God Palace

I'm in a blogging mood today...

I have been thinking all week about a conversation I had with a boy named Andrew.  I am not sure how we got on the subject but my wife asked him if he ever had any dreams.  Andrew replied that a few nights prior he had a dream about a Jesus and God palace!  This sounded very interesting to us so we started asking him questions about it. 

"What does the palace look like?", I asked.
"It looks like a human body," he replied.
"Wow, that sounds neat! How do Jesus and God get inside?"
"You just ask them and they go in through your heart!"

I think at this point Andrew got distracted by a noise in the other room.  He is seven years old yet I learn from him nearly every time we get together with his family or see them at church.  He is truly remarkable and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for him.  He is already using him mightily.

~JK

God Palace

Messy Sunday

What would happen if we decided to give up going to church and decided to be the church? Would we find ourselves surrounded by people who look like us, behave like us, believe like us and belong like us? This article on the Emergent Village webpage has me thinking about what it would look like for me. Jared Enyart and his wife for the last two years have given up going to church - unless you consider church breakfast with a dozen or so homeless people under a bridge. They have begun calling what they do, "Messy Sunday." Eating with people who smell like urine, swear, teach children how to throw sand at others is messy, but the Enyarts have realized that kingdom living in the steps of the king gets messy sometimes. Or as Jeff Walling sometimes puts it, "If things didn't get messy, we wouldn't need a Messiah. It's a bold move. One that requires a lot of compassion and faith. It doesn't take a long look at Jesus to realize that sometimes His work is going to require us to roll up our sleeves and get a little bit messy.

~JK

Messy Sunday

A New Kind of Christian

I just finished reading Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian. I was not sure what to expect when I picked it up other than the fact the McLaren was rethinking how Christians think about things and sharing his insights with the world. After completing the first of the trilogy following the spiritual journey of Dan and Neo, I feel very similar to how Dan descibed himself at one point - very excited but mildly depressed. I am excited because I feel that McLaren has captured much of my own frustrations and anxieties over the current state of Christianity and the dialogue between Neo and Dan captures many of the questions I have had for some time and allows for dialogue - not necessarily answers - about them. The mild depression I find myself in is the result of a "now what" feeling I am left with. I think I am going to let McLaren's words marinate for a while before trying to move on to the practical side of things. Right now there are certainly more questions than answers.

A New Kind of Christian

Professional Vices & Swimming for Life

~Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart

“Anger in particular seems close to a professional vice in the contemporary ministry. Pastors are angry at their leaders for not leading and at the followers for not following. They are angry at those who do not come to church for not coming and angry at those who do come for coming without enthusiasm. They are angry at their families, who make them feel guilty, and angry at themselves for not being who they want to be. This is not an open, blatant, roaring anger, but an anger hidden behind the smooth word, the smiling face, and the polite handshake. It is a frozen anger, an anger which settles into a biting resentment and slowly paralyzes a generous heart. If there is anything that makes the ministry look grim and dull, it is this dark, insidious anger in the servants of Christ.”

Ministry can be frustrating at times. I will occasionally vent to Krista about different things and she will ask me if I am angry. I usually reply that I am not angry, just a little frustrated. Its funny how the “frustrating” things can be stifled enough for a smooth word, smiling face, and polite handshake but deep down those little frustrations turn into what Nouwen calls hidden anger, frozen anger, insidious anger. How can we keep our frustrations for building up into such things which create biting resentment and paralyze generous hearts. I think we have all known ministers who have fallen into this. We can see it in the ministries they lead and hear it in their conversations.

This section from The Way of the Heart is actually the first part of a chapter on solitude. Henri Nouwen talks about how the Desert Fathers would “swim for their lives” into the desert to escape the temptations of this world. I find it ironic that he is using swim to describe anything that happens in the desert but when we think about the release that is found in intentionally stepping back from our frustrations to let the Spirit guide us, His counsel satisfies our thirst in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So much so in fact that we can swim for our lives.

“If there is anything that makes the ministry look grim and dull, it is this dark, insidious anger in the servants of Christ.” We are not called to lead people using grim and dull ministries. The Gospel of Christ is cause for celebration. Celebration flows from a generous heart, heartfelt words, genuine smiles, and nail-scarred handshakes. Frustrations get in the way of celebrations. How can we swim for our lives and free ourselves from professional vices (like anger) without stepping out of contemporary ministry settings?

