©Millie McNabb
Her aunt was talking to my three-year-old grand-daughter. She asked how Sunday School was. My grand-daughter answered dramatically, “Terribly boring.” I thought, “Bring out the oxygen. We’re losing her.”
I remember being the substitute teacher for a Sunday School class of third-graders. I started with the pre-prepared lesson, but a boy asked a question, and we “followed the question.” I became aware of the children drawing closer to me, as we wended our way through various topics and what Scripture had to say about them.
The “magic” of the moment was suddenly broken, when a latecomer burst into the room, loudly inquiring, “What’s the craft? What’s the craft?”
Prepared materials can be wonderful resources for teaching children and adults. As a teacher we need to add the reality of God to each lesson. We need to share what the lesson means to us. "Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' then you shall say to them….” Joshua 4:6-7a
What's the most impactful Sunday School class you remember?
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Inevitable Stumbling Blocks
©Millie McNabb
We humans have a hope that life will in some sense be easy. We like things to go our way. We expect real life challenges to be solved like an hour-long television program, with all the stumbling blocks neatly taken out of the picture.
Jesus had a different word. He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!” Luke 17:1
Inevitable! Stumbling blocks cannot be avoided or evaded.
As a parent there are two facets to teach our children:
1) How to deal with stumbling blocks;
2) How to avoid being a stumbling block to someone else.
What stumbling blocks have you encountered?
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
We humans have a hope that life will in some sense be easy. We like things to go our way. We expect real life challenges to be solved like an hour-long television program, with all the stumbling blocks neatly taken out of the picture.
Jesus had a different word. He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!” Luke 17:1
Inevitable! Stumbling blocks cannot be avoided or evaded.
As a parent there are two facets to teach our children:
1) How to deal with stumbling blocks;
2) How to avoid being a stumbling block to someone else.
What stumbling blocks have you encountered?
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Choosing a Spouse: Covenant Eyes
©Millie McNabb
We have remodeled some houses, and in the process discovered pornographic magazines stashed away. This secret addiction can destroy a marriage. When choosing a spouse, be on guard for signs of this addiction.
The internet has given easy access to pornographic sites. An article I read reported that surveys show at least 70 percent of men and 21 percent of women struggle with online pornography. There are accountability sites such as www.covenanteyes.com to help people. That site takes its name from Job 31:1. "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”
Our culture tends to minimize pornography as a problem. From a Christian perspective, pornography poses at least two significant problems. One is that of adultery. A spouse who is devoted to multiple pornography partners is not being true to the one they married.
A second problem is that pornography is often only a symptom of a deeper issue. David Powlison is an author and teacher who wants to help Christians dig deep into their souls and find the root of the sins. I recommend Powlison’s article, “Sexual Sin and the Wilder, Deeper Battle” for greater understanding of those who struggle with pornography temptations.
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, has been married over thirty years. She offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
We have remodeled some houses, and in the process discovered pornographic magazines stashed away. This secret addiction can destroy a marriage. When choosing a spouse, be on guard for signs of this addiction.
The internet has given easy access to pornographic sites. An article I read reported that surveys show at least 70 percent of men and 21 percent of women struggle with online pornography. There are accountability sites such as www.covenanteyes.com to help people. That site takes its name from Job 31:1. "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”
Our culture tends to minimize pornography as a problem. From a Christian perspective, pornography poses at least two significant problems. One is that of adultery. A spouse who is devoted to multiple pornography partners is not being true to the one they married.
A second problem is that pornography is often only a symptom of a deeper issue. David Powlison is an author and teacher who wants to help Christians dig deep into their souls and find the root of the sins. I recommend Powlison’s article, “Sexual Sin and the Wilder, Deeper Battle” for greater understanding of those who struggle with pornography temptations.
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, has been married over thirty years. She offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Half Lit
©Millie McNabb
My friend used to say, “It’s better to burn the candle at both ends than to go out half lit.” As a person who tends to get up early and also stay up late (and not get drunk), I appreciated the saying.
I also like to apply the saying to our Christian walk. We need to shine our light in the material world as well as the spiritual world. The way we do our physical work impacts the spiritual effect we can have on our co-workers. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
Our Christian values should be very apparent in all that we do. At a church we attended in the past, there was a man whose prayers were inspiring. I was looking forward to what I might learn from him. However, I encountered him in a business situation, and found him to be rude and inconsiderate. As far as his Christian walk, he was going out half lit.
Whether it’s passing on our values to our children, interacting with our fellow Christians, or rubbing elbows with the community at large, that consistent “light shining” reveals God at work in our lives. Our living witness then brings glory to God.
