Get Better, Don't Get Even

Author Charlotte Riegel asked some of the questions we ask when we’re boxed in by tough circumstances. But she helps us remember why we should take off the boxing gloves in this helpful Attitude UPGRADE.

“Feeling overwhelmed by our circumstances and unable to concentrate on the sermon being delivered, I quietly slipped out of my pew and left the building,” Charlotte wrote.

“Feeling overwhelmed” … have you been there? I (Dawn) have. And in those times, I’ve discovered I often require an attitude adjustment.

Charlotte continues …

The beautiful spring morning beckoned my enjoyment as I wandered the streets surrounding the church. Turning onto a pathway through trees in a nearby community park, I began sobbing, unable to contain the grief, anger and confusion seeking an outlet.

My husband, Stan, had recently been told his teaching contract would not be renewed, and with four children to provide for, I struggled with “Why?” and “What now?” questions.

We had managed to survive the three years on “below the Canadian poverty line” wages because of frugal living patterns taught by my husband’s parents who learned these life skills during the Depression. We had no savings.

Stan was angry about the dismissal and considered what reprisal actions he might utilize.

The administration’s reasons for not renewing his contract seemed very shallow. He loved his students and they often told him how much they appreciated his instructions. However, they did not sign his pay check. He worried about how he would provide for his family.

A glance at my watch forced me to put a stopper on the tears and head back to church before someone came looking for me after the service ended.

It was the Easter season. On my walk back to the church, I remembered Christ’s sacrifice. 

Jesus knew the grief of rejection, yet He said nothing. He did not fight back.  He did not call “ten thousand angels to set him free,” but instead He died, alone.

I knew we were being called not to retaliate, but to trust God for what lies ahead. Jesus is our example.  

Condemned.

Sometimes like Christ

We stand condemned

By just, or unjust means.

Then we must die

To rise again

Liberated and free.

Aware that retaliation would only bring us more stress and possibly more grief, we silently adjusted our life direction and started down a different path. A new job was found without major distress, and it paid considerably better, thereby helping us care for our growing family with more ease.

“Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it” (Romans 12:17-19, The Message).

When are you tempted to retaliate? How can you respond more like Jesus did?

Charlotte Riegel is a freelance writer living in Rosebud, Alberta. She can be contacted at bridgesofhope2@gmail.com. Follow Charlotte at her blog.

Graphic in text, adapted - Image courtesy of hin255 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

10 Ways to Help Your Kids Cultivate a Missional Mindset

Stephanie Shott encourages moms with mentoring that is intentional and missional. In this Parenting UPGRADE, she offers suggestions to create missional thinking in our children.

“When my children were young, I desperately wanted them to embrace God’s call on their lives to be world changers.” Stephanie writes. “Maybe you’ve felt the same way too.”

Don’t think this is only for your children. I (Dawn) want to encourage a missional mindset in my grandchildren. And maybe you are in a position to mentor or teach children. This is valuable for you too.

Stephanie continues...

Raising children to live beyond themselves isn’t easy when so much of what they see and hear beckons them to make their lives all about themselves.

God’s Word says, “Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too” … “And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God” (Philippians 2:4; Hebrews 13:16, NLT).   

So, while we know God’s Word calls us to a life that is focused on ministering to others, it is definitely easier said than done when it comes to teaching that to our children.

I want to share with you 10 ways you can help your children cultivate a missional mindset.

1. Have your children help you prepare and take food to a family in need.
2. Make one Saturday a month, Saturday Serve Day and look for a way to bless someone in your neighborhood. (mow the lawn, clean the house or hang out and chat with a shut-in from church, a single mom, or someone who is ill)
3. Let your children help you choose a local ministry to partner with for a weekly, monthly, or quarterly service project. (A homeless shelter, a children’s home, a nursing home, a hospital, etc...)
4. Create ways your children can earn money to purchase gifts for a missionary child who is living on the field and allow your children to help pick those gifts out.
5. Help them write cards of encouragement to their friends, to children in local hospitals, to widows or widowers, to missionaries, to a child you support through Compassion International or some other global ministry.
6. Teach your children of Jesus’ sacrificial love by taking them shopping for those who are unable to give anything in return.
7. Take them on an international mission trip where they can participate in feeding, clothing, and ministering to others in another country.
8. Make it a fun game to do “intentional” acts of kindness throughout each day. Allow them to help pick out someone to bless by buying their meal, giving them a small gift, or some small way to share the love of Jesus in a tangible way.
9. Help your children create a service project in your neighborhood, church, or in conjunction with another ministry. (i.e... organize a coat round-up for a homeless shelter, collect food, furniture, or money for a family in need, etc...)
10. Be a missional momma. Living on mission is more caught than taught. The joy that comes with giving is contagious. When you are mission-minded, your children will more likely be mission minded too.

When we model a missional mindset and create opportunities that will help them discover the joy of giving and ministering to others, they will never be the same.

How do YOU model a missional mindset to your children, grandchildren or the children in your church?

