Tag Archives: Christian

Need a Parenting Do-Over?

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2016 (1)

I don’t know what 2015 was like in your home, but in mine, there are definitely some things I’d like to do over.  Times I became frustrated and snapped at my kids.  Times I let our family get overcommitted and exhausted.  Times I worked too much, prayed too little and neglected the things that really matter.

How about you?  If you could have a do-over from 2015, what would it be?

The great news is that our God is a God of second chances, and third and fourth and fifth and so on.  No matter what your parenting was like last year, no matter what mistakes you made, it’s a brand new day.  Not because it’s a new year, but because you’re a new creation, and every day is new with Jesus.

Don’t listen to the voices of failure and regret.  Don’t listen to the voices that say things will never change.  Listen to God’s voice.  Listen to His promises of hope, a hope that reminds us that every day is a fresh start with grace.

So, this year, don’t commit to being a perfect parent.  Commit to being a forgiven parent, a growing parent, a dependent parent, a desperate-for-God-parent, and day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month, you will raise kids who will become desperate for God themselves.

 

 

Pre-Order God’s Big Adventure Today

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GBA

God’s on an adventure, and He wants your family to be a part of it.  God’s Big Adventure is a new devotional series from 3DM Publishing will help your kids explore the big story of the Bible from start to finish. You will discover how to live as a part of God’s family and join Him on mission every day.

Each book in the God’s Big Adventure series comes packed with thirty devotions designed to bring the Bible to life in a way your kids will never forget. Not only will kids learn God’s word, but will be challenged to live it out in three unique ways. The devotions will encourage kids to:

  • Look UP and think about their relationship with God.
  • Look IN and consider how they can live it out with other believers.
  • Look OUT and discover how they can share God’s love with the world.

Book 1 releases August 15th, but you can pre-order it here today.

Family Devotion: St. Patrick’s Day

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photo (46)

Verse to Remember:

Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive one another, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done. – Ephesians 4:32 (NIrV)

Talk About This:

What are some things you think of when you think about St Patrick’s Day?  Shamrocks?  Leprechauns?  The color green?

Actually the holiday celebrates the life of a guy named Patrick who loved God a lot.  When Patrick was only a boy, some people did something really mean to him.

  Has anyone ever been mean to you?  Like really, really mean?

Maybe they made fun of you or called you an ugly name.  Or maybe they even hit you or broke one of your toys on purpose.

How do feel when people treat you like that?  Does it make you want to hang out with them?  Does it make you want to do nice things for them?  Probably not.  It probably hurts your feelings and makes you angry.  That’s totally normal.

What’s not so normal is what Patrick did.  See, Patrick lived in a place called England, and some guys from nearby Ireland took him prisoner and made him a slave.  For six whole years.

Then Patrick escaped and returned home, but somewhere along the way he became friends with Jesus.  So you know what he did?  He went back to Ireland to love all the people there and tell them they could become a friend of a Jesus too.

Can you believe that?  Patrick not only forgave the people who had been mean to him.  He tried to help them too.  Why would he do that?  Because Patrick knew that Jesus forgives us, and He wants us to forgives others in the same way.

That doesn’t mean we have to let people keep hurting us, but it does mean:

  • We pray for them.
  • We show them kindness
.
  • We don’t try to hurt them back.

In Ephesians 4:32 it says, “Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive one another, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done.”

Because Patrick chose to forgive, a whole country got to hear about God’s love.  When you forgive, God can do big things through you too.

  • Who has hurt you that you need to forgive?
  • 
Who can you show God’s love to today?

Prayer:

God, thank You for forgiving me for the wrong things I’ve done.  Please help me to forgive others who hurt me too.  Send me to share your love with someone this week.  Amen!



For Extra Fun:

Take a few minutes to make this St. Patrick’s Day craft and hang it somewhere as a reminder to love and forgive others today.

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