Good morning!
    Our children are no longer children.  This is a change that we are slowly learning how to handle, though the change started about junior high school.  We are learning that they need a listening ear now more than ever before and we want to provide that listening ear but how much more does the LORD want to listen to their needs and requests?
     Have we taught them to run to the LORD when they hurt or just need someone to listen? Are you teaching your children to run to the LORD?  It's special to know that your children or young people want to run to you when they have a concern but how much more valuable to direct them to the One who can really answer their concerns, to the One who can provide safety when they need it.
     Do we as adults know to run to the LORD who is our strong tower?  Are we setting a good example for our children or teaching them to fret and worry?
   "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe."  Proverbs 18:10
    When your little ones come to you, it is powerful to pray with them about their concerns and then when the answer comes to thank the Lord with them for that answer.  They will slowly learn to trust the Lord and to run to Him when they are in need.  They may even suggest times when you need to run to Him in prayer.
     "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6-7
    Anxiety is a killer in many ways.  Stress can cause all sorts of physical problems, mental problems and spiritual problems that could lead to death.  "The wages of sin is death..."  I read recently that anxiety or worry is sin, so I can only conclude that anxiety or worry leads to death.  Are we giving our children the tools they need to survive in a stressful world?  Paul tells us in Phil. 4 that we keep from being anxious by prayer and petition to the LORD but let's not forget the thanksgiving.  When we look at our problems, can we find something to be thankful for?  Can we alter our thinking to look at problems and concerns as challenges that will mature us and draw us closer to the LORD?
   Let's run to the LORD today with our concerns and be thankful.

Good morning!
       A friend recently wrote that we spend much more time thinking about our troubles than we do our blessings.  This I found as a personal challenge....how much time do I spend thinking about my blessings compared to my troubles?
      So I started this morning thinking about my blessings.  Here are a few that come to mind:  I was awake, I had slept, I had a nice, warm bed to sleep in.  I could get up out of my bed, I could stand and walk.  There were 2 loving dogs waiting to greet me.  I have a husband who loves me.
     I have food in the refrigerator and a warm cup of coffee.   I have a Bible, or two or three and encouraging books to read and I know how to read.  I have a computer that is working.  I have a daughter who has a summer job and two sons who enjoy their jobs.  They all love the Lord and desire to serve Him.   I have a husband who loves me and provides for me though financial times are tough.
     I have girlfriends who care and who pray for me and my concerns.  I have a loving heavenly Father and a Savior who have given me a clean heart and conscience.  My loving heavenly Father asks me to come to Him with all my cares, He wants me to cast them on Him for He cares for me.  I could keep going but....
    Now I'm starting to feel guilty that this isn't in some perfect order but you get the idea....blessings!  We have so many of them that perhaps the best thing to do would be to start a journal of them, write some down everyday and see how our attitude might change since we are focusing on blessings rather than troubles.
   "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation."  Psalm 68:19
    "Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors."  Proverbs 8:34
    "Blessed is the man/woman who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his/her delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law does he/she meditate day and night."  Psalm 1:1-2
   Have a blessed day!
Linda