Happy Independence Day

[Judy Harder]

Parenthood

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4

When parents don't spend meaningful time with their kids, a credibility gap develops.  In fact, one of the most common errors parents make is expecting respect without relationship.  Children might live with this contradiction for years; but if you're cultivating hurried, superficial relationships with your kids now, the odds are extremely high that, in time, they won't respect your opinions, invite your wisdom, or respond to your warnings when they need to most.  Inevitably, as author Josh McDowell poignantly observed, "Rules without relationship leads to rebellion."

The rich experience of parenthood resists short, tidy definitions.  But never forget —despite whatever else parenthood may be—it's a battleground for the well-being of your kids.  Therefore, it's imperative that you learn to fight effectively for your children, and it all starts with relationship—just like it does for us with God.

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing."
- Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)

[Judy Harder]

Fear or Fear Not

Say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you."
Isaiah 35:4

Most of us tend to think too highly of ourselves.  Our love for having the right answers, solving our own problems, and feeling in control of every aspect of our lives demonstrates our inclination to think we possess personal sovereignty.  Consequently, we spend a lot of time worrying.

A businessman once constructed a "Worry Chart" to keep a record of his fears.  He discovered that 40 percent of his worries involved things that probably wouldn't happen, 30 percent involved past decisions that he couldn't unmake, 12 percent regarded other people's criticisms, and 10 percent involved his health.  He concluded that only 8 percent of his worries were really legitimate (if there is such a thing)—that is, things he could actually do something about.

So how do we overcome our fears? How do we rid ourselves of worry and anxiety, most of which is unfounded anyway.  The Bible says that perfect love cast out all fear.  So maybe we should focus on God's love, not on our fear.

"Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength."
- Charles Spurgeon (1834 -1892)

[Judy Harder]

Humor

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."
Psalm 126:2

I'm grateful for people who bring laughter to our lives.  Former New York Yankee baseball great Yogi Berra's wry humor has left us laughing for decades.  Consider these "Yogi-isms:"

·          "Never answer an anonymous letter."

·          "I usually take a two-hour nap from one to four."

·          "When you come to a fork in the road...take it."  ...and

·          "I really didn't say everything I said."

Laughter's a great gift.  And doctors are finding the Bible is right: laughter truly is good medicine.  Not only are there emotional benefits to laughing, but there are physical benefits as well.  Bill Cosby said, "If you can find humor in anything, you can survive it."  He's right.  Humor can actually be an agent of healing. So look for opportunities to laugh, and don't take things to seriously.  God has a sense of humor, and so should we.

"From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I convulsed with laughter.  Someday I intend on reading it."
- Groucho Marx  (1890-1977)

[Judy Harder]

Necessity of Boundaries

And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  - Deuteronomy 10:12

Skiing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is risky business.  It's not for the weak hearted.  The runs are dangerous and steep.  They are tested by the ski patrol, dozens of warning signs are posted, and yellow tape block paths that lead to avalanche danger, loose rocks, or cliffs.

The Christian life is much like the terrain at Jackson Hole.  There are plenty of marked runs and rugged terrain to keep the most adventuresome entertained and challenged, but there are also hazardous areas to avoid if we don't want to get hurt.

That's why the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit provide us with boundaries. They protect us by identifying life's harmful out-of-bounds areas; and provide freedom by keeping us unencumbered from sin and its consequences.  That's truly what God was providing when he gave us the 10 Commandments.  Open your Bible to Exodus 20 and re-read those with the concept of 'boundaries" in mind.

"I now realize that the small hills you see on ski slopes are formed around the bodies of forty-seven year olds who tried to learn snowboarding." - Dave Barry (1947-     )

[Judy Harder]

Pursuing Your Dreams

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. - 1 Timothy 6:10-11

Are you postponing your dreams in hopes that Aunt Gertie will remember you in her will? Are you waiting to win the lottery? Or are you waiting until you lose thirty pounds, or your spouse gets his/her act together?

If the Lord has placed a dream in your heart, don't wait for external events to grant you "permission."  Don't allow yourself to be hampered by fear, but do take a look at your motives. 