~JK

Professional Vices & Swimming for Life

BOOKS FOR SALE!!!

I am selling a bunch of my books on amazon! CLICK HERE to visit my storefront and buy my books!

~JK

BOOKS FOR SALE!!!

Hopping Fences

This morning I woke up and went for a bike ride. Miriam woke up crying and after I helped her go back to sleep, I realized that by being woken up by her, I had been granted a few moments where the house was quiet and I could have some time alone. Since Krista has been encouraging me to get a hobby and was pleased I was okay with one as active as bike-riding, I figured going for a little ride would be a good chance to focus my thoughts today. I really do love mornings and find that when I push myself to actually make the best of them, I am particularly contemplative.
I rode around our neighborhood (looking at googlemaps.com first so I wouldn't get lost) and created for myself a loop that I could complete in about 20 minutes. When I returned, everyone was still asleep and I realized, I had more time to spend with God. That's when I began my search for some type of devotional literature. I looked around the house and didn't find anything worthy so I turned my search online. I went to some of my favorite spots only to find that nothing was particularly inspiring. Then it hit me....I could read the Bible!

I don't know if it is just because I have been preoccupied with church stuff or home stuff but for some reason, it is often easier to turn to devotionals rather than the Bible for spiritual nourishment. This morning though, after my "aha!" moment, I turned to John 10. I think it may have been because I rode past this large field with a horse in it, I was thinking of a pasture that my thoughts were focusing on Jesus the Good Shepherd. Here is what John said to me,

"I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture."

While I do not think that reading devotionals will save me, I do think they will deepen my relationship with God. At those times when I am in need of pasture, I quickly go to my favorite authors in hopes that they will give me just what I need. This morning, it was just the Good Shepherd. he called me back to him by the sound of his voice. Entering through him brought me the salvation this morning I needed. He allows me to "come in and go out" and it is there that I find pasture. He knows the places where this sheep can be fed and where the best feeding place are at. Funny what happens when you try to enter the pasture through the gate instead of trying to hop over fences.

~JK

Hopping Fences

Dogs and Rocks

Excellent use of the marquee. Glad the catholics resolved the issue.

Dogs and Rocks

Dear God and Amen

The practice of informal, spontaneous prayer contributes to an integrated spirituality in children in which they begin to perceive that all of life connects with transcendent realities; prayer is not compartmentalized but available and appropriate in everyday life needs and situations

~Mara Lief Crabtree, Nurturing Children's Spirituality, p. 90



When in history did our "Dear God" & "Amen" bookends become a part of our prayer life? More importantly, how did prayer become an aspect of religious life that is confined to the church walls and the dinner table? I admit that the type of prayer described above is very difficult. It wasn't until I was required to read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence that I really began to see prayer as a conversation instead of a monologue. I have read much about the "Just a Little Talk with Jesus" ways of praying. It should be so natural that your speech sounds no different in prayer than it does when you call up a friend. I like this. Especially as my daughter begins to talk, which she does nonstop unless she is asleep or eating, I think about ways that I can help her make prayer her primary speech. How can I get her to see that everything she does can be shared with God. I am certainly not good at it myself and it is hard to branch out beyond praying for ambulances and firetrucks as they pass by to praising him for wiggly bugs and chances to share toys.

As Miriam and I learn to pray together, I hope that she can become as comfortable and excited telling God about the pizza made of sand as she digs in the backyard sandbox as she is with me. As Miriam develops her own prayer language, I learn from her. She listens to her heart and knows when God's voice is louder than all the others.

God, thank you for the informal and spontaneous moments when we are called to share our lives with you.

~JK

Dear God and Amen

Change in Communion?

I just started reading a new book, Nurturing Children's Spirituality: Christian Perspectives and Best Practices. At the close of the first chapter, the editor retells a story of a two year old girl, Elizabeth, who is "playing" communion in her bedroom. Elizabeth, a catholic, has a cup for the wine and small white disk representing the bread. The mom asks the her if she was hoping to change the small white disk into Jesus (catholic theology of transubstantiation - bread becomes actual body of Christ). The little girl replied, "Oh no, I change Wizbef {Elizabeth) into Jesus."

