Equipping Parents for The Journey
“What part did Mary and Joseph have in God’s plan?” was the question posed in one of the children’s Bibles we read from one evening last week. The answer the editor provided was “God chose Mary and Joseph to be Jesus’ parents on earth.” I love the simplicity of children’s Bibles, but the answer to...
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2 Is there anything more amazing than coming to know Christ as your personal Savior? The answer is a resounding “no.” Nothing in all the world compares to the moment...
“I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” John 4:35 I love this verse more than I can tell you. It’s becoming all the more meaningful to me as Thanksgiving draws near. As more and more stores attempt to minimize the holiday and reduce it to little more...
I’ve been a bit sidetracked the past few weeks. It started as I took my three children (ages 4 years, 2 years, and 6 months) for a “tour of Texas,” as I often like to call necessary road trips. We loaded our pint sized RV (commonly called a minivan) with as many clothes, snacks, and...
Stonebriar is a large church made up of many beautiful families, so it seems only fitting that we take the time to get to know one another better. And what better way than sharing some of the God-sized stories behind many of the familiar faces we see? I’m so appreciative of The Creek Family for accepting the...
Presented by Family Pastor Dave Carl and Dr. Andi Thacker, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC, RPT-S There has never been an easy time to raise kids, but it seems harder today. Remember the nursery rhyme from your childhood: “What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and everything nice; that’s what little girls are made...
The world is full of messages that depict sex as fun, enticing, and powerful. Our children are growing up in a world where sex of any type is celebrated and even embraced. Without even trying, our children are being barraged with sexual messages that devalue and degrade them. At the same time, the Christian...
You may have heard there’s an election taking place. Not to worry, I won’t be taking a political stance here or turning this into a place for conservative versus liberal fodder, but it would be remiss of me to act as though we aren’t on the cusp of a sizable moment in our nation’s history—a moment that...
We would like to extend my sincere thanks to Kelli Lawrence for sharing her heart and wisdom with us today. Motherhood has given me my greatest joys and my deepest disappointments; my proudest accomplishments and my most humbling failures; my deepest contentment and my most unsettling struggles. Do I have any “AMENS” out there? Parenting...
Special thanks to Daniel Lebsack, Associate Pastor of Recovery Ministries at Stonebriar Community Church. I can clearly picture the situation in my mind. It is late at night, and I am a couple of hours past curfew. The porch light and the light in the entryway are on, but the rest of the house and the...
She didn’t see. She didn’t hear. And she will never know the full scope of our days. And after much prayer and a few little tears, I’ve remembered that is more than okay. My child did not go to bed when my mother told him. Five different times. You read that right. Five different times. He got...
I grew up Catholic. Before you think I’m one of those with the so-called “Catholic guilt” or negative feelings about my upbringing, let me assure you it’s quite the contrary. I am deeply thankful for how I was raised, and while I did not fully know the Bible, I did know Jesus. And I loved Him passionately—with all my...
