Free to Serve

We’ve been studying Galatians in our student ministry, and the main focus has been on the Freedom we have in Christ.

In this video, I talk a little about what we studied last Sunday in Galatians 5 and how it pulls against our culture and everything we have been taught as well as everything we are accustomed to doing.

Who will you intentionally serve this week?

Parenting Your 6th Grader

I can’t believe in a few short weeks my middle son is graduating Elementary School. That means I only have 364 more weeks with him before he’s all grown up and moving on to other things besides high school.

Time sure does fly. They grow up so fast. And all that jazz.

I realize that I’ve been through this before with my oldest son, but this feels different. It might be my own stage of life creeping in to give me “all the feels.” I don’t know, but I feel like I can empathize with parents more now that I’m going through this as well. Maybe it’s because we have a rather large group of upcoming 6th graders in our student ministry. Maybe it’s because I’m established at our church now and can really think about these things. I don’t know.

But because we are trying to help families through this at our church, I was reading through a book by Orange called “Parenting Your Sixth Grader” (affiliate link).

Here are four quick takeaways:

  1. By the time you have a 6th grader, there are only 364 weeks left until they graduate. What you do this week is important.
  2. Sixth grade is a phase filled with change and inconsistency. And that’s ok. Just be ready.
  3. Every kid needs: love, stories, work, fun, tribes, and words.
  4. Important Sixth grade conversations revolve around: healthy habits, sexual integrity, technological responsibility, and authentic faith.

The book is really a workbook for parents. It has a lot of space to write in. You can read it quickly, but implementing the ideas in it take time. I’d recommend it as a guide to help you think through the important things during this phase of life.

Have you read this book? What do you think?

Using Your Talents for the Kingdom

I believe that God gave us all individual talents and abilities and that all of those talents and abilities can be used to further His mission of making a people for Himself. God has placed interests in each one of us, and if we choose to use those interests to bring people closer to Jesus, we will be fulfilling our purpose on earth.

And it doesn’t just have to be a ministry that is recognized at church. I’m talking about skateboarding, baking, playing sports, making videos, creating content, painting, and all sorts of other things.
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Five Things I Learned from Coaching Soccer

This weekend we wrapped up our soccer season at the Y. We had a fun time. It was my first time coaching my daughter, and it was also her first time playing. She is so fast and had a great season. I could see her playing more soccer in the future. I also had the best assistant coach in the history of soccer (Janell).

I’ve had some time to reflect about the season and what I learned, and I thought I’d share it here. There are some life lessons in here that I hope to remember from our first soccer season together.

Life Lessons from Coaching Soccer

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Need Wisdom?

Life often throws us into situations that require incredible wisdom. We don’t always know what to do. The Bible gives us some clear instructions about what to do when we need wisdom.

I talk about it in the video below, but in short form, there are three basic things…

  1. Ask God for Wisdom: James 1:5 tells us that if we need wisdom we should ask God, and since He is generous, He will give us wisdom when we ask.
  2. Seek Wisdom in God’s Word: Proverbs 2:6 says that knowledge and understanding come from God’s mouth. The Bible is the Word of God. We can be sure that we can get knowledge and understanding (wisdom) when we seek it in His Word.
  3. Seek Counsel from Wise Counselors: The book of Proverbs says time and time again that in a multitude of counselors there is safety. When we need wisdom, it is a good idea to seek counsel, or advice, from others. We should always compare their advice to what the Bible says, but we can learn a lot from those who are wise (Check out this video, too: He who walks with wise men will be wise).

What do you do when you don’t know what to do?