Prayer is Powerful
Jan 23rd
Many times in my life I wonder if God hears my voice. I think many of us think that as well. I was thinking back to a time when I wrote down a prayer for my kids and for my wife several years ago as I was thinking of my family today. My family means the world to me and I have been blessed beyond anything I could ever imagine. As I look back at my life I can see God’s hand in everything. I remember when I asked God to give me a Godly women who loved Him and would make me a better person. He has so over achieved in that category when he gave me Sarah to be my bride. I married someone way above my league!! I love you tons Sarah!
As I was thinking many times we say that we have prayed for our children or prayed for their salvation and I wanted to go back and see what I had written to get a glimpse of how powerful God is. Sarah and I at the time had been praying for a child and I looked back today at what I had written, on July 6, 2002. It’s hard to believe that 9 years have passed so quickly. Sarah had woken up early that morning around 10am feeling terrible. She had decided to take the pregnancy test and we could hardly stand it. The test said we had to wait 3 minutes. Those 3 minutes seemed like forever. When we saw the test results we were ecstatic. I was on staff at Fellowship Church and I was not able to concentrate on anything. The only thing I could concentrate on was what my child would look like, would we have a boy or a girl? I’m about to be a dad! What in the world am I getting myself into. I also realized that I am now the one who is going to be responsible for teaching my own child about God! Talk about some pressure. My prayer that day was this: “God please help Sarah to feel better and for our baby to be healthy. God please allow them to grow up to know you God so they will be able to live with us one day in heaven.”
It was a simple prayer with words that were not eloquent or magnificent. Just a simple two sentence prayer. I look back and I’m reminded that God blessed me with a daughter who accepted Christ when she was 6 and has an unbelievable heart for others. My daughter Katie Beth will be 9 next month and as I think about today and where I am as a father of 5!! I am still blown away by God’s grace and mercy. Today my prayer is that God will give me strength to love each of my kids in the way that I remember them the first day I laid eyes on them. Many times I forget what it is like to love them in that way, but God has reminded me today that every child is special and deserves the same kind of love He has for us. In the same way, God loves us just like a newborn child each day. He wants us to love Him unconditionally as He first loved us!
What prayer can you say today that may be granted years later? What prayer hasn’t been answered but over time may be answered. You have the opportunity to encounter God today and teach and train your child in the same way. What a job we have as parents and what a commitment and challenge we have. It is our responsibility to train our kids and to pray with our kids. When was the last time you prayed with your kids? I challenge you to pray with your kids each day. A great time to start is at bedtime. I love hearing their requests and having them say their prayers to God. Nothing beats a child’s talk with God!
Tweet5 New Years Resolution Challenges
Jan 5th
The New Year always brings about new ideas or resolutions we would like to improve or resolve. As I was thinking of 5 things I would like to do throughout 2012 I was thinking of things that not only I could attain but also things my own kids could achieve and not feel overwhelmed. Many times our resolutions become so unattainable that we don’t have a chance to even achieve one of them. Here are 5 resolutions that I believe we all could achieve.
1. Spend more time with God!
Matthew 14:22-23 “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone…”
You can never get too much time with God. Jesus was the greatest example and He wants us to become more like Him. This year my goal is to spend more time praying and listening to Him more. I spend time with Him each day but the more time I can spend with Him the greater the relationship becomes. The same can be taught with your kids as well. Kids want to spend time with you as a parent what better way to start now is by giving them opportunities to spend time with God. Teach your kids that they can spend time with God, anytime, anywhere, and can talk to Him about anything. Give them opportunities to seek Him each day!
2. Love Others More
Mark 12:29-31 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The most important person we are to love is God! He loved us so much that He created you and me! We are designed to be loved. The greatest person to love us is Jesus himself because he paid the ultimate price for us. The second greatest commandment Jesus talked about was loving others. Think of ways this year you can love others. It may be that you need to make a new friend and show someone how to love that has never been loved before. Think of how you would want to be treated and do the same for someone else.
3. Taking Care of Your Body
1 Corinthians 19:20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
Our body is a temple and many times we think we own our own body but we are actually on borrowed time with this one. God wants us to take care of ourselves. I love Dr. Pepper but my goal this year to drink less DP and drink more water! I am also going to exercise more as well. We sometimes get so busy that we forget to take care of our bodies. Take a physical challenge with your kids and try to get them to eat healthy foods or exercise with you so they will begin to learn and improve on their health as well.
4. Help Someone in Need
Matthew 25: 34-40″Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
Someone is going to be in need this year. There are many ways you can help. It may be offering to pay for someones gas, or paying for someone’s groceries. It may be giving clothes to someone who doesn’t have any. No matter what it is allow your kids opportunities to do the same. God loves for us to give and to serve others. Challenge yourself to give more to others!
5. Forgive Someone
Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
All of us will have an encounter with someone that doesn’t go well. Remind yourself of this verse and forgive the person that may have wronged you. We have someone who has forgiven us of every single wrong thing we have done and will ever do. Let this verse be a reminder to forgive others no matter how bad someone has wronged you. Wouldn’t you want someone to do the same for you? I know I would. I mess up all the time! Have kids practice forgiving each other and have teachable moments when this occurs as they learn to forgive at a young age so that when they are older they will be grounded with the ability to forgive with a loving heart.