Stephanie Shott is the founder of The M.O.M. Initiative, a ministry devoted to making mentoring intentionally missional. She is an author and popular speaker who helps women live full, fearless and faithful lives. To invite Stephanie to speak at your next event, visit her website. Find out more about The M.O.M. Initiative or how to begin a M.O.M. Mentor Group at www.themominitiative.com.

Graphic in text adapted: Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

America, It's Time to Pray: 'SOS, Jesus!'

Stacie Stoelting is a Jesus-focused patriot who, with her sister, is on a mission to call America back to God. I thought she’d be perfect to share a special Holiday UPGRADE for the 4^th of July!

“Fireworks on the Fourth of July always get me excited,” Stacie writes. “I’m like a little kid about it! People around me always hear, ‘Oooh! Aaah!’ I just can’t help it.”

I (Dawn) love to join my family at July 4^th celebrations too. It’s our privilege as free Americans. But Stacie encourages us to think about something else as we watch those fireworks.

She continues …

I’m a diehard patriot who still gets thrilled by the concepts of Independence Day.

But God Himself excites me more than anyone or anything else. And I believe that my fellow Christians and I need more “fire to do the works” of God.

We need simple prayer. Pure prayer. Prayer with a purpose to know and praise God Himself. I feel inspired when I read passages like Hosea 6:3 (NLT):

“Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

When we feel depressed, we must choose faith and “press on” to know him. He will respond. We need only to pray –even if all we can muster are extra short prayers.

Recently, I prayed hard from my heart. In a moment of high stress, I simply prayed, “SOS, Jesus!” He helped me as only He could! And later it hit me: That’s what Christians in America need to pray.

As we observe Independence Day, America needs to declare independence from sins and pray, “SOS, Jesus!”

Our population suffers from being over-programmed and “under-prayed.” In America, there is: 

• so much stress and so little happiness;
• so many activities, yet so many lonely families;
• so many fears and so little faith.

Yes, in America’s churches, we see more flashy ads and less Spirit-led fire.

In addition to simply praying from the heart—a prayer like “SOS, Jesus!”—this SOS acronym can also help:

S: Stop sin. We need to stop the “facades for God” and be ourselves while praying hard from the heart.

As Billy Graham once said, "We must repent of our prayerlessness. We must make prayer our priority. Even our churches today have gotten away from prayer meetings."

O: Open your heart to Jesus as Savior and Lord. (If you haven’t done so, click here to learn more about how to know God personally.) Be willing to do His will.

No prayer substitute exists. Nowhere in the Scripture do we see a Christ follower told to “do more” and pray less. The essence of prayer is to come into God’s presence.

S: Start believing and praising God. Practice child-like faith.

I believe that the fireworks of faith in America can be revived because of one simple fact: Jesus remains alive. We must erase sin and chase after Jesus.

Yes, it’s as simple as SOS: Stop sin. Open your heart to Jesus. Start believing and praising Him in private and in public. Remember that we will "...see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory" (Mark 13:26). Hallelujah!

The next time you notice our country’s symbolic bald eagle, be reminded that “…they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, ESV).

Yes, let us “wait for the Lord” and “press on to know Him” – depending on Him for the fire to do His works in America and beyond!

Are you asking God for the “fire to do His works”? What would that look like in your life, if the fire fell?

Stacie Ruth Stoelting and her sister, Carrie Beth Stoelting, are recording artists and authors of the book Unite the USA, recently endorsed by Mike Huckabee, Pat Boone, Rick Santorum (Patriot Voices), Tony Perkins (Family Research Counsel), and Mathew Staver (Liberty Counsel). Learn more about their Christ-focused, patriotic mission at UnitetheUSA.org and join their prayer group here. 

Graphic in text, adapted: Image courtesy of nirots / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Six Biblical Truths for Preschoolers

Melissa Edgington is a pastor's wife who writes about life with kids while living with kids—and that's quite a challenge for any mom! I appreciate her wisdom about family life; and in this post, she shares a Parenting Upgrade about preschoolers.

“Preschoolers can understand much deeper biblical concepts than we think," Melissa says. "The earlier we lay solid biblical foundations, the better."

I [Dawn] was blessed to serve in a revival ministry during my children's preschool years, and I know the blessing and power of teaching biblical truth early. The world will try to squeeze our children into its mold. We've got to start early!

Melissa continues:

I've compiled a list of six important truths we should be sure to teach our preschoolers.”

1.  The Bible is God’s special book (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 119:105).

Preschoolers can learn from an early age that the Bible is not like other books. We can teach them that the Bible comes from God and teaches us important things about Him. We can open the pages of the Bible and let them touch it, so that they learn young that the Bible is for them, too.  

When we talk about the Bible in these terms, we’re reinforcing the fact that the Bible is true and is the authority for our lives.

2.  You and I are sinners (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10).

Children already know that they do things they shouldn’t. But, we can put their bad behavior in different terms by talking about what sin is and why it matters to God.  

Our church’s preschool teachers say: Sin is anything we think, say, or do that breaks God’s law.  

3.  Jesus died on a cross and came back to life (1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

This concept is one that we often debate in our minds.  Are we doing wrong when we tell our three-year-old a story that’s, well, let’s face it, bloody? 