We meet each week to share in the communion with one another and with our Lord. While I do not believe the bread becomes actual body and wine becomes actual blood, I do believe the emblems represent Christ and his sacrifice. Sadly, we often put much more emphasis on how the bread represents Christ than on how WE represent Christ. I think it is important to focus on Christ's sacrifice each time we take the Lord's supper. Thanks to Elizabeth, I may start focusing on how sharing in the communion changes me to be more like Jesus.

~JK

Change in Communion?

God is Near

This morning I preached a sermon that has developed out of some spiritual awareness I have had recently. I have been thinking a lot about God's nearness. God has been much nearer than I have known and felt. As I was preparing my sermon, I began tracing God's presence throughout history in the Bible. I worked my thoughts into my sermon and thought I would share them here.

When God created the world. His desire for intimacy with his creation is seen as God walks in the garden in the cool of the day. God is near his People and now we claim that nearness as our own.

When Abraham feels as though the Covenant God made with him is being threatened by a command to sacrifice the very son promised to him. God’s story shows us a God that is so close He can halt a dagger as it pierces the air before it pierces the son of a covenant.

As a half million former slaves leave Egypt for a land promised to them, God’s presence leads them by fire at night and by smoke during the day, only to marvel this baby nation by paving the way through a mighty river.

As two rebellious nations make Israelites choose sides, God’s story brings us “in your face messages” ending with “thus saith the Lord” from reluctant prophets.

God’s story takes us into a foreign land where Jews mourn the loss of a Holy City. Other prophets emerge to help them know that while they are in a distant land they worship a not so distant God who shuts lion’s mouths and visits friends in a fiery furnace.

From the least likely places God shows just how involved he is by moving the heart of King Cyrus to deliver his people back to the promised land. His involvement guides prophets to expect an even more incredible deliverance from a coming Messiah.

Here God’s story takes the most exciting turn yet. Limiting the distance more than ever, God comes down to dwell in one man. Emanuel, God with us. The very God of creation walking and talking, breathing and hurting among those he created.


Just as quickly as God makes his dwelling on Earth, it appears that he makes an about face and leaves his own Son to die. In reality his ultimate attachment to you and to me is shown by attaching his own son to a cross.

When we think that God couldn’t get any closer to showing his love for us than a nail splitting wood, God’s own spirit splits our hearts and once again God’s dwelling place is not just among his people but now inside his people.

As we join God’s story we remember Jesus words before leaving his disciples. That as we go out into the entire world Jesus says, “Surely I am with you always.”

God is near.

~JK

God is Near

Empty Tombs

Mark 5:1-20

I wonder what Jesus saw when he looked at this man. As soon as Jesus gets out of the boat this man comes out of the tombs to meet him. Did Jesus know that he too would one day be spending time in a tomb? Perhaps he also knew that, like the demon possessed man, no one could bind him. Chains could not hold the demoniac, hell couldn't hold Jesus. The man knew who Jesus was instantly. It was as if all the evil in the world, bound up in this one man, knew the power of "Jesus, Son of the Most High God" to put an end to the suffering. As a fellow chain-breaker, Jesus knew what freedom would mean for this man. The man (or rather the demons inside) did not want Jesus to send them away, but Jesus - perhaps seeing in the man his own after death experiences, sent them away, leaving the formerly demon-possed man in his right mind. Later something interesting happens. Everyone around wanted Jesus to leave and the man, now without demons wanted to go with him. Throughout the entire book of Mark, Jesus is commanding people not to tell about their healing. Over and over again, he commands them to keep quiet. Here, but not only here, Jesus commands him to go and tell. The only other place in the entire book that Jesus commands someone to go and tell is after his own resurrection.

When tombs become empty, then people are told to go.

~JK

Empty Tombs

At it again.