If you have other Resolution ideas share them. I’d like to here your thoughts and ideas that could challenge me in other areas as well! Have a great 2012!!
TweetFamily Traditions around the Holidays
Dec 13th
Sarah and I have always wanted to have family traditions for our kids. One of those traditions around the holidays is to decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. Needless to say with 5 kids we are still decorating the house and this year we actually didn’t do anything decorating wise the day after Thanksgiving! It felt weird at first but it was a great day of rest.
The second tradition that we have made is to always read the Christmas Story from Luke 2 to our kids before we do anything on Christmas morning. We pile our kids up in our bed and we read the Christmas story to remind each other of what Christmas is all about. Our kids love doing this each year and we ask each other questions and then pray and thank God for sending us Jesus to be the Savior of the world.
The third tradition we have is that our kids stay home on Christmas morning and we invite the grandparents over for brunch instead of going fifteen different places on Christmas. Sarah always makes the best Christmas brunch and we all hang out together as a family for a couple of hours. What is great, is the kids then get to really enjoy the day and we play and hang out as a family with out all the hustle and bustle.
These are just a few of the traditions we have around the holidays. What are some of your traditions you have around your home?
TweetTruth Tats
Nov 29th
This Christmas the Kids will be learning about Advent and the true meaning of Christmas! Robyn Collins (our Treehouse Minister) and I decided we wanted to do something different in teaching kids the Christmas Story. We are always looking for new and creative ideas to teach kids about God’s word and especially the Christmas Story. We ran across the Truth Tats when we met Jeff Sheets, product creator for Broadman and Holman Publishers. He explained that he had taught his own kids new verses that they could apply in their lives. He thought that one of the best ways for others to learn key verses and to have family devotionals was to make Truth Tats!
We began using the Tats this past Sunday in Small Group where every child received a tat with the key verse for the week! They are loving it! My own kids came home and were excited about the tats! My daughter was excited because it had the color purple on the tat. She even said her friends at school asked her about it and she was able to share with them the key verse she had on her hand! She thought that was really cool!
If you haven’t tried these out I would encourage you to take a look at these. You can use these tats with your entire family as well. We are challenging our parents to wear them as well so the entire family is learning the key verses together each week. You can get more info here: http://www.truthtats.com/.
1 Year Ago Today
Nov 2nd
Today is the 1 year anniversary that our family received our referral for TWIN baby girls! We had been waiting so anxiously for the day we would receive the referral. It so happened that while Sarah was visiting me at work that she had gotten a call from our adoption caseworker. We went to my office and made the call to her. We laid eyes on two very precious girls who have been in our home 11 weeks!! It’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since that day. We have had so much going on that it had escaped my mind that today was the day we had gotten the referral until my incredible wife, Sarah tweeted it today! We were a family of five this time last year and now we are a family of 7! It is crazy at times but we know we wouldn’t want it any other way. God has truly blessed us with each of these children and I pray that they will always be in His hands. They truly are a gift from God that we have for just a short time. I’m thankful to have each one of them call me Daddy!
You can follow our story and see pics here: http://sarahunderhill.wordpress.com/
TweetNeighborhood Block Party
Nov 1st
This past weekend we had the opportunity to meet our neighbors as we had our first Neighborhood Block Party. We had hot dogs, and other side items that all the neighbors pitched in to bring. The kids played on the playground and we even had a Jumpee for the kids!! The kids had a blast and we had a great time getting to know some of the people that live in our back yard. It was a great place to meet people you wave to as they drive by your house but you never really get a chance to talk too. There is one teenager that comes by sometimes just to shoot basketball on our goal because he doesn’t have one but I had never met his parents before until Saturday. It was a great opportunity to meet them and share with them how he has interacted with our kids and how much our kids enjoy having him come over to play sometimes. The mom seemed to have no idea that he had done this but she was very excited to hear about his connection with us and the same was true for us. We would love to have stayed longer but our kids had enough after about 2 hours. That was really the perfect amount of time. My kids even met kids in the neighborhood that they didn’t know were there! They had a blast!
By doing this on Saturday it was neat to go door to door with our kids last night on Halloween as they said, “Trick or Treat” and got candy from the neighbors. What kid doesn’t like to get candy? We got to see the people at their own house and made general conversations. It also felt to me as if it brought those in the neighborhood a little closer together as well. For me it was great seeing the parents and kids in the neighborhood. We had a ton of kids and families at home this year and it gave us a chance to meet them in a neutral environment and we all had shared experience that was talked about when we arrived back home after our Trick or Treating.
As we have opportunities to invite these families to our church this will help open the door for them to try it out because we have started to build a different kind of relationship than before. What are you doing in your neighborhoods to get to know the people in your backyard?
