May 23, 2008
· Filed under Bible, Faith
From crosswalk.com
By Cliff Young
It is a fantastical story about 26-year old Molly Mahoney, the manager of a magnificent toy store. The 243-year old eccentric proprietor, Mr. Magorium, announces that he will bequest the store to Molly after he dies. Molly is reluctant to accept the impending gift because she doesn’t believe in herself and in her ability to run the store.
Have you ever been in a similar situation where you had an opportunity for a change or something new (a job, a different residence, a proposition, a prospective mate) and your response was one of incapability, unworthiness, or disbelief the opportunity would ever work out?
There was a person in the Bible who shared these feelings, Gideon.
“The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you! ‘But Lord,’ Gideon replied, ‘how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!’”
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May 4, 2008
· Filed under Bible, Family, Parenting, Relationship
From Focus on the Family
By Linda Klepacki, R.N., M.P.H.
Talking to our teens about sexuality is one of the most life-affirming tasks parents face in our sex-saturated society. Throughout their formative years, teens need to hear from their parents the truth about sex, rather than just the daily bombardment of media sex scandals.
In Sexuality, Contraception, and the Media, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that American children devote more than 38 hours per week to various forms of media, such as television, videos, video games, music, and the Internet. By the time the average teen graduates from high school he will have squandered 15,000 hours watching television—that’s twenty percent more time than the 12,000 hours he will have spent in the classroom. Furthermore, the average American adolescent will view nearly 14,000 sexual references per year.
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May 3, 2008
· Filed under Bible, Family, Relationship
By Lynne M. Thompson
Your child’s schedule probably already includes bath time, nap time and bedtime. But there’s always room for five minutes of Bible time. No child is too young to learn from the most important book in history. Here are some pointers.
Set a routine for Bible time. Try to have it at approximately the same time each day, perhaps after breakfast or before snack.
Sing fun songs. Bible songs sold on cassette or CD at Christian bookstores can get you started. Enjoy clapping and jumping.
Read from a children’s Bible. Use a toddler or picture Bible. Keep the stories short. Some children enjoy holding the Bible while you read. Using a puppet to tell the Bible story is always a treat.
Introduce additional material. Bible coloring books are a great way to share a story. You may want to read a holiday book depicting the story of Jesus at Christmas or Easter.
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