of when you go shopping?
Lasting Love: A Story from History with Angela Breidenbach
Doesn’t everyone want lasting love?
We have just celebrated Valentine’s Day. Now everyone is either eating candy or watching their flowers wilt or wishing someone gave them candy and roses. Our society suffers from an obsession with love, and yet we can’t even define it. We love our homes, our cars, our pets, and our spouses. Whenever this emotion takes hold of us we must obey its bidding. We can fall in love and out of love quickly. Using Scripture, we can define love. (Of course, we have to go back to 30 a.d. to the time when the church began. the disciples wrote what they learned from Jesus.) The love God has for us is called agape. It’s a love that impacts the will, seeking the best for the one loved. Agape not based primarily
Using Scripture, however, we can define love. (Of course, we have to go back to 30 a.d. to the time when the church began. The disciples wrote what they learned from Jesus.) The love God has for us is called agape. It’s a love that impacts the will, seeking the best for the one loved. Agape is not based primarily in the emotions, although emotion comes along with it. Jesus demonstrated agape when he came to earth. He left his glory behind and came to die for our sins.
Agape love does unselfish acts of service regardless of what the emotions appear to dictate. This is the kind of love that lasts. Ladies, you and I know our emotions ride a roller coaster depending on the state of our hormones and the amount of sleep we get. If we truly care about someone, we will agape love them whether we feel the emotion or not. Many times, we choose to act, and those emotions come later.
Today Angela Breidenbach shares a story of love from the history of her family:
3:50 Your grandfather married your grandmother to keep her reputation?
Doesn’t everyone long for that perfect spouse that loves her forever? How can you achieve that?
There’s a huge interest in genealogical research today. People want to know their family tree, and they’ll go to great lengths to do that. Because of the internet, more information of that kind is available. There are several online sites where you can find such information if you are willing to pay. Even in a sluggish economy, people opt in. Family is important, but broken relationships there can also be the more painful than any other. While friendships may not last, we often we don’t expect as much from our friends as we do family.
It’s interesting that while we long to know our family tree. Marrigaes are falling apart. The divorce rate is ridiciulous and many couples aren’t even getting married now. But let’s face it. From Genesis, Marriage forms the core of family. God preformed the first wedding ceremony. A man and a woman had a child and that was the family.
We are nearing valentines day, and there’s talk of love. Because of this emotion, love, people insist they must act as they feel. Red roses and chocolate candy can be found everywhere. Do those things constitute the kind of love that lasts? if not, then why?
Today I have Dianne Barker, and she has been married to the same man for fifty years. Presently she is writing a book about how to have a good marriage. She’s going to give us some tips. 2:00 Tell us the story of your marriage.
8:25 What were some of the differences you saw and how did you learn to accommodate?
11:47 Resolving Conflict
17:10 What if something he said hurt your feelings? What would you do?
21:45 How does your husband express love?
23:00 How did you come to understand how he expressed love?
Overcome Fears Holding You Back: Realize Your Full Potential
You are a special creation with a unique gift to share. Don’t allow fears to hold you back:
We live in a consumer-driven society, and it’s very easy for us to see the church as something that serves us. We already have our hardware store, our grocery store or maybe a farmer’s market, an appliance store, a place we buy clothes. We decide what we might need and go looking for that. Unfortunately, we approach a church exactly like that.
I’m going to turn that on its head because I firmly believe that every Christian should have a ministry. God speaks of us as a holy nation, a royal priesthood for his own possession. Yes, we should attend a church that has a great doctrinal stance, but its a place we can reach out to others.
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,
Did you notice that God doesn’t want us to get proud or self-centered? Instead, he wants us to focus on what we can give to the body.He gave every believer a spiritual gift and God wants us to use that right where we are. We are an essential part of the church body as a whole. We aren’t the whole body, but if we don’t function, the body would be handicapped, just like you’d be if you lost an eye or a foot. Your gift is essential and brings a needed skill to the body of Christ that only you can give. What a great prescription for emotional health. Valuable but not the most important!
Cynthia Cavanaugh wrote Unlocked: 5 Myths Holding Your Influence Captive. She’s going to share how we can find our ministry.
2:00 What are you trying to address in this book?
3:20 How did Rahab manage to lead from a place of uncertainty?
Dr. James Dobson wrote a book called, Parenting isn’t for Cowards. What a true statement. What an incredible feeling to hold your first baby in your arms. It’s a miracle! You examine all the fingers and fingernails. And the sweet little feet. I was a registered nurse and I checked all their reflexes. Such an experience. I had five children and I found it overwhelming each time. But I also felt the weight of reasonability. You know that your choices will profoundly impact the baby’s future.
I took psychology classes as part of my nursing, and it was impossible not to notice how many things get blamed on parents. There’s so much to think about.
I can recall wanting the very best for each baby, but I was taken aback by how different each child was. With my first two children, I said I had opposites, and then as I kept having children, they were different too. How many opposites are there? They have different needs and respond differently to every situation. I was intensely aware that I needed godly guidance. I had a disabled child, and after all the experience I had, I needed the Lord’s help.
Deuteronomy 6:7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
What a command! That verse is enough to make you nervous.
Melissa Spoelstra wrote a book called T0tal Family Makeover, and she’s here to share with us.
