Teach One Another

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

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No Retirees

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

Old saints don’t retire. They are reassigned to the front, where they became prayer warriors on the battle line.

 

James 5:16 (MSG)
The prayer of a person living right with God
is something powerful to be reckoned with.

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Grow with God

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

Friends just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Their children assembled a photo album, divided into decades. Each decade had a title. This got me thinking. If I divide my adult life into 10-year increments, what title should I give each decade?

Here’s how my assignments from God worked out (feel free to share yours)–

 

20’s – Teach me to work
30’s – Teach me to love
40’s – Teach me to pray
50’s – Teach me to write
60’s – Teach me, Lord, to tell your story

 

Note to self: you don’t retire from God’s work. You grow into it.

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Aging Grace

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

I just celebrated a milestone birthday—one that required registration with the federal government (no, I didn’t just turn 18 and register for the draft). Truth is, we’re all getting older. How do you see yourself?

 

  • Not older, better!
  • Over the hill
  • Young at heart
  • Aging gracefully

I’ve never been graceful. I’m a bit of a klutz. So I won’t age gracefully.

I do, however, aim to age graciously.

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Eyes Are Watching

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

 

 

“Fathers and mothers, do not forget that children learn more by the eye than they do by the ear.”
J.C. Ryle  (1816-1900)

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Simply Help

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

It is estimated that 40-50% of American adults read at or below an 8th grade level. Think about it —  four of ten adults in church may have trouble reading.

How can we help?

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Chain of Custody

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

What I received from my parents and grandparents is my inheritance. What I leave my children and grandchildren is my legacy.

 

Lord, may I accept my inheritance with forgiving gratitude and offer my legacy with humble grace.

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The Sins of the Fathers

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

No question, some people have bad parents. And some folks assume that those children are destined to repeat the sins of their parents:

 

Numbers 14:18 (MSG)
God, slow to get angry and huge in loyal love, forgiving iniquity and rebellion and sin; Still, never just whitewashing sin. But extending the fallout of parents’ sins to children into the third, even the fourth generation.

If you were abused by your father, you carry scars on your soul. Likely your father and his father carried similar scars. But you are not without hope.

By the grace of God, you can be the last generation.

 

 

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Honor Our Father

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

 

 

What’s the best thing a father can do for his children?

 

  • Pay their way
  • Encourage them
  • Love their mother
  • Honor God

I’ll take “honor God” (“all of the above” is also a good choice).

Whether your father honored God or not, you have a choice. Choose wisely.

1 Kings 2:3
Keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written.

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Thy Will, Not Mine

Posted on June 16, 2017 by Shirlee Abbott

I say, “not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Do I mean it? 

 

Lord, your will be done in my child’s life–even if that takes him far away, or puts him in harm’s way, or sets him in a place of poverty. May he be exactly where you want him to be.

Make me want what you want, Lord God.

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