'Marriage & Family' Tagged Posts

'Marriage & Family' Tagged Posts

A Broken Relationship with Dad

Over many years I have seen that a person who has a rupture in relationship with his or her father and does not know how to find acceptance and peace with God through Jesus Christ, may be susceptible to many difficulties in this life. Broken child/parent relationships of any kind very often present in ongoing bouts of rebellion and anger or crippling despair and perceptions of inferiority, outside of God’s help. Some carry these attitudes internally while weakening them, and…

What About the Relatives?

For many of us, the Christmas/New Year season is a time not only to think about Jesus’ incarnation but also to enjoy our relatives and friends. Perhaps we see them only at this time of the year. Some time ago I wrote this short article to guide us about speaking the gospel to those relatives we love. Take a few moments to ponder these ideas: Can you find Jimmy in this photo? Some of you may see Tommy and Billy,…

Seriousness In Children and Teens

It is increasingly obvious that children and young people in many evangelical churches are anything but serious about Christ. There are notable exceptions, but in many churches a cursory look at the behavioral signals put out by the young people reveal a profound disinterest. On the one hand there is a sort of giddiness and silliness by some who believe that church is there only to provide them a place for enjoying friends and impressing the opposite sex. On the…

How to Find a Wife

The proverb says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord” (Prov. 18:22). But wisdom also tells us that one should seek this blessing from the Lord at the appropriate time and in a godly way. Many Christians enter the dating scene while they are still in their teens. This practice is fully endorsed, and even expected, by a society that holds a completely inadequate understanding of what it actually means for a…

Single, Yet Pursuing Marriage

There are two places in the New Testament that teach about singleness as a chosen way of life for some (Matthew 19:10-12, plus various verses in First Corinthians 7), but that’s just about it. Have you ever noticed in Paul’s letters, when he lists categories of people, he includes wives, husbands, children, fathers, slaves, and masters (cf. Ephesians 5:22-6:9; Colossians 3:18-4:1), but there is no category of single adults? Why? Paul was writing to the norm, and the shift from…

Biblical Descriptions of an Ideal Father/Child Relationship

Benjamin Elliff has given us below a useful list of of Bible texts describing how the critical Father/child relationship is to be lived out. This could be a source for daily meditation, discussions with a spouse, mentoring men, training children, and small group interaction. Make good use of this list to improve relations between children and fathers, and to honor God who is the perfect Father. Biblical Descriptions of an Ideal Father/Child Relationship The Father’s Relationship to His Child 1.…

Guidelines for Children

  RULE # 1 WE ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH. "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight." Proverbs 12:22 "A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, and a flattering mouth works ruin." Proverbs 26:28 (New Jerusalem) "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life." Revelation 21:27 RULE…

Dear Eden from Sweden

I write poetry for my grandchildren as their “PaJim.” This is one. We have a strain of Swedish ancestry on my wife’s side — a farm family in Sweden who moved to Canada and then to Minnesota in the 1800s. This poem reflects that connection. Likely the members of that family used “kulning” to call the cattle. Before you read this poem, listen to the enchanting kuhning of Jonna Jinton at this address to understand the poem better: https://youtu.be/KvtT3UyhibQ?feature=shared. The…

Our Parents Should Have Told Us: Manners for Polarized Times

1. Describing others with demeaning epithets is arrogant and unbecoming. Let’s run as far from it as we possibly can. Calling a person “stupid,” or “an idiot,” for instance, tells us more about our character than theirs. 2. Making uninvited humorous comments about physical characteristics of others is childish at best, but also rude and condescending. It often shows disrespect for God as creator. Even in jest, it should be cut out of our speech repertoire. It would help to…

On the Nose of Jabawanga

I long to see my grandchildren become Warrior Kings for the Lord. Here is a poem written to one of them. Look carefully and you can see the nose and a future warrior standing there.

The Heart of Family Reformation

When our children were younger we began the day with the hymn we are currently memorizing. When Laura was five, she sang for all of us the second verse of “I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord” by the Yale president of the late 1700s, Timothy Dwight. With a determined look, she sang out, I love Thy church, O God. Her walls before Thee stand. Dear as the apple of Thine eye, And gravy on Thy hand. My boys collapsed on the…

William Cowper’s Mother

William Cowper (pronounced as Cooper) was born in 1731. He was a close friend of John Newton (Amazing Grace), and lived next door. Cowper was considered by many to be the greatest literary figure in England during in his lifetime. Like Newton, he was a poet (God Moves in a Mysterious Way; There is a Fountain Filled with Blood). William lost his mother at six years of age. After her death it appears that he did not live at home…

Her Unchanging Place

This poem coveys many memories of our mother and the home she loved outside of Warren, Arkansas. It was written originally for my siblings — Sandy Smith, Tom Elliff and Bill Elliff. She loved that home and either lived there or returned there all her life. We cherished that home as well. Close to the end of her life, while suffering with Alzheimer’s, we took her back. Her sister was there and was able to care for her for a…

Seven Ways to Get Smart About Kids’ Toys This Christmas

If you have plastic up to your gills, or if you want to be more frugal about gifts, or even if you enjoy using what God has given you in a redeeming way, you may appreciate these ideas this Christmas: Gather up as many bags of used toys as possible to put into circulation. Relatives or a church friend might need some of your toys for their younger children. Local organizations like foster care associations, rescue missions, or pregnancy resource…