InstaEncouragements Blog

4 Ways to Turn Our Conversations in the Current Culture to Absolute Truth and Biblical Living

7/9/2021

"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him Who is the head, into Christ." Ephesians 4:15

Recently, during a summer Bible study that I am currently participating in, the ladies and I began discussing the current culture and its very aggressive agenda in regards to absolute truth and biblical living. The group is a mix of ages ranging from young thirties to almost fifty. Our children’s ages range from twenty-somethings to infants.

We covered a few specifics in our time together that have still been running through my mind during my prayer and Bible study time. I'd love to know your thoughts, and how God is using these types of conversations in your motherhood journey.

2 Comments

5 Ways To Put Our Pro-Life Values Into Action

5/28/2021

3 Comments

5 Ways To Put Our Pro-Life Values Into Action

Supporting The Sanctity Of Life

This time three years ago, my husband and I had just adopted our daughter and were happily ensconced in baby snuggles, bottle feedings, and the sleep-deprived existence of newborn life. We were thrilled to finally be parents! As I write this, a dear friend of mine is just days away from giving birth to her third child, and the entire family is anxiously awaiting this precious little one’s arrival. It’s estimated that close to 4 million births take place each year in the United States, and I would guess that most of those are joyous occasions for the families who welcome a new child into their home. But for many women, discovering they are pregnant is not a happy moment or a reason to rejoice. Instead, there is overwhelming fear, shame, guilt, dread, and hardship that often lead them to believe that their only recourse and means of help is abortion.

3 Comments

Hey Mama! PRAY

5/25/2021

16 Comments

Praying Proverbs Over Your Child

As Christian parents, it is our responsibility to teach our children to be more like Christ, and we need help with this daunting task. We need a resource for character building!

There are a lot of books written on child-rearing, but let me introduce you to the best child-rearing book ever written—the book of Proverbs. It’s God’s textbook for the task of raising little Christians that become adults who strive in every way to be more like Him. Read it, study it, meditate on it, teach it to your children, and PRAY IT OVER THEM!

As I wrote Hey Mama! PRAY, I found that many of the topics covered in the study pertained as much to me personally as they did to my children. I often found myself not only praying over my children but also praying for myself.

16 Comments

Protected by God

5/18/2021

12 Comments

This is a breakout post from our 27-day devotional, Come and Gather: Family Time With God, or what we lovingly refer to as Gather. You'll find this post featured in Part Two: Days 6-10 A Walk Through God’s Word of Gather.

“Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’ And Balaam said to the donkey, ‘Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.’ And the donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?’ And he said, ‘No’” Numbers 22:28-30

Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to do what you think you want to do?

12 Comments

The Winds and Waves of Christian Parenting With Purpose

5/7/2021

4 Comments

The Winds and Waves of Christian Parenting With Purpose

The assumption that I am an expert in the mom category based on numbers always amazes me.

It is humbling and at times a bit overwhelming.

In my heart, I often whisper, “If they only knew what a mess I have made of things.”

Over and over again I am reminded of my own failings and shortcomings.

The Rossiters are a living example of the fact that the quantity of parenting decisions does not always produce quality.

Strangely enough, the verse that comes to mind is found in Mark 4:41,

“And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this that even the winds and waves obey Him?”

4 Comments

5 Blessings of a Family That Spans the Ages

4/9/2021

9 Comments

5 Blessings of a Family That Spans the Ages

Our oldest child will turn 24 in a couple of weeks, and our youngest turned 6 in January. To say that we have a huge age range in our family would be a big understatement.

I have been surprised to learn of how many families face this dynamic in our current culture.

Many people have asked questions about how we make it work, or what the challenges are that we face. These questions are often filled with a great deal of curiosity and wonder.

For us in Rossiterville, it is the norm and we can’t imagine our family any other way.

We agree that the blessings far out way the challenges.

Let me share with you today a few of the blessings we have discovered along the way.

9 Comments

Preparing Your Kids to Face the Giants

3/5/2021

1 Comment

Culture is quickly sifting all around us. This question has crossed my mind frequently, “Will my kids be able to stand for truth in their generation?” How sad it would be to have invested years of training and prayer only to see the ground of their hearts surrendered to the devices of this world and its philosophy.

To help gain wisdom and godly counsel, I began reading a book by Genesis apologists, Ken Ham entitled, Will They Stand: Preparing Kids to Face the Giants. It is packed full of wisdom from the Word of God as well as life examples from Dr. Ham’s childhood.

In the opening chapters, Ken Ham puts quite a bit of emphasis on his own upbringing. He references his parent’s character, love for the Word, and willingness to swim against culture even in the church. Ham acknowledges that his parent’s life choices aimed his life on a course of fearing God and standing on truth.

1 Comment