At this age, we can simply talk about how Jesus is God’s Son, how He died for us on a cross, and then God raised Him from the dead. It’s good for them to know the basic facts of what happened, even before they really understand the significance of what Jesus was doing on the cross that day.  

4.  The Bible is one big story (Genesis 3:14-15).

This is a concept many adults have never even been taught. But, it’s important for our children to understand that, even though we tend to study the Bible in small chunks (stories) on Sunday mornings, all of those smaller stories link together to form one big story of God’s great love, saving us from our sin through Jesus.  

I recommend reading The Big Picture Story Book Bible with your children. It does a fantastic job of showing how Jesus is all over the Old Testament, too. It helps kids to get the “big picture” of God’s redemption plan.

5.  Heaven is for real (John 14:3-4). 

Because the Bible says so. And Hell is for real, too. We can talk in basic terms with our preschoolers about how Heaven is the place where we can go to be with God someday. It can be helpful to talk about Heaven in terms of someone you know who has passed away.  

Most importantly, we should make sure that the kids know that doing good things doesn’t get you to Heaven. There is only one way to Heaven, and that way is believing in Jesus.

6.  God keeps His promises (Deuteronomy 7:9). 

Even our very youngest charges can understand the idea that God is good and He tells the truth. God follows through. When He promised He would send a redeemer, He did it.  

And, we can trust His other promises, knowing that God is “working all things together for the good of those who love Him."

When we teach our preschoolers well, we help them combat the wrong thinking that will come their way. It’s never too early to lead our babies to the truth.

Do you have preschoolers? What is your biggest challenge in teaching them the truth of scripture? How has God blessed you (and them) in teaching them biblical truth?

Melissa Edgington is a pastor’s wife and mom of three young children. She writes about motherhood and the Christian life at Your Mom Has a Blog. 

Face Your Fears with T-E-A-R-S

Twila Belk’s positive attitude encourages others to look to Jesus. In this Attitude UPGRADE, the author/speaker shares her approach to dealing with fears.

“Whatever we focus on becomes magnified in our minds,” Twila says. “If we concentrate on our fears, they overwhelm us.”

Fears come and go, and I (Dawn) likely have as many fears as you do. We can’t stop the thoughts of fear from entering our minds, but we don’t have to let them take up residence!

Twila continues …

• “How will I pay the bills?”
• “Where will I live?”
• “Who’s going to take care of me?”
• “How will I survive?”
• “What if it’s cancer?”

Sometimes we become so absorbed in the problems that produce these and similar questions, we can’t think about anything else. We dread the unknown.

During those times, a shift in focus is necessary. We need to fix our eyes—on God.

When we have complications seeing, we might fix our eyesight with a product called Artificial Tears.

When our spiritual vision is obscured, and we can’t imagine anything but trouble, the best remedy is T-E-A-R-S.

Let me explain what I mean.

T – TRUST. Trust is the opposite of fear.

Proverbs 3:5-6  tells us to trust God with ALL our heart. We’re supposed to acknowledge Him in ALL our ways. If we do that, He promises to direct our paths—to take care of us. We’re not left to flounder on our own.

The better we know Him, the easier it is to trust Him.

E – ETERNAL-MINDEDNESS. In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, we’re encouraged to fix our eyes not on what we see—the difficulties surrounding us—but on what we don’t see. The visible things are temporary and changing, but God and His promises are eternal.

If our hope is in Christ, we can endure the here and now through God’s bubble of grace, knowing that the best is yet to come.

A – ABIDE. Psalm 91:1 says, “He (she) who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

To me, that’s a picture of crawling up on the Father’s lap and resting in His warm embrace. There we express our intimate thoughts to Him, pour out our hearts, and share what’s bothering us. As we’re on his lap, we hear his heartbeat and realize that it’s beating for us. With every pulsation we’re reminded how special we are to Him, how big He is, and that He has everything under control.

In the arms of our loving Father is the safest and most comfortable place to be.

R – REMEMBER. We easily become forgetful when face-to-face with adversity. The things we know to be true about God go by the wayside.

That’s why we need to continually rehearse His goodness and faithfulness. When we remember what God has done for us (or others) in the past, we can trust Him for today and tomorrow.

S – SET. David says in Psalm 16:8, “I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I won’t be shaken.”

Here’s how we can set the Lord always before us:

• Meditate on Him throughout the day.
• Carry on a running conversation with Him.
• Memorize His promises and verses that speak of His greatness and repeat them often.
• Post scriptural truths in much-seen places.
• Sing praises.   

I’ve learned that my circumstances don’t change who God is; they show me who God is.

When I apply T-E-A-R-S to my tribulations, I see clearly that God’s presence, power, and provision are all I need. I pray you’ll discover that as well.

Do you have a nagging fear? How might you apply the T-E-A-R-S concept to that fear?

Twila Belk—aka The Gotta Tell Somebody Gal—is a writer and speaker who loves braggin’ on God. She’s written or co-written five books, contributed to several others, and recently started work on a new project, Raindrops from Heaven, that will release early next year. To learn more about Twila, including her newest title, I Believe in Heaven: Real Stories from the Bible, History and Today, visit her website, www.gottatellsomebody.com.