Encouragement

The kids cut out the shapes of a sword and of a bandaid. Words had been flying, tears flowing. We posted the cutouts where we could all see them to remind us that our words can hurt or heal. They can sting and cut, or they can strengthen and build. Our words are powerful! What is said is important, but how our words are said is equally important. Tones are the packaging that words come in. They impact our conversations and our relationships. Have you taken time to listen to the tone in your home or classroom or workplace lately?...

I may be concerned about many things, but I am responsible for just a few. I must focus my energies toward those few. Do you know what YOU are responsible for? Over the years, I have been plagued by what I viewed as illogical or poor decision-making by ministries that I had no responsibility for in my church. Let me give you an example. Let’s imagine that there is a ministry adjacent to me. The leader of that ministry is my peer. I do not oversee him and he does not oversee me. However, I have observed a brand new...

I feel like a lot of times in the parent world we’re so busy with jobs, hobbies, family time, meals, cleaning, tasks, maintenance, things outside the home, friends, weekend activities, kids activities, school… so many things that we need to do. But when it comes to our kids’ spiritual well-being, sometimes it’s the last thing we think about. We can have prayer with our kids before bed. We can lead a devotion with our kids during a meal. I feel that during this season that so many people are home, at-home discipleship, if it existed, has really taken a back...

Is it normal childhood fear or something more? Marie* was afraid of many things. Being away from her parents, going to school, sleeping by herself, failing a test, or answering a question in class. Some would call her a shy, nervous child, which could be a part of it, but Marie’s ‘shyness’ was limiting her daily life, making it a constant challenge for her parents. She would take hours to fall asleep because of ‘too many scary thoughts’; she would have a stomach ache in the morning before school, unable to eat breakfast. She was often irritable and irrational in...

By: Steven James