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
My friend used to say, “It’s better to burn the candle at both ends than to go out half lit.” As a person who tends to get up early and also stay up late (and not get drunk), I appreciated the saying.
I also like to apply the saying to our Christian walk. We need to shine our light in the material world as well as the spiritual world. The way we do our physical work impacts the spiritual effect we can have on our co-workers. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
Our Christian values should be very apparent in all that we do. At a church we attended in the past, there was a man whose prayers were inspiring. I was looking forward to what I might learn from him. However, I encountered him in a business situation, and found him to be rude and inconsiderate. As far as his Christian walk, he was going out half lit.
Whether it’s passing on our values to our children, interacting with our fellow Christians, or rubbing elbows with the community at large, that consistent “light shining” reveals God at work in our lives. Our living witness then brings glory to God.
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Spiritually Disengaged
©Millie McNabb
My daughter and I were traveling together and enjoyed visiting in the car. One of the topics that came up was the church youth group. There were six people her age attending Sunday School when she was a teenager. She is the only one that as an adult is spiritually engaged.
I often quote a George Barna report that 61% of young adults who attended church as teenagers, are no longer spiritually engaged. That number was shocking to me, but the reality set in as the math for my daughter’s class came out at 83%.
We talked further about what made the difference. Was their experience at church relevant to them? Was God a reality even if church meant little? Which had the greater influence—church or parents?
In terms of time, the church had limited influence. At most their time in church was 3 hours out of 168 hours in a week—about 1.5%. This was basically true of both those who rejected or retained Godly values. Compared to all the other activities in their lives, this was their primary exposure to spiritual things.
We talked about the parents. How spiritually engaged were the parents? What part did church play in the life of the parents?
My daughter concluded that for each of her contemporaries, the parents relied on the church to provide all the spiritual training; whereas, in her case, the primary spiritual training took place in the home.
In this discussion we noted that sometimes people reject the formal church, but remain spiritually engaged. This did not appear to be the case with her contemporaries. They seemed to be ignoring or rejecting God, as well. "They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways’.” Job 21:14
George Barna stated in his book, Revolutionary Parenting, that the most important role for the church in influencing children is to train the parents. I passionately believe that, and offer resources and support to churches for parents who are intentionally raising their children to become Christian adults.
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
My daughter and I were traveling together and enjoyed visiting in the car. One of the topics that came up was the church youth group. There were six people her age attending Sunday School when she was a teenager. She is the only one that as an adult is spiritually engaged.
I often quote a George Barna report that 61% of young adults who attended church as teenagers, are no longer spiritually engaged. That number was shocking to me, but the reality set in as the math for my daughter’s class came out at 83%.
We talked further about what made the difference. Was their experience at church relevant to them? Was God a reality even if church meant little? Which had the greater influence—church or parents?
In terms of time, the church had limited influence. At most their time in church was 3 hours out of 168 hours in a week—about 1.5%. This was basically true of both those who rejected or retained Godly values. Compared to all the other activities in their lives, this was their primary exposure to spiritual things.
We talked about the parents. How spiritually engaged were the parents? What part did church play in the life of the parents?
My daughter concluded that for each of her contemporaries, the parents relied on the church to provide all the spiritual training; whereas, in her case, the primary spiritual training took place in the home.
In this discussion we noted that sometimes people reject the formal church, but remain spiritually engaged. This did not appear to be the case with her contemporaries. They seemed to be ignoring or rejecting God, as well. "They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways’.” Job 21:14
George Barna stated in his book, Revolutionary Parenting, that the most important role for the church in influencing children is to train the parents. I passionately believe that, and offer resources and support to churches for parents who are intentionally raising their children to become Christian adults.
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Anniversary
©Millie McNabb
Yesterday was our thirty-third anniversary. We went out for steak dinner together. I went online looking for what gift was recommended to mark the year. They only listed gifts by every five years after the fifteenth anniversary. The twenty-fifth anniversary is marked by silver. Being practical, we got a three-in-one printer—it was silver in color, however.
The year my oldest brother got married was my parents silver (25th) anniversary and my grandparents golden (50th) anniversary. We had a triple celebration combined with family reunion for them.
The day we got married, the Teton Dam broke upstream from us. We debated whether or not to cancel the ceremony, but decided to go ahead.
My grandmother was at home by herself, when the Civil Defense folks came by and told her she had to get out because there was a twenty-foot wall of water headed her way. The water did arrive at her house two days later, and left it uninhabitable.
My sister, the matron of honor, came to the wedding, but did not stay for the reception. She needed to get back across a bridge before it was cut off by the flood water.
