2016 Book Reading Challenge

At the end of 2015, I (Michael) set a goal for 2016 to read 12 books throughout the year. The idea at the time was to read one book per month. Due to various things throughout the year, I wasn't able to stick to one book per month. However amazingly I still achieved my goal of reading 12 books in the year 2016. But that's not all actually.

What Jesus Wants For Christmas

Our family has been in preparations for Christmas for some time. We have been anticipating this day and finally it is here! In preparing for this day, I asked our children that after most gifts have been purchased, wrapped, and ready to be delivered to family and friends, have they considered what Jesus wants for Christmas? Our discussion from that point was a wonderful one! I pose the same question to you: Have you considered what Jesus wants for Christmas?

Redeeming the Time

Life is short. James 4:14 says, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." In knowing this, when I heard my pastor speak about "Redeeming the Time" the other Sunday during the morning worship service, it really spoke to my heart.

Back To School Blues: What Message Are You Sending?

It's that time of year again. The summer is slowing down for many. Memories were made with family and friends. Some children have already started their school year and before long everyone will be back to the grind. With this happening,  many people are excited, scared, nervous,  and even "blue" (a.k.a. sad). Parents and children alike have different emotions toward the start of a new school year.

Church: It's Not All There Is To It

Many Christian parents look to the church to train, teach, and disciple their children about things of God. People many times find comfort in sending their children to Sunday school, Youth group meetings, Bible studies, and other events/services churches offer people. Some people have determined in their mind that as long as they get their children to the building, they are doing there job as a Chrisitian parent.

Mustard Seed Faith - It Can Move Mountains

In February last year, we wrote about our daughter Eden and her seizure condition. The title of the post was "Godliness With Contentment Is Great Gain". The post can  be found here if you missed it! We are sharing again about how God has worked in Eden's life with her medical condition.

Book Review - Counseling One Another: A Theology of Interpersonal Discipleship

The word counseling seems intimidating sometimes. The word often brings my memory back to the days in grade school when I would sit down with my guidance counselor to discuss school and how things were going. Other times the word reminds me of friends and family that have gone through some form of trauma or were dealing with various emotional issues and needed to visit with a psychiatrist or psychologist. The word counseling even brings me back to the days in college when I took a psychology class and thought at the time, "Wow, the human race is really complicated!"

Book Review – Pitchin’ A Fit!: Overcoming Angry and Stressed-Out Parenting

If you are looking to get to the root cause of any anger or stress you experience in parenting or even in general, you need to read this book. Pitchin’ A Fit!: Overcoming Angry and Stressed-Out Parenting, written by Israel and Brook Wayne, is a valuable resource for parents striving to raise their children in a world filled with stress, frustration, irritability, fear, and especially anger.

Following Jesus Is The Only Way To Succeed

During the Blizzard of 2016, we spent five days straight playing in the snow. At our house we have a large hill in the back yard, on which we spent much time sledding. In whole we most likely travelled up and down this hill more than 30 times. There was one time in particular that Noah and I were ascending back up the hill after a great ride down and I heard him say to me from behind, "Daddy, I am having a hard time getting up the hill! I need help!"

Let The Son Melt Your Sin, Like The Sun Melts The Snow

Due to the Blizzard of 2016, we were unable to assemble at Canaan's Faith Church of God today (January 24, 2016) like we usually do on Sundays. Therefore we had "church" service at home in our living room. We started out by reading from Hebrews 12:1-2 which is partially discussed on our blog here, but today we elaborated on it with using #Blizzard2016 as a discussion point.