Saturday... They just left.

Our son Brett just texted that they just left their home in Denver, Colorado and are headed here to our home in Las Vegas, Nevada so all ten of our immediate family will be together this Thanksgiving week. It is so good to be together.

Now this is the 19th day of this month and I just read Proverbs 19 and it gave some proverbs about family.

Now the one that stepped out to me was verse 14 (AMP) and it says, "House and wealth are the inheritance from fathers, but a wise, understanding and sensible wife is [a gift and blessing] from the Lord." And that is so true in my life. Margaret and I just had our 48th anniversary. She has made such a difference in my life and the life of our family. And Marissa and Stefanie are truly gifts from God to Brett and Andrew, our son and son-in-law. God you are so good.

There was a time in our life together that I didn't listen. I was in charge and I was right but God stopped and showed me that I was so very wrong. That Margaret was created by Him to be listened to and to be a major part of making a difference in our family and that we were in it together.

Now this next Proverb isn't true in our family but it could have been but I'm sure it is in others. Verse 13 (MSG) says "A parent is worn to a frazzle by an irresponsible child; a nagging spouse is a leaky faucet." And I'm sure that can be so true. There are many different stages in this adventure of being parents and we need to ever keep at it. We need God and His Word involved in our families. As a father I need to constantly be at my best and the same is true as a husband, as a spouse. It is easy to say it is their fault when in a family we each have a part. That's why we need God in it.

Here is another one. Verse 18 says, "Discipline your children while you still have the chance; indulging them destroys them." Now all discipline must be channeled through love. Abuse is not acceptable at all and is so damaging. Understanding what type of discipline each child needs is so important. Yes, indulging them does destroy them and so does abuse. Here is a key, never discipline when you are angry. Never!

The NLT says, "Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives."

Verse 26 (MSG) says, "Kids who lash out at their parents are an embarrassment." And that is so true. We need to be embarrassed because we are a great part of the reason why they do it. We must always be on the job.

Verse 27, "If you quit listening, dear child, and strike off on your own, you'll so be out of your depth." My father and mother are both gone but their wisdom still is with me. I still need to do what they taught me.

The NLT says, "If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will turn your back on knowledge." Even at 75, I still have so much to learn. I have not yet arrived.

Now Proverbs is a great place for people to go to learn. There are 31 chapters, one for each day of the month. They are nuggets of truth in so many different areas. They have made such a difference in my life and they will also in yours.

So our Colorado family is on the road and they are for sure in our prayers. By the way, I pray for each member of my family by name everyday. I am still on the job of being a parent and a spouse. They have been given to me by God and I love each one of them so very much! Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Monday... He did it by Himself

Isaiah 44:24b (AMP), "I am the Lord, Maker of all things. Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself." Monday... He did it by Himself. Many have a tendency to think very highly of themselves and what they can do. Oh we do have great ability but we are not the source. Yes it is important to have self-confidence but we are limited. The prophet Isaiah in 44:9-10 (NLT) says, "How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don't know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god - an idol that cannot help him one bit?" Now later in verse 24 (AMP) he writes, "For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says, 'I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself.'" I love that. "By Myself." Now we do need confidence but we are foolish to ma...

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...

Todays Beginning

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