Posts from 2023 (Page 7)
Pruning/Refining/Discipline
We were so blessed to have Carl & Rosy with us this past Sunday. Faithful and amazing warriors for the King – they have served, continue to serve, and plan to keep on serving Him. An example to us and a blessing to this world. As Carl was speaking yesterday, I felt the Lord highlight the following: Hebrews 12:6, 10-11 the Lord disciplines the one he loves…God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.…
The Power of God’s Love
Imagine you went out for dinner at a restaurant with a bunch of people you never met before and the person you sat across started making racial comments about your racial group to the people next to them. What would you do? How would you respond? As someone who is non-confrontational and a minimizer by nature, I can tell you that I’m not the type to escalate these types of situations. That does not mean that I won’t be upset…
Delegation
In previous LifeSpring events like the Kidz Harbour Christmas play, Volunteer Appreciation Barbecue, and others, I would usually play a central role in setup or at least running something. For the Wildfire Fundraiser, however, I didn’t want to take care of a table because I knew I’d also be supervising the kids in the gym that same afternoon. With that in mind, I spread out all the tasks that needed to be done on Sunday amongst Wildfire, and just did…
Am I a Christian who prays or a Praying Christian?
Dear LifeSpring Family, In the past several months, I have been mulling over this question of, “Am I a Christian who prays or am I a praying Christian?” I think I heard this question/challenge in one of P2C’s weekly staff chapel time. It got me thinking about my approach to my prayer life. After much thought and listening to God, I have come to see that I am neither. I have come to see myself on the continuum between a Christian who…
Faithful with the Little
Several weeks ago, Theresa showed me an impressive video of a young person who constructed a massive domino project. In the video she uses bins of dominoes and carefully lays down individual pieces following a very careful design. She even themed the project after the Mario Bros., complete with a princess castle and full cast of characters. The entire project took her 24 days where she laid down 18,000 individual dominoes. Of course, the topple was perfect (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsR8WNx6qbc if you’re curious). Matthew 25:14-30…
Be Prepared
Fun Fact: Every time I hear the phrase, “Be prepared”, I sing it back to myself in Scar’s voice. I attribute this to being a 90s kid who had a very love/hate relationship with The Lion King (okay fine, mostly only love… I just cannot – to this day – watch that movie without bawling). Ironically, and likely not very surprisingly, I’m taking a quick break from packing my bags to write this devo… hours before I head over to…
Kingdom Parenting: Train Up A Child
When we talk about Kingdom Parenting we are trying to raise the huios (mature sons). Fully complete, lacking nothing. When we look at the ultimate mature son, Jesus Christ – we see a man who was raised and became a huios. He was one who did not just hear and ignore – He listened and obeyed. Kingdom Parenting is not just about one’s biological children, it is the people you influence and care for. I shared a testimony a couple…
Thirsty
In my addictions class, my professor made an interesting spin to a familiar quote. It goes like this: “You can lead a horse to the water but you can’t make it drink. But you can make the horse thirsty.” In the context of addiction counseling, my professor shared that we often spend countless hours and energy bringing people the information and tools necessary for change and treatment, in the hopes that they can use it and walk it out for…
Father’s Love
Dear LifeSpring Family, As we just celebrated Father’s Day, I would like to take the opportunity to honor and appreciate all the fathers in LifeSpring while reflecting on the ultimate Father—the one who is the source of all love and goodness, our Heavenly Father. In the embrace of a father’s love, we catch a glimpse of God’s unwavering care and protection. Let us celebrate the fathers who have walked alongside us, and remember the Father in heaven who loves us…
Reflecting God’s Love to Others
1 John 4:7-9“Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love. This is how the love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him.” To all the dads at Lifespring–Happy Father’s Day! Being a dad can feel like a roller…
Talk Is Cheap
Every highschooler hears this question almost weekly; in fact, they probably know it by heart. The question and all its variations boil down to “What are you going to do after high school?” And for at least 50% of us (I’m making a wild guess here), the answer is “I dunno.” You might get a few speculations, but no one is completely sure of the area in which they will work or study. Some of us, myself included, have spent…
Prayer Postures
There’s something to be said about the postures we take in prayer… As much as the posture of my heart matters, I’ve been discovering that the posture of my physical body can greatly influence my prayer life as well! Whether I need to be moving around (dancing it out or pacing back and forth) or staying very still in soaking mode or laying prostrate on the ground, these postures often help me express my needs and prayers in ways that…