Today is the last day of the class I am taking this week at ACU. It is the second to last class of my Masters in Christian Ministry. Somehow, it escaped my advisors attention that I would be saving an introduction course to the end of my graduate career but it has been nice for me. I am taking Advanced Introduction to the New Testament. What makes an "Introduction" course "Advanced" is beyond me but I am imagining it has something to do with the fact that we are required to write 500 word book reviews on 750 page books and that we discuss some things which would be a little more challenging to handle in a Sunday Morning bible class.
Dr. Curt Niccum from Oklahoma Christian has been teaching the class. He considers himself a textual critic and has an incredible understanding of Greek and how the Bible has been handed down to us. I have been soaking up the study of textual criticism like a sponge. It really is a fascinating study of how the fragments of manuscripts of a given book are often different and it is the text critic's job to decifer which reading is more accurate. It requires a depth of knowledge and understanding I will likely never obtain.
I will be getting back to Abilene around dinner time tonight. I will have enough time to do my laundary and catch up on some sleep before I leave for Brazos Valley Camp tomorrow to spend the week with the other group of people who teach me about God, preteens. The preteen age group is so exciting. They are not quite at the age where they care immensly about what people think about them but they are beginning to realize that the world of independence is much more exciting. They desire to know God and how he works in their life teaches me things that I cannot learn from those who can quote verses and diagram greek sentences. I am looking forward to the change of pace for the next week.
Keep my wife Krista and daughter Miriam in your prayers. They are in our nation's capital along with my mom (she reluctantly agreed to go vacationing in Washington D.C. so that Krista could go to a nurse practitioner conference without a stroller and child in tote...). They will be getting back to Mesquite next Wednesday.
Blessings,
~JK

At it again.

Vacation Bible EXPERIENCE

I know it may sound hokey but who wants to go to "School" during the summer? Mesquite Church of Christ this year has changed our big outreach event from "Vacation Bible School" to "Vacation Bible Experience." We will be be misspelling the acronym, calling it VBX. Catchy isn't it? Our theme this year is "At the Feet of Jesus" and the lessons will be based on the sermon on the mount. The whole experience will end with a Jerusalem Marketplace Festival where the children can spend the shekels they earned during the week. All the children and volunteers will be dressed in Bible times costumes. I am super excited about it and it is a real focal point of much of my workday. I am including some pictures of last year's VBS ("Splash Down: Diving Deeper into God's Word")simply because it is fun to think back on the fun times.

~JK


This was our underwater fellowship hall with life size whale and giant squid.


Beautiful woman and child (Notice Miriam getting into the theme with the goldfish on her shirt).



Our children's ministry deacon is an art teacher. he and his wife taught a class in a black light room.


Someone thought it would be an okay idea to let this guy direct VBS...




Some of the kids enjoying the underwater atmosphere! (Those older kids are trapped under the whale)

Vacation Bible EXPERIENCE

Total Money Makeover

We're part of the cult....or maybe I am part of the cult. You may have heard of Dave Ramsey. We have become best friends. Actually he would probably yell at me for all the stupid financial decisions I made in college but now I think he would be on my side. That is basically because we are now doing things his way. We have known about his getting out of debt "baby steps" for a while but now we can officially say we have "bought the book." One of my new favorite stores, Mardell's, had it on sale for 7.99. Since it has been on the best-seller list and is regularly priced 24.99, it was a steal...especially since we are trying to get out of debt.

In case you are not familiar with the principles of the Total Money Makeover, its fairly simple. You start a small savings, you pay off all your debt, you never take out another loan, you start building retirement, you start a college fund for your kids, you pay off your house, then you give as much money away as you can to bless others. His plan is more detailed than that and it really does make sense. Dave Ramsey is a guy who made multi-millions, lost it all and has now worked his way back up to multi-millions. For now, I will trust his advice.

btw, I do not really think it is a cult. You just have to have, as Dave puts it - Gazelle Intensity...whatever that means.

~JK

Total Money Makeover

Focusing On Numbers for a Minute

I am not usually one who focuses on numbers. I tend to be more concerned with spiritual growth than numerical. Despite this, I think numbers are sometimes an indication of what areas need improvement or are going well. Today, for the first time since I began working as Children's Minister, I feel I have an acurate idea of where the children's ministry stands when it comes to DAH DAH DAH ...(*insert dramatic tension building sound effects here)...how many children we have in the Mesquite Church of Christ Children's Ministry.

Today I completed a painstaking process of collecting all the attendance forms from all 10 of our classrooms for both Sunday Morning and Wednesday Night and compiling them into one Super-Duper-All-In-One-More-Information-Than-Is-Really-Necessary-Impress-Your-College-Statistics-Professor-Microsoft-Excel Spreadsheet. Here are a few of the findings.

