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Passing on an Eternal Legacy

RACHEL CRADDOCK|CONTRIBUTOR I love traditions. I can be persnickety when it comes to the execution of my precious practices and rituals. One Thanksgiving, my brother, who is a very talented chef, fancied up the cranberries. His adding to the traditional recipe sent me into a frenzy—and I cried. However, my love of traditions has mostly had a positive impact in my family life. There are several ways I created traditions for my four children: back-to-school photos on the front porch; family-themed Halloween costumes; March Madness bracket challenges; listening to a state-line songs on road trips, and pizza on paper plates in pajamas when my husband has a late meeting—just to name a few. The natural cadence of life in our home is bolstered by such traditions. As much as I cherish my traditions—which I assume as women we all love to create lasting memories with our children—traditions like that back-to-school photo on the front porch this fall will (perhaps) leave a lasting legacy; however, the traditions which we tend to fuss over while our children are in our homes will not extend into eternity. Reader, I am going to be honest with you here: I am human, both wretched and redeemed. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, my heart is prone to wander, and I am distracted by light and momentary afflictions. But God is faithful to keep me on the course. When it comes to being a parent, my love of earthly traditions can hinder me from being intentional to pass on the most integral and eternal tradition I have the privilege of passing on to my children— passing on the truth of who God is to His covenant people...

Passing on an Eternal Legacy2023-08-15T13:17:49+00:00

Take Heart

JAMYE DOERFLER|GUEST In general, I don’t recommend paying close attention to the words written inside a bathroom stall. Twenty years ago, I made an exception to that rule. In one of the women’s bathrooms at the seminary where I worked, someone had posted a Bible verse on the inside of each stall door. On that day, I happened to pick the stall with John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV) I’m sure I’d read that verse plenty of times before, but in that moment, seeing it isolated, I was struck more profoundly, and it’s stayed with me since. Let’s look at it closely. “I have told you these things...” The “these things” Jesus refers to is a long monologue He just gave to his disciples, known as “The Farewell Discourse,” recorded in John 13-17. Shortly before his death, Jesus taught them what they would need to know in his absence. Some of the themes of that teaching included the sending of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ promise to return in the future, and what it means to abide in him. “...so that in me you may have peace.” The word “peace” conjures up a spirit that isn’t afraid, a mind that doesn’t ruminate on negative thoughts, a heart that isn’t distraught. The Lord has allowed humans to discover ways to calm anxious minds through various means, and I don’t discount them—I myself have benefited from therapy. However, Jesus offers his followers access to a different kind of peace. By providing for the forgiveness of our sins, He offers us peace with the Father. The peace that comes from the assurance of salvation and the promise of Heaven supersedes the peace offered by human means...

Take Heart2023-08-15T13:18:08+00:00

The God Who Sees and Redeems

BETHANY BELUE|GUEST My family loves music. While we love all kinds of music, many nights after the kitchen is clean and the kids are bathed, we find ourselves dancing to 90’s pop and swinging our children around the room. Recently, as I danced with my little boy and looked over at my husband holding my little girl in the air, I thought to myself, “This is the life I dreamed of. Oh, how I feel seen by the Lord!”  It’s a simple thought and a true statement, but it stops me in my tracks. Of course, I feel seen by the Lord right now. I’m living the life I wanted. I hold the children for which I longed for so many years; I look at my husband for whom I spent many years praying, and although my life is far from perfect, I am living a life which brings me much joy. Yet, did the Lord not see me four years ago when we moved to a new city? I felt completely alone in a new church, our marriage was hard, and our children were an unmet desire. Was He not just as present then as He is now in this moment?   The God Who Sees I’ve always been drawn to the story of Hagar...

The God Who Sees and Redeems2023-08-15T13:18:28+00:00

Even a King Needs to Have a Quiet Time

SUSAN TYNER|CONTRIBUTOR When it comes to having a moment of private worship with God, lots of things tend to get in the way. A snooze button, a stack of work deadlines, a pile of laundry. Imagine if you were a king with a whole country to run. The pressures of managing a national economy, foreign affairs, and court intrigues would wake me up and carry me past my Bible and towards the shower to meet all the demands. For King Josiah in 2 Kings 22, God decided even a king needs to read his Bible. Lost and Found Josiah was a young king who loved God, made evident by his wreaking havoc on all false worship centers in Judah and Israel. But one day, when his scribe came by to report progress at the temple, he casually added that the priest had found a book. This paper scroll, probably Moses’s Book of Deuteronomy, hit the light of day after being missing for years. What’s crazy is that the book was lost in the first place. After all, it was the covenant agreement of God with His people. These were the founding principles of their nation; the vows of the relationship between God and Israel. Imagine us misplacing the U.S. Constitution or a wedding ring.  No wonder so much evil had happened in God’s land when His people didn’t value this book enough to keep up with it. Had someone misplaced it as they made room for more important things, like Baal hymnals or Asherah collection plates? Did they discover it dusty, smushed under other scrolls and cobwebs in some janitor’s closet?...

