InstaEncouragements Blog

16 Promises of Proverbs

2/21/2020

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.” Proverbs 3:13-18

Wisdom and understanding, two things we could all use more of!

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Creating JOY in a Season of Grief

12/3/2019

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I was recently asked to speak at a local GriefShare meeting on how to survive the holidays in spite of overwhelming grief. It's a subject I can speak on drawing from personal experience.

I found, in my own situation, that the first year after you've lost a loved one is the most difficult as you cycle through the many holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and special days. My sister was killed just 12 days before Christmas. So, that first Christmas was incredibly difficult for us, and the second wasn't much easier.

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Explaining Santa Claus to Your Kids

11/19/2019

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"A long, long time ago there was a man named Nicholas. He gave food and presents to orphans because he loved Jesus so very, very much—like we do, sweety. That's why people dress up in red Santa suits today, so we can remember what Nicholas did."

Have you tried to explain Santa Claus to your kids, and failed? Maybe you said something like what's written above, and maybe you felt like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas?

Honestly, we never told our kids anything about Santa Claus that I can remember. We didn't say he was real, and we didn't say he wasn't.

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Reading Through The Bible a Plan I Can Stick With

11/5/2019

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Reading Through The Bible a Plan I Can Stick With

Reading Scripture was both an Old Testament practice (Exodus 24:7; Deuteronomy 17:19; 31:11; Joshua 8:34-35; 2 Kings 22:8–23:2; Jeremiah 36:15; Nehemiah 8:8) and a New Testament practice (Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27). It was performed by Jesus Himself (Luke 4:16-20), and prescribed by the Apostle Paul (1 Timothy 4:13).

"Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching." 1 Timothy 4:13

Today, it seems more important than ever for us to be in the Word of God.

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The Red Sea Rules eBook Download & Roundup

10/15/2019

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The Red Sea Rules eBook Download & Roundup

This past summer, we had something special happen here on the blog. We held our first Summer Book Club-Style Bible Study. I wasn’t sure how it would go. I didn’t even know if anyone would be interested in participating or if it would even work. It. Was. Awesome!

I’d do it again in a heartbeat. As a matter of fact, there are already plans in the works to do another Summer Book Club-Style Bible Study next summer! YIPPIE!!!

One thing that happened that I wasn’t expecting is that we had several requests to make the 10 blog posts into a printable version.

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5 Signs of a Functional Family: Children who Obey and Honor

10/8/2019

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5 Signs of a Functional Family: Children who Obey and Honor

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ this is the first commandment with a promise” (Ephesians 6:1-2).

This is the final post in our 5 Signs of a Functional Family series. We've looked at An Attitude of Service, Intimacy Between the Husband and Wife, Husbands Who are Loving Leaders and Parents Who Both Teach and Train Their Children. All of these are signs of functional families. While the first four signs are primarily directed to parents and must be parent lead, the fifth and final sign is one which children bear the responsibility.

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5 Signs of a Functional Family: Parents Who Teach and Train

9/17/2019

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5 Signs of a Functional Family: Parents Who Teach and Train

Over the past few weeks we have been looking at signs of a functional family. We've looked at An Attitude of Service, Intimacy Between the Husband and Wife and Husbands Who Are Loving Leaders. These are all signs of functional families, however there is yet another—parents who are teaching and training their children.

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

In order to clearly understand the full scope of this directive, there must be an understanding of the words nurture and admonition. The ancient Greeks used to say that nurture and admonition were the two wheels on which the chariot of child-rearing rolled. While it would be ludicrous to attempt to drive a chariot with only one wheel in operation, it is equally as futile to attempt to rear children without both nurture and admonition.

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