New Braunfels Bible Church Women's Ministry

Yes, the time of year approaches when many families will pile into their car, stuffed to the brim, and head off on a family vacation. This is, for sure, a time for making memories—of one sort or another. If we want happy memories, we need prayer, planning, patience, and a whole lot of grace.

There are many variables such as the age of your children, the distance you will travel, your budget, the size and condition of your vehicle, and your family’s different temperaments.

Some of us tend to like detailed plans, others not so much. Regardless, early reservations at popular spots during peak seasons are important. One advantage to lesser known destinations is smaller crowds. An advantage of down-to-the-wire reservations is that bargains are often available. If you experience an unforeseen delay, and you will be late for check-in, be sure to call to guarantee your reservation with a credit card. If you are staying with family or friends, call them right away with any changes in your ETA.

Depending...

Last week I wrote about the importance of input. We cannot input immoral garbage into our hearts and minds, and still enjoy the blessings of fellowship with our holy God. One of the tips said, “Guard your children’s input, but also start teaching them to discern and choose good instead of evil.”

How do we do this? Well, we need to start by being a good example, by consistently choosing good input for ourselves. This is powerful. Of course, at the same time we need to teach them about the Lord, His ways, and the connection between our obedience and His blessing. If we also are faithful in disciplining our children, they will be learning what is good and what is not.

Unfortunately there is a tendency among children, as among adults, to believe that boundaries keep them from something good. This was Satan’s first lie to us. If we nix something for our children that their friends are enthusiastically enjoying, they are not likely to appreciate our loving protection. There are many times when we just...

This term was originally coined to apply to computer data input and the resulting output, but I have always thought of it in regard to my mind. If I input garbage in a moral sense, it will come back out in my thoughts, my dreams, my words and my actions. That’s plenty of reason to be careful about input, but there’s more.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians, chapter 4 that we should meditate on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, of virtue, and worthy of praise. That’s quite a list. The promise is that when we think on these things, “the God of peace will be with us.”

When we aren’t careful about input, our fellowship with the Lord is impaired. Our pastor is currently preaching on the pursuit of holiness. If we want the joy and peace of abiding close to our Lord, we must pursue holiness. We need to focus on Him and on the good things listed above.

Even if we are careful, many things that do not make the list grab our attention. Think about the daily news. Most...

Do you know that hospitality is a command for all believers, as well as a gift given to some? Either way, we should be welcoming others into our homes with some regularity.

Some are good at this. It is most likely one of their spiritual gifts. Others of us manage, but with mixed feelings toward Martha Stewart. And still others find the whole idea overwhelming.

Here are some encouraging thoughts:

Sharing your home is one of the best ways to get to know others and to begin a friendship.

Hospitality is not about impressing others, but about receiving them with kindness and generosity.

There are simple forms of hospitality such as inviting a friend for tea and cookies, a mom and her child for a play time, or a couple for brunch.

Extending the invitation to someone is a great inspiration to tidy up. Don’t think of this as hypocritical but as preparing a place for your guests. All our preparations should be with the idea of showing our guests that they are special. None of us...

How do you feel when you read about women hauling their laundry to the river bank and pounding it against stones? If you’re like me, you probably have conflicting thoughts. I feel guilty that I ever complained about the challenge of laundry. But then I’m likely to mutter, “I bet we have a lot more laundry than they do.” This is undoubtedly true, but maybe not the best attitude. One must be grateful for plumbing, hot water heaters, washing machines, dryers, detergent, stain removers, etc. Even so, laundry is a big job and a frequent one. If you have young children, teens, or a big family, it may seem like you’re constantly moving mountains of it.

Here are some suggestions that you may find helpful:

Deal with mess and spills promptly before they become stains. Know the best approach to your most likely challenges before you proceed. The wrong approach can set some stains. Have a reference book handy, maybe Field Guide to Stains or Natural Stain Removal Secrets. Or google the best solution. Test the...