Even a King Needs to Have a Quiet Time2023-08-15T13:18:49+00:00

Raising Little Image Bearers

TARA GIBBS|CONTRIBUTOR “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship…,” C.S. Lewis.[1] My husband and I parented four children, and I’ll confess this may not be the quote that comes most quickly to my mind from those years. But as I meditate upon the lessons that stand out the most, I am more and more convinced how foundational Genesis 1:26-28 is to godly parenting: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27) I think my early parenting was often shaped by the unexamined thought, “Look at this small person I have made and will shape into my perfect-parenting-book-inspired image!” Parenting advice floods into our lives from every conceivable direction, and it is impossible not to feel the pressure to produce kids that measure up to the blogs, the books, and the well-coifed verse-reciters quietly sitting in front of us on Sunday. Stewards of God’s Image Bearers We long for the Bible to give us clear steps on how to produce wonderful children. But what if instead of looking for step-by-step instructions, we zoomed out to the bigger picture from Genesis 1:26-28 of what God has crafted—if we remind ourselves, “I have been given the charge to steward an eternal being, distinctly crafted by God to display His Image to this world and act as His ambassador on this earth?” For God not only made man and woman in His image, He immediately tasked those image-bearers with very practical instructions to steward His earth. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) Parenting is part of your and my fulfillment of the Genesis 1:28 mandate to be fruitful ambassadors of God’s goodness to the world around us both directly, and by training smaller, novice ambassadors. To do this, we must pay attention to whom we are stewarding. These image-bearers are not one-size-fits-all. Psalm 139 tells us God knitted each of us together in our mother’s womb fearfully and wonderfully. We are each God’s distinct workmanship created in Christ Jesus for work He has prepared (Eph. 2:10). To parent well, we must ask ourselves the question, “How did God wonderfully form this particular child to reflect His goodness, beauty, and truth on this earth?” Does this mean we let our children set their own rules and find their own ways? Should the passions of their little hearts guide our parenting decisions? I think you know the answer. Scripture tells us “folly is bound up in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15), the “heart is deceitful” (Jer. 17:9), and all are born in sin. Sin has distorted and obscured God’s image in us. But by His grace, we are not left with only our Genesis 1 mandate. Believers are given another title...

Raising Little Image Bearers2023-09-23T13:22:06+00:00

Companions in the Journey

LAURA DAVIS|GUEST She set out without telling anyone where she was going.  Her eleven grown children were used to her disappearing, and they scarcely ever worried about her.  She was a tough woman who had suffered much in her 67 years—she was the hardworking wife of a farmer who had physically abused her for their entire marriage.  She’d proven she could take care of herself. On May 2, 1955, Grandma Gatewood set out from Oglethorpe, GA to become the first solo female to hike 2,160 miles of the Appalachian Trail.  She carried a lightweight handmade drawstring bag with a few provisions and wore canvas sneakers on her feet.  She brought no map and no plan except to put one foot in front of the other. A Treacherous Journey On September 5, near the end of her journey with almost 2000 miles behind her, she traversed some of the most difficult terrain she had encountered thus far.  She had one good lens in her glasses after she accidentally stepped on them, and she limped from a knee injury after a fall. The climb before her was treacherous, the kind of treacherous that was a matter of life or death with just one small misstep.  The weather had also become cold and miserable with fat, icy rain drops pelting her skin.  Her canvas sneakers, which she has replaced multiple times before, were worn through so that water gushed through the holes and soaked her socks.  She was half-blind, limping, wearing worn out shoes, and the path was slick and dangerous.    She left the trail to find a town in which to buy shoes, but instead, she encountered a man mowing the grass.  He explained there were no towns for miles but offered for his wife to meet her at the next trail intersection with a new pair of shoes.  Later that afternoon, she met his wife and when she tried on those new shoes, they were too small. The woman invited her to stay the night and the next day, after giving her shoes that fit, her daughter and a friend joined Grandma Gatewood on the next 10- mile stretch of the trail.  For most of the journey, she hiked solo, but for parts of it, this tough woman needed other hikers to encourage and provide for her and to pull her to safety at critical moments.  Strangers gave her warm houses, warm meals, and warm beds. She enjoyed their company, and it lifted her spirits. Grandma Gatewood’s story is a picture of life in a hostile world where everything seems set against us finishing the race, but the companionship of others spurs us on.  Did the treacherous climb or the miserable weather change?  Did she get new glasses so she could see clearly?  Did her knee miraculously heal?  No, none of these circumstances changed.  Rather, she was given a new pair of shoes and companionship.  The shoes would eventually wear out again, but the impact of their companionship would last a lifetime...