The most important thing you can do with your dreams is to examine them in light of who gets the glory in the process... you or God?  Cultivate the dreams born of the Spirit.  You're happiest and most fulfilled when you're doing what God has designed you to do.  He knows your frame, talents, skills, and desires.  If you pursue the dreams He plants in your heart, I can promise you'll find more abundant life than you ever thought possible.

"Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."  – William Carey (1761-1834)

[Judy Harder]

Reframing Our Work

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. - 1 Corinthians 10:31

Too often we view our work as a curse rather than a divine calling.  Renowned author Dorothy Sayers is precisely right in observing that we need "a thoroughgoing revolution in our whole attitude to work."  Namely, that our work should be viewed not as a necessary drudgery to be undergone for the purpose of making money, but as a way of life in which we find personal delight and magnify God's glory.  Sayer's believes work, "should be thought of as a creative activity undertaken for the love of the work itself; and that. . . [men and women], made in God's image, should make things, as God makes them, for the sake of doing well a thing that is well worth doing."

With the right attitude your work can be a source of personal blessing and a vehicle for glorifying God. 

"Train yourself to recognize the hand of God in everything that happens to you." - Andrew Murray (1828-1917)

[Judy Harder]

Time in the Cocoon

I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. - Psalm 27:13-14

If you tear open a cocoon to set a butterfly free, the creature's wings will be severely underdeveloped. This is because the very act of struggling to leave the cocoon strengthens the butterfly's wings, preparing it for flight. 

We too have times of transition and metamorphosis, yet our remedy is not unlike the butterfly's. If we try escaping God's cocoon before He's done transforming us, we risk undermining and delaying what He's trying to do. So when you're experiencing time in the cocoon, relax! In the stillness, you hear God. In the waiting, your character is formed. If you wait upon God and allow Him to release you from the cocoon, you'll be strong and prepared to fly in ways you never could have if you'd left the cocoon too soon.

"There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." - Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983)

[Judy Harder]

He Is Risen

When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. - John 2:22

I recently stumbled upon a great Easter story told by Dr. George Sweeting regarding an incident in the early 1920s.  Communist leader Nikolai Bukharin was sent from Moscow to Kiev to address an anti-God rally.  For an hour he abused and ridiculed the Christian faith until it seemed as if the whole structure of belief was in ruins.

Then questions were invited.  An Eastern Orthodox priest rose and asked to speak.  He turned, faced the people, and gave the Easter greeting, "He is risen!" Instantly the assembly rose to its feet and the reply came back loud and clear, "He is risen indeed!" 

Aren't those just the best words you could ever hear?  News, movies, books, and people of influence may attempt to discredit Christianity, but they'll never thwart the truth, He is risen indeed!
What does Christ's resurrection mean for you?

"I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.
I believe in love even when not feeling it.
I believe in God even when He is silent."
- Anonymous

[Judy Harder]

Easter in Narnia

He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.  - Isaiah 25:8

In C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the lion, Aslan, offers himself as a sacrifice for a little boy—a traitor named Edmund.  When the lion rises from the dead he says:

". . . [the Witch's] knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time.  But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation.  She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward."

Does that story sound familiar? It should; it's the story of Easter.  Jesus Christ gave his life for traitors whom he loved, was raised from the dead, and therefore broke the curse of death. 

"Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection,
not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime." - Martin Luther (1483-1546)

[Judy Harder]

The Big One

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. - Deuteronomy 4:29

When I was three years old, I went on an Easter egg hunt. Being so young, my mom let me watch the organizers hide the eggs. Before long, I'd spotted the man with the Big One—a jumbo sized, cream-filled chocolate egg wrapped in golden foil. 

The moment I heard ,"Go!" I raced to the shallow hole where I'd seen him hide the egg. But my hand found nothing. I tried my other hand. Still nothing. I started digging and pulling grass. Then a loud scream broke my concentration. My prized egg had been moved to the oak tree and discovered by Lesely Waters.  What had begun as a calculated victory ended in bitter defeat. Yet, I did learn a valuable lesson: What promises to bring happiness and fulfillment often leaves us empty.

Do you find yourself searching for the Big One? If the Big One is Christ, you're on the right path and need to look no further. If it's anything other than Jesus, you'll not be satisfied until you find Him.   

"There will come a time when you believe everything   is finished. That will be the beginning." - Louis L'Amour (1908-1988)