Ministering

"And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose,and ministered unto them." ~ Matthew 8:15

This verse was part of our family devotions one night. We discussed how she would have "ministered" to them. She would have fed them and provided for their needs. What a great reminder that when we take care of our family--feed, clothe, clean, etc.--we are ministering to them. We can also minister to others by doing the same.

When God is in It

In Thine Heart

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 KJV 

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

At the core of life is the knowledge of who God is and how to relate to Him. These two essentials form us and how we live.

The knowledge of who God is-We must study His Word and get to know God. We must form a personal relationship with Him. This leads to how we relate to Him. We must know His commands. We must make them a part of our lives.

Not only must we know His commands, we must share our knowledge with others, especially our children. We should talk about God no matter what we are doing. Our homes should be filled with His Word--not only read and spoken, but on the walls and doorposts. God, and His Word, must be the center of our lives.

As parents, we must be intentional about sharing God with our children. He must be a part of every aspect of our lives.

So many parents see these verses as directives to home school children. We are to "teach them diligently" (emphasis mine) at all times. How can we do that if our children spend a third of their day under the tutelage of humanistic thinking?

LifeWalk 2015

Life Resources of Northern MI, Inc. is an organization that supports families. Their mission statement

Life Walk 2014-Eva was missing last year as she was
volunteering at a Joni & Friends family camp.

is: Because God gives life, we affirm this truth to those we serve. They have pregnancy resources (pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, learning opportunities, provide needs such as clothing, formula, etc.), abortion recovery, fatherhood services, and even enter local schools for abstinence education. My family has been supporting this wonderful organization for the past 10 years. Every year we walk and raise funds for Life Resources of Northern MI, Inc. by participating in their LifeWalk.

We will be participating in LifeWalk 2015 on May 30th. We would love if you would join us by praying for us and Life Resources of Northern MI, Inc., sponsoring our walk, and/or joining us on our walk (if you are local)!  You can follow this link to sponsor us and see pictures of previous walks as well as watch our progress on raising funds. If you would like to walk with us, you can register at www.donor.liferesourcesnm.org and click on the "engage" tab and then click on the event and date and follow the link.

Life Resources of Northern MI, Inc. will also be hosting their first ever 5K 4 Life the same day. If you are local and are a runner and would like to participate, please let me know and I will share more information.

Planting Potatoes

The following story was in one of our church bulletins and it was so good that I wanted to share it.

When I was a boy growing up we had several gardens around our old house. The largest one of all was used just for growing otatoes. I can still remember those potato planting days. The whole family helped. After my Dad had tilled the soil, my Mom, brothers, and I went to work. It was my job to drop the little seed potatoes in the rows while my Mom dropped handfuls of fertilizer beside them. My brothers then covered them all with the freshly turned earth.

For months afterward I would glance over at the garden while I played outside and wonder what was going on underneath the ground. When the harvest time came I was amazed at the huge size of the potatoes my Dad pulled out of the soil. Those little seedlings had grown into bushels and bushels of sweet sustenance. They would be turned into meal after meal of baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, and my personal favorite: potatoes slow cooked in spaghetti sauce. They would keep the entire family well fed throughout the whole year. It truly was a miracle to behold.

Thinking back on those special times makes me wonder how many other seeds I have planted in this life that have grown unseen in the hearts and minds ofothers. How many times has God used some little thing that I said or did to  grow something beautiful? How many times has Heaven used these little seedlings to provide another's souls with sweet sustenance.

Every single day of our lives we step out into the garden of this world. Every single day we plant seeds that can grow into something wonderful. We may never see the growth that comes from the kinds words or loving acts we share but God does. I hope then that you always tend the garden around you with care. I hope that you plant only goodness, peace, and compassion in the lives of everyone you meet. I hope that everyday you hell miracles to grow.

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Ministry at Home

The challenge of ministry in our home

is that we do not always feel very “spiritual”
when we wash our dishes.

It hardly feels significant to scrub our toilet. 

We can feel that we are truly ministering when the Lord

uses us to communicate a word of wisdom to someone,

or He provides an opportunity
to share the gospel with our neighbor. 

That seems like real ministry.

And that is real ministry to be sure! 

But no more so than when we are wiping runny noses
or cleaning the bathroom.

That is because we have a very narrow view of true spirituality...

The Lord wants to help us see the significance of ministry at home.

~Carolyn Mahaney, wife of C.J. Mahaney