Based on somewhat incomplete information...From September 2007 to the end of April 2008 we had:

160 different children set foot into our children's classrooms.
50% of these are on our membership list. (That's about 80 kids for those who did as well at college statistics as me)
50% of these are visitors. (...The other 80 kids)
Sunday mornings we averaged about 28 kids in attendance.
Wednesday evenings we averaged about 33 kids.

What does all this mean?
I guess it means that now we can see that of the 80 kids who are members at our church 35% are coming on Sunday Mornings and 41% are coming on Wednesday nights.

Whether this is good or bad, I am not sure. Compiling this list helped me become aware of the fact that there needs to be more done as far as follow-up with those that visit. It also shows me which children and families could use more encouragement to be regular attenders.

Now we have to turn the information into transformation...

~JK

Focusing On Numbers for a Minute

Building Faith at Home

My blogging has been sporadic at best the last year. The blog posts I have created were not even meant to be for a blog but rather a church bulletin. Each week our church puts out an 11x17 three panel brochure we call a church bulletin. Oddly with a space that size, there is still no room for the happenings of an exciting children's ministry so part of my weekly ritual is to turn a different 11x17 page into three, front/back, inserts fully devoted to the children and families of the Mesquite Church of Christ. When I do not have enough activities to describe, the leftover room I have devoted to an article I have called, "Family of Faith." The goal of the article when written is to encourage families to deepen their relationship with Christ.

So what is the reason for this post (which will NOT appear in the Mesquite Church of Christ bulletin)? Today I had a parents meeting after church in which I unleashed the summer calendar full of events and activities designed to help enrich their children's summer with a deeper and growing relationship with Jesus. A common theme among many of the activities is that I am not planning them. I have delegated much of the responsibility of the summer's agenda to the parents. This is all in an effort to jump on the bandwagon of a movement affectionately called, "Faith at Home." I am not sure what is meant when it is referred to as a movement but the book I have been reading recently (Building Faith at Home: Why Faith at Home Must be Your Churches #1 Priority) has called it a movement. I prefer to think about it as God's grand plan for raising children.

There is a huge temptation as a children's minister to build the big bad children's program that is hugely attractive with lots of prizes and incentive for children. Especially as the minister of a congregation which has never had a children's minister before, I sometimes feel the need to make things great for kids at church. I want the children to enjoy being at church. Church should be fun. Children's Ministry programs like this grow in number. I can see what will eventually happen though, we will have children who grow up thinking church is fun, as long as there is an incentive besides spiritual growth.

I am becoming more and more convicted that my most fruitful efforts at growing children and families spiritually do not lie in exciting children's ministry programs with action songs, prizes, and creative object lessons but in changing the hearts of moms and dads.

This presents a huge problem on several levels. For one, "It is not the way Church is done." Meaning, the general model for how children gain spiritual knowledge is in the Sunday Morning Bible Class (an maybe Sunday evening or Wednesday night). It seems there is a general attitude that this is where the meat of children's spiritual meal is supposed to come from. The problem is that even churches with a long Bible class (1 hour or more - Mesquite's Bible classes last 45 minutes) that is only 2 hours a week of spiritual instruction! And that is IF the children come both Sunday Morning and Wednesday. We wouldn't tolerate this if the government said that they are only going to teach our children from 9:00-10:00am Monday morning and 1:00-2:00pm Thursday afternoon. A church based model for spiritual instruction is simply not enough.

The other problem with a "Faith at Home" model is that most of the parents do not seem to be wired for it. This is not to say that they are incapable of accomplishing the goals of a "Faith at Home" model, just that it is unfamiliar and there are likely some tools missing from the tool belt to make it happen. I could go up to any parent at church and ask them if they want their child to grow more spiritually and 100% of them would emphatically say, "YES!" I could ask those same parents if they felt like had all the resources they needed in order to make it happen and most of them would probably agree that they could manage popping out a devotional once a month or so. If I asked them how often they spend in spiritual activities as a family besides praying before meals each week, I fear the answers would not reflect their priorities.

I do not feel this is necessarily 100% the fault of the parents. I think both the problems mentioned above go hand in hand. The church has not stepped up to the plate to equip parents with what they need to make it happen and the parents have been comfortable in letting the church be the spiritual teachers of the children.

