Please know this, God will allow times of struggle greater than YOUR ability to handle it. He allows these times so that you might learn to fully and completely rely on Him. Apart from Him you and I can do nothing. When you and I learn that principle and live accordingly we will be free to experience His power, which is perfected in our weakness.
My advice to parents is to surround your children with kids they can be encouraged by later in life. Pick your children’s friends, while you can, based on their parents. Look for people who share your values, share your discipline philosophy, and are heading their children in the same direction you want your children to go. Then get your children around those children as much as you can. Hopefully you will instill in your children the skills of picking the right kinds of friends wisely that will carry over into other periods of their life.
Yesterday I shared a post about the consequences of making mistakes after a person ignores repeated advice from others. It was based on a Biblical principle found in Proverbs 29:1. You can read that post HERE.
We also learn, however, by the wisdom of others and humbling ourselves enough to accept the correction or criticism others offer can often help us avoid costly mistakes. The verse ends with a warning of such, “will suddenly be broken beyond healing”. That part of the principle doesn’t ignore grace or the ability to recover, but it does point out that some mistakes can leave lasting consequences.
I wish it never happened to anyone and I hope it never happens to you, but in my job I hear it almost every week. It’s a word we are afraid of, one that can destroy, and certainly one that will break a heart. Sometimes people admit to it, but mostly they deny it.
The word is AFFAIR.
Since government economic numbers lag real time, we were technically in this current recession before we knew it. My prediction is that we will find months from now that the recession has already officially ended by this point and the recovery has slowly begun.
I love it though. I actually read her story today. She had a dream, she worked for it, and she achieved it. This is a true picture of what determination and motivation can do for someone. What I probably love more than anything was what I read recently, that Susan’s real dream was to show her mother that she could do something with her life. Love it!
There are signs of encouragement and life returning to the economy. The unemployment rate is a factor that usually lags behind other indicators, so that’s still very discouraging, but there are hints of better days to come. How should we react during the waiting times like this? Let me offer a few suggestions:
The Obama’s have a new dog. The dog is a six-month-old Portuguese water dog, named Bo, given to Malia and Sasha Obama by the Edward Kennedy family. Apparently the dog wasn’t working out at the previous owner’s home, so they thought to give it to the Obama family. I’m happy for them, knowing the joy an animal can bring a household.
One Saturday morning some 2,000 years ago, surely there was a group of mixed-up, hurting, confused, sickly, tired, afraid, and desperate people. They had placed all their hopes in a man who claimed to be the promised Messiah. They were there when their hope was nailed to a cross. They watched their mentor and friend die a cruel death. What would they do now? What was next?