TweetSalvation Tool for Kids and Parents
Oct 28th
I love talking with kids to find out what school they attend, what hobbies they enjoy, and what is their favorite food. But there is nothing like talking to a child who wants to find out more about accepting Christ into their life! When talking to kids it amazes me every time just how much they truly understand! I love to see it on their faces and the excitement in their voice when they accept Christ! It gives me chill’s every time! This week I’ve had the opportunity to meet with several kids who have made decisions for Christ and talked with them about Baptism. There is nothing greater than seeing parents who have been praying for their Child’s Salvation see it come true!
As an encouragement to them I always give children and parents a little book called, “I’m A Christian Now.” It is a great tool to use whether your child has accepted Christ or is asking a lot of questions about salvation. If you have never used this resource I would encourage you to look over it and use it with your child. It is a four week study that parents can use to help teach their child about Salvation, Baptism, The Lord’s Supper, The Church, and how to Study God’s word by starting a quiet time. It also has a way for children to make a memory box of their spiritual journey that they can share with their kids and grand kids. I tell girls they may want to make a scrapbook of their spiritual walk with God, and they usually light up. It comes in two versions, one for younger kids and one for older kids. My friend Todd Capps has written this and I highly recommend you use this tool to help a child in their relationship with Christ. Whether you are a parent or a Children’s Ministry Leader you can’t go wrong with this tool! Check it out at http://www.lifeway.com/Product/im-a-christian-now-younger-kids-P005191565!
TweetCollege Football 10 Things we now Know
Oct 3rd
Going into week 6 of the college football season we have learned a few things:
1. LSU and Alabama are far and away the top two teams in the country!
2. Clemson is the team to beat in the ACC and are for real!!! Can they sustain or will they falter as they have in the past?
3. Red River Rivalry: Will Texas or Oklahoma stay undefeated? Is Texas back, they appear to be on the right track! We will know this Saturday!
2. Florida is in trouble if Brantley is out and it appears he is. The backup didn’t look very good Saturday. LSU will crush them in Baton Rouge this weekend!
3. Georgia looks like they are back but will be tested this weekend by the Vols.
4. Vanderbilt is 3-1 and well we know they will get destroyed by Bama this weekend so they will be 3-2 with Georgia coming up next week. Doesn’t get any easier.
5. Texas A&M, well can we say 2nd half collapse! Welcome to the SEC, we play for a full 4 quarters!!!
6. Ohio State has hit the bottom for the Buckeyes! They are in trouble and are not good at all!!
7. SMU is a suprising 4-1 and had a huge win over TCU this weekend!
8. Auburn and Arkansas will be a test for the Tigers but if they win they will still be undefeated in the West with there only loss being to Clemson who looks to be for real and this could be another game that will really show how good Clemson is and where Auburn really is even with squeaky wins early on in the year.
9. Michigan looks to be back and is the favorite but Northwestern will give them a fight this weekend.
10. Nebraska is wishing they were still in the Big 12 after getting destroyed by Wisconsin! Welcome to the Big Ten! Wisconsin is for real!
TweetSame Kind of Different As Me
Sep 27th
Same Kind of Different As Me is an incredible book! It is more than a book about two men who become friends but a great book about what it means to love those who may seem different than you. The story is written from the perspective of two men, Denver Moore and Ron Hall. The book tells the personal stories of both of these men and how they met. Two men from two totally different backgrounds and a women who had a heart for the homeless brought these two men together. God uses each one of them to bring out the best in both men. They both are fearful when they first meet because neither is looking forward to what could be at stake. Eventually they each trust one another and they have an incredible friendship that still exists today.
When I read this book I didn’t really know what I was getting into but I realized that it was a story similar to the Good Samaritan in my mind. Many times in our lives we have opportunities to help those in need but because of skin color, the way someone looks or doesn’t look, the clothes they wear, the kind of car they have or don’t have, limits us in the opportunities that God does have. God sees us the same no matter what and He loves us all the same. Some people look at others and think there is no way I can be like that or I can help that person. God has called all of us to do different things but within those different things He has called us to Love our neighbor as ourself. This is the second greatest commandment. As I read this book I am reminded that I sometimes put my own selfish ideas and perceptions of others in my mind and think they can’t be loved etc. I’ve had to work on this and realize that God wants me to love all people no matter what and to put my selfish pride and perceptions on the back burner. It’s very hard at times as you may know but I wouldn’t want to be treated any differently myself.
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Heaven is For Real!
Sep 26th
Heaven is For Real is a great book about what heaven looks like from the mind of a 4yr old!! Yes a four year old!! It’s a story about a little boy named Colton who had an emergency appendectomy. His family was just so thrilled that he was alive after being through so much pain. What the family didn’t know was what Colton saw while he was on the operating table. Colton went on a journey to Heaven while on the operating table and gave specific details to his parents of what he saw including exactly where his parents were standing and what they were doing while the procedure was taking place. He told them stories of who he saw in Heaven and even what Jesus looked like. If you want to get a new perspective on what Heaven is like from the eyes of a 4 year old this is a must read!! I was totally blown away not only by his story but the details that he saw and is shared in this book. If you have any doubts that Heaven is not for real this will be an eye opener for you as well!!! It will help you to believe and see like a child all over again!