Companions in the Journey2023-08-15T13:19:41+00:00

We Always Need Jesus

KIM BARNES|GUEST A few years ago, I found myself struggling during a worship service. If you’re like me, corporate worship has a way of uncovering emotions, thoughts, and attitudes that are more easily suppressed and controlled otherwise. During this service, I became visibly emotional. After the benediction, a friend who noticed my emotional response came over to check on me. Through tears, I blurted out, “I really need Jesus and I’m a little mad about it.” Worship confronted me anew with the fact that I can’t manage my life in this fallen world on my own. But it was more than that. I realized something I’d not previously grasped: I WILL ALWAYS NEED JESUS. Now maybe, you read that and think: “Of course, Christians always need Jesus.” And certainly, on one level, I would have acknowledged this. But what struck me was the realization that subconsciously I expected to need Jesus less as I matured in my faith. After all, as children grow in maturity, it’s expected that they grow less dependent upon their parents. Certainly, adult children who have a strong relationship with their parents seek their advice, communicate regularly, and enjoy celebrating special occasions. But it’s natural and desirable for adult children to live independently from their parents and equally, for parents to let their children go. I imagined that after 40+ years of walking with Jesus I would know enough and be sanctified enough to not need Jesus so much. I imagined that I would become more like an adult child seeking Jesus as a trusted counselor, than a baby dependent on Him for everything. I thought there would be some things I would be able to handle on my own; I thought I would turn to Him for the big things, the hard things, but the rest I would manage myself....

We Always Need Jesus2023-08-15T13:20:03+00:00

Freedom in Christ: If the Shoe Fits, Wear it

MARIA CURREY|CONTRIBUTOR Do you remember the first time you slipped your feet into a perfectly fitting pair of shoes?  Giving comfort, mobility, and even smart style?  A shoe to tick all the boxes! Mine were a multi-colored pair of clogs with an ankle-strap enabling me to run freely with little first grade bell bottom jeans, a blue-flowered tunic, and long braided hair flying behind adventurous feet. Those shoes and pants were a replacement for dresses on the playground because I kept falling and skinning my knees, so Mom found hardier fabric and sturdier soles. My teacher was grateful. The good news is that Jesus gave ALL of us the same, custom fit shoes for our souls to run freely in Him. He gave the gospel of the readiness of peace, part of His armor in Ephesians 6, to stand firm and step out in our faith, to shod our feet for active freedom in Christ. This is one-stop shoe shopping; we need only to sit and submit our feet into His hands and plans.  There is a clear Who? How? Where? and What for? to freedom in Christ and what it looks like to fit our feet into His faithful hands...

Freedom in Christ: If the Shoe Fits, Wear it2023-08-15T13:20:35+00:00

What it Means to Meditate on the Word of God

CHRISTINA FOX|EDITOR “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways” (Psalm 119:15). A few years post-college, I worked as a family counselor for a local non-for profit. During a staff meeting one week, my boss announced that one of the team members would lead us in a time of guided meditation. Though I had heard about the practice, I didn’t know what to expect. My co-worker began by instructing us to empty our minds. She continued on through various exercises to bring us to a place of relaxation so that we would encounter a place of peace in our minds. I soon found myself feeling uncomfortable with the exercise and instead spent the time in silent prayer. After the exercise was over, a few people shared their experiences—one even shared how she had relived her birth into this world! I share this story because sometimes when we come across a reference in Scripture about meditating on God’s Word, as in the passage above, we might be confused, especially if we use the word “meditate” as other religions or philosophies might use it. The key difference is that biblical meditation isn’t about emptying the mind, but about focusing it on God and his Word. It isn’t about seeking a higher form of consciousness in order to reach our inner divinity; rather, it is about communion with God through prayer and Scripture. It isn’t about seeking access to divine resources found within oneself, but about accessing and feasting on the divine Word of God—which is our very life (Deut. 32:47). J.I. Packer once wrote in Knowing God, “Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God...

What it Means to Meditate on the Word of God2023-08-15T13:21:03+00:00

God’s Transforming Work in the Life of Our Sons

JESSICA ROAN|GUEST If there’s one subject I know a lot about, it’s teenage boys. I had only one brother, only male cousins my age, a male best friend, am raising two sons, and am surrounded by them daily in my high school classroom. Boys can be rambunctious, funny, squirmy, hot-headed, sensitive, and sometimes complicated. For some of us, parenting or mentoring teen boys feels frightening, like trying to tame a tornado you can’t even track. And yet, when I listen to the woes of other boy-moms or fellow teachers, I find myself smiling. Not because the challenges they face aren’t serious or concerning at times, but because I have seen the other side. My own father, my husband, and numerous past students were all once teen boys whom people were very concerned about. Were the concerns valid? Yes. Will I have many concerns about my own sons and future students? Absolutely. But I have seen God transform even the most challenging teen boy into hard working, loyal, sincere men, and yes, into men after his own heart. God Loves Making Immature Boys into Godly Men He was young and insignificant, so unimpressive that his father didn’t even consider him when Samuel came to call. The prophet was looking for a king, and David couldn’t possibly be it. He was too small, too young, and not strong enough for a job like that. While Samuel observed the sons of Jesse, “ . . . the Lord said to Samuel, ’Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart’” (1 Sam. 16:7). By God’s power, David kept Saul subdued with the sound of a lyre and defeated Goliath with a slingshot and stone....

God’s Transforming Work in the Life of Our Sons2023-08-15T13:21:29+00:00
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