Our daughter Evie teaches at an elementary school east of Dallas. This school has had its share of challenges, but interestingly the Lord has gathered a good number of Christians to teach and work in administration there. They have done a good job of meeting various challenges. This past Tuesday this school lay in the path of the largest of many tornados that ripped through north Texas. This was a God-sized challenge, and He—no surprise—met it well.

School had just been dismissed, and Evie and her friends were preparing to leave when they received the tornado warning. They quickly decided that they were safer there than on the road. They gathered in the library along with a number of students. Then the principal opened the back door of the school and saw the huge tornado close by coming straight at them. He flew toward the library yelling and frantically ushering everyone to a safe windowless room next to the library. One mother ran into the school barefoot just before the tornado arrived. Her car was tossed...

This week we remember the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His death should never be too far from our minds. But glory, we also celebrate His resurrection! Have you thought lately through the reasons why His resurrection is such an important foundational truth? You might want to take time to enumerate some reasons before you read on. This can make them more personally yours.

As I thought about my reasons, the first thing that came to mind was “He’s alive, and I’m forgiven!” This is from a powerful song written by Don Francisco in the early 80’s. It’s about the crucifixion and resurrection from Peter’s perspective. But just the refrain is a great truth that we can claim personally.

Jesus died for our sins, and His resurrection sealed the deal. In other words, when the Father raised Jesus from the dead, He agreed with His Son that, “It is finished!” The sinless, perfect life of Jesus was the acceptable, once-for-all sacrifice for our sins. When we receive by faith the gift of His sacrifice...

To truly know the love of God is the greatest thing. The Apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians is that we might be able to grasp how huge His love is for us. God’s love was never more fully expressed than on the cross.

But several questions come to my mind. Do we even begin to grasp the holiness of God? The Israelites had a reverential awe of Him. Do we? Do we realize how serious sin is? Do we understand how huge is the gap between holy God and sinful man...how nothing but the cross could bridge this gap? To grow in our comprehension of this is to grow in our knowledge of God’s love.

Before God sent His Son to our needy world, He did much to prepare His chosen people Israel to receive Him. He gave them His commandments, sent powerful messengers, illustrated dramatically the consequences of sin, and fulfilled all His promises to them. The sacrificial system and the feasts that He gave them meant that much of their lives focused on the seriousness of sin and the need for payment for sin. And yet most...

No, this isn’t about Goldilocks. It’s about the strong protective instincts of Mama Bear, and about ours as her human counterpart. These instincts are natural, God-given, and necessary when your cub is very young. The rub, however, is that it is also necessary to gradually let go and let your cub fend for himself, which is scary in today’s world. It is challenging to decide just when to protect and when to back off.

A safe environment is essential to your young child, especially once he or she becomes mobile. Your pediatrician will probably talk to you about childproofing your home. I suggest that you also talk to your parents about chemicals under the sink and pills within the reach of a young one. Pills, purses, coins and small objects will continue to present a potential hazard for quite a while. Water safety is another serious matter. Never leave your little one in the bathtub alone. Pools and ponds require extreme caution.

Then there is the child that climbs. Thank the Lord if yours doesn’t....

God’s Word warns us strongly about the troubles our tongues can cause. James chapter 2 tells us that our tongues, though small, can kindle a great forest fire. I’m not sure that my words have ever caused a huge conflagration, but I have certainly wanted to call some of them back. As the poet Carl Sandburg wrote, “When you let proud words go, it is not easy to call them back. They wear long boots, hard boots; they can’t hear you calling—Look out how you use proud words.”

Proud words, lies, slander, angry and malicious words, gossip, filthy words…all can muck up our lives, our relationships, and our testimony as believers.

Our words reveal our hearts, and our hearts are of primary concern to God. He knows that when our hearts are full of wrong thoughts, wrong words and acts will soon follow suit. If we are struggling with our words, what is in our hearts that needs fixing? As God’s children, we must put off anger, rage, malice, and filthy language. We can then put on compassion, kindness, humility,...