Stories That Inspire!

I was encouraged and inspired as I started reading the stories in Testimonies From the Body of Christ yesterday.

Pam Teel gave me the book a few days ago and I confess that at first I was like, 'Ok, gonna be some sweet stories about great grandmother Edra's cat getting rescued from the roof.'

But man did I underestimate! It's filled with brief stories that individuals wrote about their own lives and how they've connected with grace and power of God.
It's just reminded me that the most powerful expression in the world of Jesus - is your story!

And maybe the best part of this book is that it was put together to help pay for a second heart transplant for a young 8th grader here in Corpus named Taylor Berry. Some of you know Taylor and/or his Mom Tamara. (You can read his story here.) It's an awesome cause.

You can click here and go to the website to order the book . . . Or skip shipping costs and buy some copies for Christmas gifts in our lobby on Sunday morning!


"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

For Young Men Only

I'm blessed that Multnomah is sending me new books (for free!) and letting me do these reviews!

This week I read: For Young Men Only - A guys guide to the alien gender (in the series by Jeff & Shaunti - some of you may have read For Men Only or For Women Only).

The point of FYMO is to try to help young men understand the heart and thought process of young women. My first thought was: 'Yeah right! Then we'll teach them how to walk on water!'

But since I have a 14-year old son, I thought what the heck, I can't figure it out so maybe they'll give me something to tell Luke :)

I'll start by saying this about FYMO - it's very honest and direct. They say from the beginning that it's not just written to Christians, and not just God ideas, but based on actual feedback from young ladies.

With that said I would say to parents (that's YOU dads!): Read it yourself first. There is some great info for young men that could start awesome conversations - but you need to determine: 1) What your approach to dating/the opposite sex is 2) Where your teen is in his emotional development & understanding.

Some of the chapter titles are: What Most Guys Never Know . . . Ambercrombie Boy vs. Our Hero, Average Joe . . . Why Good Girls Like Bad Boys . . . What it Really Means to Score.

The overall theme of FYMO is awesome . . . That who we are on the inside is so much more important than what kind of front we put on . . . and giving ourselves away in a relationship is so much important than what we get out of it.

We need all the help we can get Dads! And if you've got a hormone flowing teenage boy (or one nearly there) this can be a great part of your arsenal. If you want to buy it . . . Click here.

And if you want it, but don't want to buy it . . . I've got 2 FREE copies to give away. Here's the deal . . . the first two DAD's to respond to my post (not your wife doing it for you!) and tell me they want a copy, get it.

All the Parts Are There

We all ask the question - probably daily - 'Are all the parts really there?'
Is it true what I've been saying the last two Sundays in the Family Circus messages that God has made all the parts available (i.e. Apollo 13 clip) so that our families can experience the hope and oneness that they are made for?

In a word, Yes. Is it easy, No. Is it worth it, Heck Yes!

I obviously don't have all the answers. I do know we have to fight.

There are many people who have influenced me (and Cindy) in our fight for our family, I wanted to share some of the advice of some of our mentors with you. Specifically these are folks who have mentored us - as parents - through print. These are books I would highly encourage you to read as you look for the parenting parts [After putting the books in below I realized how often I said 'awesome' or 'great' or 'powerful' . . . because these are the very best of what we read and they ALL ARE awesome!]:


- Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp - This was the genesis for Cindy and I in understanding that it's not about controlling, or even just guiding, our child's behavior - but it's all about seeing their heart's changed! If you don't 'get it' here - you won't get it.

- Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson - All I can say is 'Read it Dads!' And read it as soon as you can! And then read it again (I think I've read most of it 3 times)

- How to Really Love Your Child by Ross Campbell - Simple and powerful

- God's Design for Sex - by Stan & Brenna Jones - Series of 4 books that you read with your child and were awesome in helping us talk with our kids about sexuality. And parents if you ignore this area, somebody else won't! These are great - first start at age 3-5 and all are very appropriate for their age development.

- Ready for Responsibility by Bob Barnes - This book speaks so practically about helping our children to learn responsibility in critical areas. He's the first one who made me think about: 'Are we raising our children to be children, or to be adults?' Again, awesome stuff.

- Raising a Modern Day Knight by Robert Lewis - A game plan for raising our sons. Do you have a plan Dad or are just gonna 'wing it'?

- The Five Love Languages of Teenagers by Gary Chapman - Has (and is) really helped us in recent past . . . Awesome in helping to understand transition to adolescence and the different needs of teens. Has sections for single parents and blended families.

- Choices by Mary Farrar - For women wanting to make God's priorities her priorities, inlcuding but not limited to being a mom. [by Cindy and one of her all-time 'top of the list' books!]

- And Then I had Kids by Susan Alexander Yates - A great dose of encouragement for moms! Filled with honest, practical, Biblical wisdom for moms with young children. [by Cindy]