Saturday, August 13, 2011

James Dobson / My Family Talk

I wanted to pass this resource along...since school has begun, I am intensely reminded of the responsibility to uphold "my end of the deal" and am very fortunate that there is no "deal breaker" in my attempts to "make a deal" because "the real Deal" has made an offer I can't turn down.  In parenting, the waves of unrest can be unbearable at times but James Dobson offers some tips.  Here are a couple of questions he addresses in his free resource "Parenting With Confidence":

Q: You have said that the children of godly parents sometime go into severe rebellion and never return to the faith they were taught. I have seen that happen to some wonderful families that loved the Lord and were committed to the church. Still, it appears contradictory to Scripture. How do you interpret Proverbs 22:6, which says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it”? Doesn’t that verse mean, as it implies, that the children of wise and dedicated Christian parents will never be lost? Doesn’t it promise that all wayward offspring will return, sooner or later to the fold?

Q: My 3-year-old son can be counted on to behave like a brat whenever we are in the mall or in a restaurant.
He seems to know I will not punish him there in front of other people. How should I handle this tactic?

Q: The greatest power struggle in our home is schoolwork, which you mentioned, and especially homework. Our fifth-grader simply will not do it! When we force him to study, he sits and stares, doodles, gets up for
water and just kills time. Furthermore, we never know for sure what his assignments are. What would you recommend?

Q: How do you feel about homework being given by schools? Do you think it is a good idea? If so, how much and how often?

Q: You’ve made a big deal over the issue of newborns and whether or not they come into the world with complex temperaments or as “blank slates.” When all is said and done, what difference does it make? Children are children, and we take them as we find them. Why does it matter whether they began with “something” or with “nothing”?

Q: Generally speaking, what kind of discipline do you use with a teenager who is habitually miserable to live with?

Q: My wife and I are new Christians, and we now realize that we raised our kids by the wrong principles. They’re grown now, but we continue to worry about the past and we feel great regret for our failures as parents. Is there anything we can do at this late date?

For the answers, follow the link to this resource:

Parenting With Confidence

Also, Dr. Dobson offers further insights on his site "Family Talk":

Family Talk

Additional downloads, podcasts, and media resources:

One Place

Monday, March 23, 2009

God's Will...What is that?

You know, when we make bad choices and then bad situations or circumstances come our way? Why then do we attribute that to being God's will. That hits home with all Christians. I guess it was God's will that the person decided to drink and eventually die from cirhosis of the live, right? NO. God gives us choices and guess what...we have to live with our choices. Isaiah 29:15-16 tells us about the people of Judah trying to "hide" their plans and goals from God. They tried to twist God into being the clay instead of the potter. Theres a big problem with that. It's impossible to do. God is going to accomplish His will regardless if we are a part of it or not. Now have you and I ever tried to make God the clay? Sure we have probably on daily basis! Just like the people of Judah, God is looking for our true worship and obedience (Isaiah 29:13-14). The people were just going through the motions and using empty words while so-called "worshiping" God. How many times hav you and I were trying to focus on worship to God and we were concerned about something else. Look at the bright side. Scoot on down to Isaiah 30:15, then vs 18. God wants true repentance and obedience from us and then He will bless and protect us. What a great God we have! He loves and why would we not want to follow His will and obey Him?

David Stapp

Friday, March 13, 2009

What do we do stuff for?

Have you ever thought why you do certain things? Like read books. We read for different reasons. Maybe we read for more knowledge, or to pass time, or even for fun. What about eating? We eat to get energy. So with that said we do things for various reasons. Is there an ultimate reason why we do the everyday activities? Well I was reading 1 Corinthians 10:31 and it says "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Do we always do this? No, I don't always do this. Sometimes I think I am bringing glory to God when in reality I am being disopbedient. So my focus is to stay in His word and ask for the wisdom to discern the "everyday activities" that bring Him glory. Last but not least...Let us have an ATTITUDE that shows God we love Him with all of our hearts!!!!

I love our Lord Jesus!
David Stapp

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Meeting God's Expectations


What are God's expectations for us? How do we meet them? In Isaiah 5:1-2, it tells us that God (vineyard owner) had done everything possible to reap a harvest. He chose very fertile ground that would surely bring results. Then He cultivated it removing all rocks and debris. Last He made a watchtower there so He could overlook and care for the vineyard (His people). God also prepared a winepress in "expectations" that the vines would bear good fruit. GUESS WHAT? They did the opposite. The produced bad or worthless fruit. This was an analogy of disobedience. Seems to be the same in our lives as well. Vs 4 God asks "What more could I have done than I already have." The same questions can be directed to us also. God has prepared us to do His will, and that is to bear good fruit for His glory. He has given us everything we needed to succeed in bearing fruit. So what is our excuse? Read 8-14 for the consequences of disobedience. Now what can we do to fully put meeting God's expectations on the top of our list?

In Christ
David Stapp

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Remember, He is with us!


I was reading several scriptures this morning. Knowing we will be facing even more uncertain times, we can trust in an Almighty God. The 1st scripture I was reading was Micah 7:8b. Which says, "Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light". The second was Psalm 34:18-19 which says, 18. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. 19. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all. What a great promise we have from our Lord God when we seek Him in obedience.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Starship store...coming to a spot near you and me.

For those who don't know there is a starship adult store being established as we speak. It is located at Thomas Crossroads. That is close to several of us. They already have the signs up. The owner has jumped through several loopholes in the ordinance to get this thing going. We don't need this kind of business in our community. There will be a Coweta Council meeting at the courthouse on Tuesday January 20. Not for sure of the time yet but I do know it is in the evening. Also visit www.cowetacap.com for more information.


David Stapp

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Years 2009


Happy New Year!
The new year is upon us. What does that mean to you? To some it means resolutions we may fail at, or stay with through the year. To some it is an exciting business time or just a dreary day because of a bad memory. Well 1 Thessalonians 4:1 says...
Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. So with this in mind as Christians our goal needs to be "I am going to please God". Let's try to make make that our focus as we make our resolutions.

David Stapp