Gratitude toward God during the hard times

There is no denying that times are tough. Many people are out of work, cannot find a job and are struggling financially. The unemployment rate is still up around 10% and food stamps and umeployment benefits are being distributed at record levels. 

When times are good, it is easy to be grateful to God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon us. But during hard times, it is often difficult to be grateful to God. Whatever our personal circumstances, God is still God and he is still good. So, when we feel like we have struggled enough or lost more than our fair share, how do we remain thankful and maintain a grateful spirit toward God? 

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Why I Am A Tea Partier

There has been a great deal of talk about the who’s and why's of the Tea Party movement. Much of the discussion, particularly by pundits and politicians, is speculative and insulting to the people of the Tea Party movement. The tea partiers have been called everything from astroturfers to Nazis.

The people doing the name-calling do so with an appalling detached disdain. It is the same disdain they display when they decry the Iraq war, or any “Republican” war for that matter, and the unfair burden it places on soldiers, families and the innocent civilians caught in the crosshairs. They are so anguished and so disgusted about war and its effects and yet, despite their great display of concern, I always wonder if they actually know any soldiers...

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Gratitude toward God: A heart healthy way to live

Gratitude. It is a concept that is frequently overlooked in Christian circles. Believers hear a good deal about joy and the importance of returning thanks to God for all His many blessings. But there is a difference between saying thank you to God and actually being grateful to God. Gratitude is much more than that. Gratitude is a lifestyle. 

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Rescuing women from sexual exploitation in Atlanta

In the state of Georgia alone, approximately 250 girls are recruited into prostitution on a monthly basis. Many of these girls end up in Atlanta which has a significant sexual exploitation industry. But Redeemed Love, an Atlanta based organization, is working to stop all that. Dedicated to rescuing women and girls out of prostitution, their mission is to provide victims a new life free of sexual exploitation.

One driving force behind Atlanta's sexual exploitation industry lies in the transient nature of the city. As one of the busiest airports in the world, Hartsfield Jackson International Airport draws in many "buyers" of sexual services. Another factor contributing to the rise of sexual exploitation in Atlanta is the number of major events and conventions held in the area. 

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This Week

Try as I might to come up with something, I am fresh out of blog material. Or maybe I just don't have the energy to sit and write write write these days. There are a lot of things I am pondering over and meditating on that I could translate into article form, but I am just struggling with doing so right now.

I have been reading a lovely new book Choosing Gratitude that I would highly recommend. I will comment more on it later or post a review, but in the meantime, if you need something convicting or something to help you refocus, it is a great book.

Finding Favor With Children

It is common these days to hear parents say that their children, especially during the teenage years, do not like them. It is considered normal for adolescents to be mad, huffy and rebellious toward their parents and often it is expected as a normal phase of family life.

With all the emotional and physical changes kids endure during their adolescent years, maybe bad attitudes or unhappiness from teenagers is inevitable, particularly when they do not get their way or what they want. But for some families, the teenage years are so difficult that it is hard for parents not to feel as though God has left them on their own to struggle through. 

I often wonder if this period of family life is at times worse than it needs to be. Is it just the way things are with teenagers or have parents missed something that could help prevent or dull their negativity and defiance? 

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The Atlanta Examiner

My new article, "Listening to President Obama is like listening to an alcoholic," is up at the Atlanta Examiner if you want to check it out!

Growing in grace through Christ centeredness

There are several external signals that indicate a believer is growing in his relationship with God. A greater faith, deeper humility, and a willingness to accept insecurity are all indicators a Christian is walking with God. But one other important indicator is the Christ centeredness found in a believer's life.

While the term "Christ centeredness" can refer to a variety of characteristics in a believer's life, it is a desire for the Savior that best defines Christ centeredness. A Christ centered believer desires to...

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Taking Risks For God

Although the Holy Spirit is the great agent of change in a believer's life, a follower of Christ is partly responsible for making sure that he is maturing and growing in grace. There are several exterior indicators in a believer's life which signify he is growing in his walk with Christ. 

One indicator is a person's faith in God. All of God's followers begin their journey with him by taking a step of faith and believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and trusting him as Savior. But over time, as a believer grows in his relationship with Christ, his faith in God should be increasing as well. This can be seen in a believer's willingness to...

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Growing In Grace

As children of God, believers are called to grow and mature in their faith. It is a life long journey often consisting of three steps forward followed by two steps back. Nonetheless, a believer's walk with God should be marked by gradual forward motion. 

While only God knows each man's heart, there are exterior indicators that reveal if a believer is growing in God and in his grace. One test is...

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Connected to God

The holidays are my favorite time of year and in preparation, I have made my shopping lists, placed food orders, and am knocking projects off my to do list. I feel ready for a house full of people and food this week.

On the other hand, I am also very tired. I have been waking up in the mornings wiped out and feel that way all during the day. But the truth is that I am a more than just tired. I am irritable and impatient and about things that should not cause me to be irritable or impatient. 

I wish I could blame all my irritability and impatience on some of the other stressful things going on in my life, like sick relatives and long work hours, but deep down I know that it is just me being an unpleasant and selfish version of myself. 

It is the me I am when...