So where does this leave me?

I believe it leaves me with an incredible opportunity! We have some things in place for this summer (and hopefully the next school year) which will aim to equip parents to take charge of their children's spiritual growth and development. I feel like hiring a children's minister has lit a flame in the hearts of many of our church's families. I get excited when I see heads nodding at the idea of a class designed for parents to interact with their children AT CHURCH!! I hope that as a minister to these children and families I am able to find a pace that does not outrun the church or my own stamina.

Let me know what you think. If you have any ideas how to bridge the gap in helping parents be the spiritual leaders and build faith at home, share them.

~JK

Building Faith at Home

Family of Faith 3-23-08

HE IS RISEN!!!

“Death has been swallowed up in victory!
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death is your sting?
The sting of death is sin
and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God!
He gives us victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
1 Corinthians 15:54b-57

Today we celebrate! We celebrate because we can give thanks to God that Jesus holds the victory over death and the victory over sin. I love this passage because of the imagery. I think about a worker bee who is trying so hard to create something that at times seems so sweet. The honey that sin offers can be enticing at times. But going after the honeycomb means that you are likely going to get stung. For some, being stung by an actual bee can mean death. For all being stung by sin meant certain death. Until….
Until DEATH WAS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. Jesus drank the honey—he swallowed it up so its deadly work has NO POWER in our lives. Today as we celebrate His resurrection, we should remember that he took our sin and nailed it to the cross with his own body. The death he died for us carries the power to free us from the sting we were destined to feel.
Paul continues on in verse 58 to encourage Christians to “Stand firm, letting nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.” His death frees us from sin. His resurrection gives us hope. Stand firm. He will return for you!

Family of Faith 3-23-08

Pneumonia

Miriam has Pneumonia. I have been very challenged this week by illness. Since last Saturday, my wife was diagnosed with the flu, myself with a sinus infection and my poor little girl with a double ear infection and pneumonia. It is definetely the most sick our family has ever been at one time. God has blessed us so much with good health prior to this, now we are facing a number of new challenged.

Parenthood is one adjustment after another. Krista, who is a fantastic nurse practitioner, understands the human body and its health/illness so much more than I do. She is incredibly talented in what she does and you can see it in how she treats Miriam's sickness at home. I am sure that without her, Miriam would not be in as good of shape as she is. The challenge is when I am responsible for seeing to Miriam's care on my own.

This past Thursay Krista was working and I had to take Miriam to the doctor. This was when she was diagnosed with pneumonia. I do not mind taking Miriam to the doctor one bit. The difficult part is that Krista knows all sorts of probing questions to get more information than I do. It is amazing how much more confident I feel about what is happening medically when Krista and I both go to the doctor together than when I go alone. I feverishly try to recap all the important bits of information with the doctor before leaving the examination room so that I will not forget anything that needs to be relayed to Krista when I get home. When she begins to question what happened, I provide for her a well-rehearsed summary of the doctors visit, waiting for my pat on the back for being such a good dad and husband. Then more questions I should have asked 2 hours prior are asked and I am left thinking that I didnt even know to ask those questions.

This leads me to visit WebMD. I go there to get another professional summary of what is happening. Going there and typing, "pneumonia" into the search engine provides me with the following results:

Pneumonia is a lung infection that can make you very sick. You may cough, run a fever, and have a hard time breathing. For most people, pneumonia can be treated at home. It often clears up in 2 to 3 weeks. But older adults, babies, and people with other diseases can become very ill. They may need to be in the hospital.

This is where I begin to panic slightly. What does "can become very ill" mean? How do I know when they need to go to the hospital? This raises even more questions than I had when I first did the search. In the end, I am left to trust in my wife's discernment regarding what course of action is needed hoping that I will continue to receive step by step instructions on what to do and when.

It seems that I am called more and more each day to trust in God and his working hand in the lives of those around me. The truth he created in how our bodies function and dysfunction and how he has led his creation to discover treatment for these dysfunction continues to leave me in awe of his redemtion. I cannot wait for the day when every illness and disability is vanished and every tear is wiped away because of our reunion with him. I sincerely believe that sickness is the result of mankind's sinfullness. When God banished Adam and Eve from the garden and they suffered pain and sickness for the first time, the separation from God was felt in their bodies. As we walk away from God, God is walking toward us, leading us and redeeming us. He guides us toward wellness, physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Please pray for my family as we battle illness. Please pray for our world as we battle separation from God.

