Guard the Goal

This week Chris and I received some heartbreaking news about someone we love and respected. A man who was anointed by God succumbed to the lies of the enemy. He is a fallen soldier and the repercussions of his actions are far reaching.

While processing this scandal, I've felt many different emotions - shock, disappointment, sympathy, anger, discouragement, sorrow. Anytime one of our own falls it's hard to accept. Sadly, this happens more often than I care to think.

When a 'hero of the faith' fails, two things immediately come to mind:
First, it reminds me to pray diligently for our spiritual leaders. They are under constant attack by the devil. While satan wants to see all Christians destroyed, I believe spiritual leaders, in particular, walk around with a target on their back. They need our fervent prayers of protection and blessing.

Second, we must keep our guard up against the enemy in our own lives. My son, Jack, is playing basketball. He's a great defensive player. He sticks to his man like flies on butter. He guards that basketball goal with his whole being. Nothing's getting in that basket on his watch!

We should be intentionally focused on guarding our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 is red flag warning for us. "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Our hearts are everything! We must choose carefully what goes in if we want good things to come out. We must protect and defend the health of our hearts as a good soldier protects his post!

Vicki Courtney once told the story of a young girl who failed to guard her heart. Several years ago, Vicki received a CD of a young female worship leader. The accompanying note introduced this girl as a gifted, up and coming, worship leader and would Vicki consider using her for an event. As you can imagine, Vicki gets many requests like this. She agreed the girl was talented but never had the chance to use her. A few years later, she heard this young lady on the radio, singing, "I kissed a girl, and I liked it". The young worship leader was Katy Perry.

Somewhere along the way, one decision at a time, this young worship leader let her guard down. She stopped protecting her most important asset. The repercussions of her choices are far reaching. (When I start to hear one of her songs, I pray for her and imagine the amazing testimony she can have when she comes back to Jesus.)

Friends, hear me clearly, God's grace is so far reaching. I pray earnestly for my friend to fall back into the arms of the Savior to receive forgiveness and healing. We're all in need of His mercy.

How much better it is though if we can heed the warning, guard our hearts with great determination, and stay out of satan's lair! Oh Lord, grant us grace to guard the goal.

A Faith of Their Own

Chris and I get so tickled observing our own characteristics in our chilren. Chris swears that Mary Cate is a "little Lisa" and I know Jack is just like is father! I'm not sure who Ellie is. She's one of kind!

It's great to raise our children in the pattern of our likeness to some extent. Chris and I carefully teach our kids to Love God, Love Texas and Love Texas Tech - ha! However, we need to be careful as we train them in the ways of the Lord, to make sure they are establishing their own unique relationship with Christ as well.

I was raised in a great Christian home. My parents modeled Christianity for me. I had an amazing youth minister. I had Bible knowledge and knew how to pray the "right" way. The problem came when I moved away from home. I realized I had been living on my parents and youth minister's faith. I didn't have a very strong relationship with Christ on my own. When I moved out from under my parents umbrella of faith, I stumbled when tempted.

Now that I'm a parent, my prayer is that as I am living out my faith in front of my kids that they will begin to establish their own relationship with Christ. I pray their personal faith would be so strong that their relationship with God supersedes all else in their life - even my influence! I pray their relationship with the Lord would truly be their own and not an extension of mine or anyone else's.

When my time on this earth is through, may my children's faith be strong enough to keep them "steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord", 1 Corinthians 15:58.

So teach your kids how to make grandma's banana pudding; brain wash them to cheer only for your alma mater; share your own personal faith stories but then may we encourage them to pray on their own, search the scriptures for themselves and trust God to speak to them in an individual and unique way that is just for them.

Back to School Stress Relief

Another summer, come and gone and we find ourselves gearing up for the craziness of another school year. I feel like I'm watching a disaster movie that I've already seen five times...I know the trouble that's coming!

How can I prepare myself for all the homework, practices, try-outs, games, tests, alarm clock buzzers, friend drama, teacher drama, demands, demands, demands?! What's more, as a mom, I want to prepare my kids for the craziness too. How I long for this year to be their best yet of learning, making new friends, strengthening their skills (music, athletics, etc.), and most of all growing in their faith. Somehow when school starts my goals and dreams for them can get pushed to the side as we quickly slide into survival mode of schedules that are too jam packed.

Here are some tips to help us not only survive, but perhaps, even enjoy going back to school:
1. FAMILY DINNER: Studies show that families who eat dinner together actually have lower stress levels. Eating together as a family provides a sense of stability for your kids. It helps parents to touch base with the kids and find out what could be bothering them or what's going really well. I know how challenging it can be to get everyone around the table but as Tim Gunn (Project Runway) says, "Make it work"!

2. BEDTIME ROUTINE: Kids need routine and bedtime is a great time to practice. Set a bed time for each of your kids that reflects their needs and STICK TO IT. About thirty minutes prior to bed time bring the lights and noise level down (turn off tv/videos) to help your kids get relaxed. If you're out late with practices or games, talk to your child on the way home about their day (no music or videos in the car). Try to help them download what's on their mind so that when they hit the hay they are able to let go of the day and slip easily into restful sleep.

3. ORGANIZATION: No one wants to send their kids off to school frazzled. So, make sure their clothes are laid out the night before. In our family, we pick out our clothes for the week on Sunday and put them in a closet organizer (I bought ours at Target) so that each day has it's own compartment. This has been a HUGE help as we are no longer struggling over what to wear every morning! Also, make sure you have one spot in the house where the kids keep all their gear - backpacks, homework, etc. This will help eleviate lost items and the last minute scramble to find the overdue library book as you are rushing out the door!

4. CUT BACK: I don't know what it is about our society today but we all seem to be on a race to see whose child can have the most activities and how crammed we can get our schedules. Studies show that children today are much more stressed out than their parents generation. We are pushing our kids schedules to the brink and expecting them to act like a river and go with the flow. Be a rebel and DON'T overdo your child's schedule. Kids need down time each day to just hang out and decompress.

5. TALK TO GOD: One of the best things parents can do is teach their children how to talk to God on their own. There's a book by Stormie Omartian, What Happens When I Talk to God, that is great for helping kids understand that talking to God is just like talking to mom. The great thing about talking to God is you can do it at school before a test, on the playground when you make a new friend, anywhere! Help your child know that God is always with them and always loves them.

These are just a few tips and I know you have plenty of great ideas that work for your family. Please share them with me. Have a great last week of summer and remember, even in the disaster movies, the main characters make it out alive!