Thoughts and Jots--Blog Archives

The song, "Silent Night," has intrigued me for years. Just consider these words: Silent night, holy night  ALL IS CALM... Is "calm" a foreign word? Let's define it: "Undisturbed by passion; not agitated or excited; quiet; tranquil; as the mind, temper, or attention." All is calm... Maybe "calm" is plain English, but the concept is rare. How do we get to that place? God knows the way, but we may have become too busy to allow Him to show us how to get to calm. After all, we have cookies to bake, gifts to wrap, cards to send, concerts to attend... All is not calm under these conditions. Calm doesn't like crazy. Christmas is the only birthday celebration known to man where the Guest of Honor is so steadfastly ignored. During this season of run-run-go-go-do-do-do, Christ is often forgotten, and the calmness that comes from time in His Word is forfeited.  A starved soul is an agitated soul. The solution? Feed your soul as ...

At a recent ladies' conference, I made this statement in a workshop on parenting adult children:  "Stop apologizing for the spiritual condition of your children. This is unnecessary. If their relationship with the Lord is off course, that's between them and God."  This statement was prompted by the frequent times ladies would tell me about their children being "away from the Lord," often with a tone that seemed confessional. While completely sincere, this is a practice that really serves no purpose. I'm not sure where we got the idea that we need to explain our children to others, but it's a mistaken notion. If you have multiple children, you will have multiple outcomes. If you have only one child, you may still have multiple outcomes as behaviors and choices fluctuate over time. Doesn't anyone else remember making some of the grandest mistakes during the younger years? People talk as if spiritual warfare, including trials raising ch...