~JK

Pneumonia

Family of Faith - 9/2/07

Ready or Not...

A new school year brings with it many new beginnings and challenges. It seems that every parent I have talked with this week has commented on how they were ready for the school year to begin but not ready in other ways. It seems as if this is a common theme in many areas of life. When we were preparing for Miriam to be born, we were ready and not ready. Whenever I leave for a trip, I am ready to go but there are things I am leaving behind undone.



I think the challenge is when we feel this way in our spiritual lives. Sometimes I feel like my relationship with God is going great. I am praying daily. I am in his word like I need to be. I am seeking his guidance in my life in many ways. At the same time, I feel that there is so much more I need to be doing to further my walk with him. As I am trying to walk the straight and narrow path, even though I am mostly staying between the lines, every now and then there are areas where I could do better. I am ready for the challenges that God has in store and I feel I can serve but there are still ways I could use just a little more refining.
How do we deal with this tension of being on fire for him and feeling like we could be the basis for the next super Christian action figure and feeling like we will never measure up and that Mattel would not want a spiritual weakling for an action figure? I think the problem in all of this does not have to do with a supernatural scale that God is using to determine if we are ready or not. We are not being weighed against the ideal Christian we ought to be.
When we commit our lives to service of the King, the work on us is only just beginning. 1 John 4:4 says, “Greater is he that is in you that the one that is in the world.” Whether we feel we are ready or not, God is at work in our lives making us ready. He makes us capable of dealing with the things for which we think we need more preparation. When we know that the one at work inside us is more powerful than the challenges we face in our day, we can say with assurance that, “ready or not, here I come.” Greater is He that is in you!
~Josh Kellar

Taking It Home
Ask your children if they felt ready for school this week. Ask them what they wish they could have done to feel more prepared as they started school.
After they have told you about things they wished would have been different, discuss with them about how God makes us ready for our challenges.
Challenge them to partner with God in being prepared for each day.

Family of Faith - 9/2/07

Family of Faith - 8/26/07

Academic or Spiritual
Champions?

Each year children are sent back to school with such excitement about new beginnings and being one year closer to graduation. With all the preparations made in August, parents hope that their children are ready for the school year to begin. So much concern and effort is put toward their academics that it is hard to imagine that anything could be more important than school. It’s hard to imagine that anything could be more important than their education which will impact their future careers and success. It’s hard to imagine that with all the emphasis placed on academic achievement, there could be anything we might want to prioritize above ABC’s and 123’s. Could there possibly be anything more important?
If we were able to step out of our brand new school shoes to look at our lives, would we be able to see that there is often more emphasis on intellectual development than spiritual development? Please do not hear me saying that we should yank kids out of school and only educate them in the Bible. What I am suggesting, albeit suggesting strongly, is that the spiritual development emphasis should be tipping the scale. But how are you as a parent supposed to ensure this with all the homework, piano lessons and football practice, especially when you already attend church three times a week?
Is it really possible to raise spiritual champions in a world that makes it so much easier to raise spiritual weaklings? Excelling in school is so much easier because there are so many more resources available to ensure that children do well academically. So how is a parent wanting to raise their child up to make righteous decisions supposed to compete? Every way possible. Mark 8:36 asks, “What good is it for you to gain the whole world, yet to forfeit your soul?” I do believe that it is possible for our children to excel in school and be spiritual champions. To accomplish this, I believe that parents are going to have to use every resource available to them to compete against all the tools the world uses to create spiritual weaklings. Parents, you can do it. God does not call you to raise spiritual champions without giving you to equipment you need to cross train. Jesus says, “Take heart, for I have overcome the world.” You can compete. You can cross train. You can raise spiritual champions. Do not be afraid to prioritize spiritual health over intellectual health.
~Josh Kellar

Taking It Home
Pray each morning with your kids this week before they head off to school. Pray that God will teach them more than their teachers. Pray that they will learn about His love and His compassion.

Family of Faith - 8/26/07