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Jon Gosselin: A man of many women and many faiths

Jon Gosselin has rediscovered his Jewish roots. In a recent interview with ParentDish.com, Jon discussed his girlfriend Hailey Glassman and claimed to be half Jewish. "Hailey is Jewish. Everyone in my life now is Jewish, my attorney. I love it. I am now half Jewish and half Korean."

As a fan of Jon and Kate Plus Eight, I can't help but remember the many references on the show by the Gosselins to their Christian faith. There were the bible verses taped to the walls of their home and the episodes chronicling them attending church as a family. Several of their daughter's middle names are even fruits of the Holy Spirit. 

Throughout the first four seasons, Jon and Kate appeared to be committed Christians. Their marriage wasn't perfect (anyone could see that) and their life wasn't perfect. It was full of stress and tension, but also joy and happiness, which is part of what made Jon and Kate so popular. They seemed to be like the rest of us...

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Dare To Discipline

Dare to Discipline, the famous parenting book by James Dobson, is a book I have avoided reading for the past few years. Many other parent friends even highly recommended it and yet I still did not want to read it. Because it was written by a such a well-known conservative christian leader, I imagined it would be extremely conservative in message with a strong emphasis on strict disciple and corporal punishment and I simply did not want to read another christian parenting book like that.

But then Dare to Discipline was recommended to me again recently by a dear friend who I trust about parenting issues. Since I owned a copy of the book already, I figured I should at least skim it. After reading the first two chapters, I was hooked. Turns out, Dare to Discipline is one of the best parenting books I have read so far.

Dare to Discipline is full of common sense advice and emphasizes discipline with grace instead of punishment. Filled with real life stories, Dr. Dobson explains his parenting philosophy formulated from years of working in the medical field with families and children. Each chapter addresses a specific parenting issue and contains a question and answer section to help readers better understand what they are learning. As a result, parents can easily adopt Dr. Dobson's methods and create a plan for their own home. 

With over 3.5 million copies sold, Dare to Discipline is an excellent resource that teaches practical parenting tips and helps families to create solid foundations in their relationships, so they can face the future with joy and anticipation instead of fear or dread. 

 

The Importance Of Allowing A Child To Say No, At Times

"No." A child's favorite word. It may not be their first word, but eventually it becomes their most frequently used word. From the time a child learns to speak, it seems as though the word no is uttered more than any other.

All parents deal with hearing the word no differently. In some homes, it is not allowed to be spoken and results in a scolding. Some parents overlook the word no and try to negotiate a child into compliance. Other parents try to evaluate the child's tone of voice that accompanies the no being spoken in order to discern their child's attitude and the appropriate parental response.

Whatever a parent's philosophy about the word no, it is important to allow a child to say no at times...

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The tenth commandment: Why shouldn't we covet?

"You shall not covet," is the tenth commandment God gives to Moses at Mt. Sinai. In this commandment, God's emphasis shifts away from man's actions and instead focuses on his attitudes and motives. By prohibiting covetousness, God reveals that he does not want it to be a motive for action found in the hearts of his followers.

 

This is because desires motivated by greed and covetousness are sinful and the opposite of godly qualities like peace and contentment. Contentment is important to God because...

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The ninth commandment: "You shall not bear false witness"

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," is the ninth commandment given to Moses by God at Mt. Sinai. In this command, bearing false witness refers to anything that is untrue or insincere which may create false ideas about our neighbors. It also includes exaggerations and half-truths that hurt and damage others.

 

God gives this command to Moses because...

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The command "Thou Shall Not Steal" is about more than unlawfully taking physical objects

"You shall not steal," is the eighth commandment given by God to Moses at Mt. Sinai. In the Bible, stealing is defined as depriving another person of what is rightly his. This command is necessary because man is sinful and as a result tempted to steal at times. Stealing occurs because fallen man always wants more than he or the others around him have. 

But there are other forms of stealing than just the taking of a physical object or possession from someone else. One common area of theft in modern life is the theft of time...

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Learning to love our children the way they need to be loved

There is a prayer I find myself praying over and over again. I pray it in the mornings after my child has gone to school and I have a quiet house all to myself. I sometimes pray it in the evenings when I put my child to bed and hug her goodnight. I always pray it late at night, when I creep in her room to check on her and take a minute to watch her sleeping. I pray that God would show me how she needs to be loved, and that He would help me to love her in the way she needs.

We all, adults and children alike, have a love language that we speak, and we feel most loved when someone...

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The seventh commandment is about more than not cheating

"You shall not commit adultery," (Exodus 20:14) is the seventh commandment God gives to Moses at Mt. Sinai. This commandment prohibits the act of sex by a married person with anyone other than their spouse. The adultery addressed in this commandment is different than the act of fornication, which is defined as sex between single people and also prohibited by God. The seventh commandment refers to adultery as it relates to married couples.

By stating this command so clearly, God forces his followers to face the fact that...

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There is more to the command "You shall not murder" than the taking of another man's life

"You shall not murder," (Exodus 20:13) is the sixth commandment God gives to Moses at Mt. Sinai. The principle behind this commandment is that human life is holy, because it is a gift from God. This commandment defines murder as the malicious and unlawful killing of another man who has been made in God's image. 

Life is precious in God's sight. He alone creates it and ends it according to his will and plan. Because of this...

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