Phil 4:6-7 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
We really enjoyed the time off, spending time with family and checking out the sights at D.C.
Our vacation was unexpectedly extended one more day as our van's alternator decided to get to
the business of dying about 20 minutes out of D.C. Having had it replaced before, we knew the
potential for another costly repair. I decided that we were going to get as far away from the city as we could. Robin and I were praying that we would make it somewhere safe, were we could get it repaired.
Enter God
As we neared Hagerstown, MD, the alternator gave up and the van quickly began sputtering as
the battery voltage dropped too low to run the fuel pump properly. At this point, our prayer efforts went into overdrive.
We were using a borrowed GPS unit that was doing a great job at turn-by-turn directions.
It was programmed to guide us home. As the van began to sputter, the GPS unit suddenly
told me to take the next exit. After exiting, the GPS directed me to turn right in 800 yards and,
upon achieving that distance, directed me into the parking lot of a Hampton Inn,
where the van completely died. Looking around, I noticed a sign that said Byrd's Auto repair on a building right next to the Motel.
Being a Sunday evening, it was closed. Long story short, we spent the night at The Hampton Inn, which included swimming in the pool, eating pizza and enjoying a complimentary hot breakfast.
On Monday morning, the repair shop replaced the alternator for $150.00 less than expected and we were again on our way.
When I arrived back at the church office, there was a envelope in my mailbox which contained
a check. Someone on Sunday morning, before we had even left D.C., felt led to give me and my
family a love gift which covered most of the repair bill.
God is always in control! In good times and bad, blessings and trials, He is God! Too often, we limit God to the size of our largest problem or worse, our current problem(s). We just wanted to get off of the highway and be safe. God provided in His true fashion – beyond our requests and
imaginations.
Whatever the circumstance, be it in your marriage, family or life, ask God to work in
it and provide the solution. What God can do will amaze you.
Looking back, when asked about what she liked most about our
vacation, our daughter Kaitlin answered, "Staying at the Hampton Inn".
Question of The Week:
What areas do you need to give to God for in your marriage, family and life? When you give it
To Him, you can be assured that “God’s Got This”!
For Marriages and Families,
Dave
©2009 Binding Hearts Marriage and Family Ministries
"strengthening marriages and binding broken hearts"
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Quote of the Week
NAME Marriage Network "If my marriage is right, then I can have my family right. If my family is strong, then we can help other families be strong. If we have strong families, we will have a strong church. Imagine how strong our Christian impact can be if we just fix ourselves at the root, in our marriage."
Monday, August 10, 2009
Just Like Me?
1 Cor 10:12-13 NIV
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!
My Son, Alex and I were in the van, sitting at a red light when I noticed a church sign with these words on it.
"If you want them (children) to be just like you, point them to God."
I pondered those words as we drove on. We had not gone one block before Alex asked, "Do you want me to be just like you?" He, too, had read the sign. My answer came immediately. "NO, I want you to be better than me," I told him. I looked in the rearview mirror in time to catch his smile.
It is true! If Alex, or any of my children, turn out only to be like me, then I would probably view my role as their father - a failure. Allow me to be very transparent and honest here. I am far from great, in fact, I still have to go before my Lord and ask his forgiveness on a regular basis. I am on the journey but I have not arrived! If I allow myself to think that I can relax and be content in my own growth in Christ, then I have not only hindered my relationship with Christ but I have jeopardized my children’s' potential.
Contentment sounds great, peaceful even. However, being content with where we are with Christ is complacency. Much of who I am has been shaped by actions of the past – actions that were mine or of those closest to me. It is imperative that I continue to grow in Christ because, to a certain extent, the souls of four "Kidds" depend on it.
Destructive patterns have run in my family for several generations. Patterns of behavior that I, by the grace and favor of God, intend to break, not just for me but for our children. To that end, the Apostle Paul's advice in the above verse must become a code in my life. While my eyes remain stayed on the Rock that is Jesus, I will strain forward as if my feet are always in sand.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!
My Son, Alex and I were in the van, sitting at a red light when I noticed a church sign with these words on it.
"If you want them (children) to be just like you, point them to God."
I pondered those words as we drove on. We had not gone one block before Alex asked, "Do you want me to be just like you?" He, too, had read the sign. My answer came immediately. "NO, I want you to be better than me," I told him. I looked in the rearview mirror in time to catch his smile.
It is true! If Alex, or any of my children, turn out only to be like me, then I would probably view my role as their father - a failure. Allow me to be very transparent and honest here. I am far from great, in fact, I still have to go before my Lord and ask his forgiveness on a regular basis. I am on the journey but I have not arrived! If I allow myself to think that I can relax and be content in my own growth in Christ, then I have not only hindered my relationship with Christ but I have jeopardized my children’s' potential.
Contentment sounds great, peaceful even. However, being content with where we are with Christ is complacency. Much of who I am has been shaped by actions of the past – actions that were mine or of those closest to me. It is imperative that I continue to grow in Christ because, to a certain extent, the souls of four "Kidds" depend on it.
Destructive patterns have run in my family for several generations. Patterns of behavior that I, by the grace and favor of God, intend to break, not just for me but for our children. To that end, the Apostle Paul's advice in the above verse must become a code in my life. While my eyes remain stayed on the Rock that is Jesus, I will strain forward as if my feet are always in sand.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Winning While Losing
Winning While Losing
August 3, 2009
Eph 4:26 NIV
"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
“This could go on for hours,” I thought while trying to reposition my body behind the wooden barricade protecting me from the pummeling spray of the “enemy’s front lines.. At that point, I had two choices, stay put behind the barricade or try to advance toward the “enemy” and risk getting shot.
I didn’t have to ponder that decision for long because just as I positioned my gun for a shot at a defending opponent, I felt a paintball hit my gun barrel, and I saw the paint splatter over my hands, hence my elimination from the game. I raised my gun in the air and began walking off the field, only to be hit by a few more shots.
That didn’t seem right, I was done and doing what I was supposed to do and someone couldn’t resist taking a few cheap shots at an easy target.
Marriage is hardly like a game of paintball; however, while I was walking off of that field, I thought about how we try to have the last say in an argument or to win a disagreement. It is the same as taking those last few cheap shots before we put the gun of our own selfishness away.
The verse above reminds us not to sin in our anger. However, if husbands are to love their wife as Christ loved the church, taking a cheap shot is a sin – even when they, too are being shot at.
Truce anyone?
August 3, 2009
Eph 4:26 NIV
"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
“This could go on for hours,” I thought while trying to reposition my body behind the wooden barricade protecting me from the pummeling spray of the “enemy’s front lines.. At that point, I had two choices, stay put behind the barricade or try to advance toward the “enemy” and risk getting shot.
I didn’t have to ponder that decision for long because just as I positioned my gun for a shot at a defending opponent, I felt a paintball hit my gun barrel, and I saw the paint splatter over my hands, hence my elimination from the game. I raised my gun in the air and began walking off the field, only to be hit by a few more shots.
That didn’t seem right, I was done and doing what I was supposed to do and someone couldn’t resist taking a few cheap shots at an easy target.
Marriage is hardly like a game of paintball; however, while I was walking off of that field, I thought about how we try to have the last say in an argument or to win a disagreement. It is the same as taking those last few cheap shots before we put the gun of our own selfishness away.
The verse above reminds us not to sin in our anger. However, if husbands are to love their wife as Christ loved the church, taking a cheap shot is a sin – even when they, too are being shot at.
Truce anyone?
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