We left on our honeymoon, and my parents took the gifts to their house, which was about a mile from the river. The next day, neighbors moved all the gifts upstairs, and moved their furniture out to prepare for the coming flood waters. They had about six inches of muddy water in their house the next day. We spent the summer helping them recover from the mess that was left.
There were other stories, too. I made my wedding dress, and the zipper was somewhat fragile at the waist where all the layers of fabric came together. I told the girl who was helping me, that if it didn’t want to zip past that spot, to stop, and I would do it. She tugged instead, which broke the zipper. My aunt sewed me into my dress.
Weddings involve much preparation, and celebrate an institution ordained by God. Jesus even drew comparisons between the kingdom of God and a wedding feast. "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” (Matthew 22:2)
What wedding stories do you have?
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
Yesterday was our thirty-third anniversary. We went out for steak dinner together. I went online looking for what gift was recommended to mark the year. They only listed gifts by every five years after the fifteenth anniversary. The twenty-fifth anniversary is marked by silver. Being practical, we got a three-in-one printer—it was silver in color, however.
The year my oldest brother got married was my parents silver (25th) anniversary and my grandparents golden (50th) anniversary. We had a triple celebration combined with family reunion for them.
The day we got married, the Teton Dam broke upstream from us. We debated whether or not to cancel the ceremony, but decided to go ahead.
My grandmother was at home by herself, when the Civil Defense folks came by and told her she had to get out because there was a twenty-foot wall of water headed her way. The water did arrive at her house two days later, and left it uninhabitable.
My sister, the matron of honor, came to the wedding, but did not stay for the reception. She needed to get back across a bridge before it was cut off by the flood water.
We left on our honeymoon, and my parents took the gifts to their house, which was about a mile from the river. The next day, neighbors moved all the gifts upstairs, and moved their furniture out to prepare for the coming flood waters. They had about six inches of muddy water in their house the next day. We spent the summer helping them recover from the mess that was left.
There were other stories, too. I made my wedding dress, and the zipper was somewhat fragile at the waist where all the layers of fabric came together. I told the girl who was helping me, that if it didn’t want to zip past that spot, to stop, and I would do it. She tugged instead, which broke the zipper. My aunt sewed me into my dress.
Weddings involve much preparation, and celebrate an institution ordained by God. Jesus even drew comparisons between the kingdom of God and a wedding feast. "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.” (Matthew 22:2)
What wedding stories do you have?
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Christian Values in Economics: Talking Heads
©Millie McNabb
I remember my father visiting the Legislature. As they debated the topic, my father said the first speaker was very convincing. Then the next speaker presented the other side of the issue. Again, my father thought the speaker was very convincing.
Watching economic news can be very much that way. Each guest is very earnest about the view they are presenting, and are very convincing. One speaker recited several negative economic events, and then stated, “The government is the only one that can get us out of this.”
The Bible has something to say about that kind of thinking in Isaiah 31:1. “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help {And} rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!”
Where do you place your trust?
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
I remember my father visiting the Legislature. As they debated the topic, my father said the first speaker was very convincing. Then the next speaker presented the other side of the issue. Again, my father thought the speaker was very convincing.
Watching economic news can be very much that way. Each guest is very earnest about the view they are presenting, and are very convincing. One speaker recited several negative economic events, and then stated, “The government is the only one that can get us out of this.”
The Bible has something to say about that kind of thinking in Isaiah 31:1. “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help {And} rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!”
Where do you place your trust?
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Job One
©Millie McNabb
I started reading Job today in my daily Bible reading. I was once challenged by someone to read 40 chapters a day in the Bible. So, I did—for one day. I read the 42 chapters of Job in one day. At that pace, you would read the entire Bible in a month.
There are different paces of effective Bible reading. Sometimes we read large sections for content, context and knowledge. At times we pray Scripture and meditate. Chronological or blended gospel reading adds new perspective. Whatever our pace, our “Job One” is to bless and glorify the Lord.
He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
I started reading Job today in my daily Bible reading. I was once challenged by someone to read 40 chapters a day in the Bible. So, I did—for one day. I read the 42 chapters of Job in one day. At that pace, you would read the entire Bible in a month.
There are different paces of effective Bible reading. Sometimes we read large sections for content, context and knowledge. At times we pray Scripture and meditate. Chronological or blended gospel reading adds new perspective. Whatever our pace, our “Job One” is to bless and glorify the Lord.
He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21)
God bless….
Millie McNabb, founder of Christian Values Legacy, offers parenting seminars that focus on passing on your Christian values. Request your free report “Considerations for Intentionally Raising Children to Become Christian Adults” today at www.ChristianValuesLegacy.com.
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