Tag Archives: motherhood

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – All You Need

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Max Lucado

Ginger was six years old when she and her Sunday school class made get well cards for church members.  Hers was a bright purple card that said, “I love you, but most of all God loves you!”  She and her mom made the delivery.  My dad was bedfast, the end was near.  He could extend his hand, but it was bent to a claw from disease. Ginger asked him a question as only a six year old can, “Are you going to die?”  He answered, “Yes, but when I don’t know.” She asked if he was afraid to go away.  “Away is heaven,” he told her.  “I’ll be with my Father.  I’m ready to see Him eye to eye.”

A man near death, winking at the thought of it. Stripped of everything? It only appeared that way. In the end, Dad still had what no one could take…faith.  And in the end, that’s all he needed!

From You’ll Get Through This

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Our Daily Bread — Giving Thanks

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John 11:32-44

Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” —John 11:41

A tragedy left a family with a void that nothing could fill. A toddler chasing a cat wandered into the road and was run over by a delivery truck. A 4-year-old watched in shocked silence as her parents cradled the lifeless body of her little sister. For years, the cold emptiness of that moment encased the family in sadness. Feelings were frozen. The only comfort was numbness. Relief was unimaginable.

Author Ann Voskamp was the 4-year-old, and the sorrow surrounding her sister’s death formed her view of life and God. The world she grew up in had little concept of grace. Joy was an idea that had no basis in reality.

As a young mother, Voskamp set out to discover the elusive thing the Bible calls joy. The words for joy and grace come from the Greek word chairo, which she found out is at the center of the Greek word for thanksgiving. Could it be that simple? she wondered. To test her discovery, Voskamp decided to give thanks for 1,000 gifts she already had. She started slowly but soon gratefulness was flowing freely.

Just as Jesus gave thanks before, not after, raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41), Voskamp discovered that giving thanks brought to life feelings of joy that had died along with her sister. Joy comes from thanksgiving. —Julie Ackerman Link

Lord, I thank You that You have the power

to raise the dead. May the feelings of joy

that arise from our thanksgiving be seeds of

grace to those who are afraid to feel.

 

The joy of living comes from a heart of thanksgiving.

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Let God Love You – Max Lucado

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When my girls were little, I’d come home, shout their names and watch them run to me with extended arms and squealing voices.  For the next few moments we’d roll on the floor, gobble bellies, and tickle tummies and laugh and play. We delighted in each other’s presence. They made no requests of me, with the exception of, “Let’s play, Daddy. And I made no demands of them except, “Don’t hit daddy with the hammer.”  My kids let me love them.

But suppose they’d approached me as we often approach God. “Hey, Dad, glad you’re home.  Here’s what I want!”  “Whoa,” I would have to say.  “Why don’t you just climb up on Daddy’s lap and let me tell you how much I love you?”  Ever thought God might want to do the same with you?  How long since you let God love you?

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!” (I John 3:1).

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The Mother-in-Law – Max Lucado

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Someone once asked me, So what do I do about my mother-in-law?  Let’s just say, she’s taken “critical and judgmental” to a whole new level!

Just saying, “my mother-in-law” gets a chuckle every time.  I wonder if in mother-in-law circles they laugh when they hear “the son-in-law?”  Your mother-in-law may be hard to get along with.  But the fact is, you can’t change her, but you can change the way you see her.

For starters, stop looking at what drives you up the wall. Look for a quality worthy of your attention.  Is she generous?  A great cook?  And pray for her.  It’s hard to stand before God and speak horribly about someone He loves!  You may not change your mother-in-law, but it’ll change your attitude toward her.  Who knows? Maybe she’ll start to change when you start to see her differently!