What a Week!

You may have noticed that I did not post much this week. Well, it’s been one of those weeks for me. It began Sunday when I had to read a letter to the congregation from one of our members informing them that Sunday was her last day with us because she and her husband are getting divorced. She was one of the first converts the Lord brought to the church after I arrived. I had the privilege of baptizing her. We love the family dearly and it hurts so much to see a family with so much potential be torn apart like this.

On Wednesday Chris and I went to Grand Junction (about 2 ½ hours away) because Chris had major oral surgery first thing Thursday morning. She is recovering well at home now but it was a very stressful couple of days.

Today (Friday) I was back in the church office trying to wrap up my sermon prep after being out of the office for two days. When I took a stretch break around 3 p.m. I noticed a humid smell coming from the church basement where our fellowship hall is. As I got down the stairs I was greeted with the sight of a flood! There was about an inch of water all over the fellowship hall floor, into the nursery and storage room where all the seasonal decorations are kept. Apparently the hose bib from outside leaked through the basement wall.

So for two and a half hours this afternoon instead of finishing up my sermon slides I was bent over a shop vac, along with four or five other guys and their shop vacs, cleaning up the mess.

Tomorrow morning, I wrap up the week helping our dear friend who is getting divorced move to Montrose, about an hour and fifteen minutes away. I so dislike good byes, especially under these circumstances.

All this is happening the week we are trying to get the new Pastor’s House Father-Child Projects DVD finished up and sent off to the duplicator so it will be ready in time for Father’s Day. I’ll be glad when this week is over!

Why am I telling you this on a blog that is supposed to be uplifting and encouraging? Partially to let those of you who don’t know me very well see that I am human, I don’t live a perfect life, and I really am just like you. I’m also sharing this because it is very therapeutic.

I wish I could say that through it all I have remain focused on the important things in life, I haven’t let the stress get me down, and I have been a fine example to my wife and children. It would be great to be able to say that our home life is stronger because of a week like this.

The truth is, this week has flat worn me out physically and emotionally. When I get like this it typically shows in my short temper with my family. Do you react like that when life’s pressures build up on you? Does the only outlet seem to be venting your frustration on your children and spouse, those whom you love the most?

For me, that is a major warning sign that I am about to break. It’s a sign that I’ve been carrying the burden by myself instead of bringing it to the Lord, and talking openly about it with my family. It’s also a sign that I need to take a breath, get away with the family and relax.

Do you know your warning signs? What is it that signals you it’s time to back away from the pressure and take a day off? I encourage you to be conscience of your feelings and attitudes when you are getting stressed out and how you are interacting with those most dear to you. Heed the warning signs and get away before the pressure does you and your family in. The Lord doesn’t want us carrying our burdens alone. He wants us to bring our burdens to Him and cast them upon Him to carry for us. I encourage you to take Him up on His offer. I know I am.

Serving Christ and His Family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence

P.S. If you haven’t already subscirbed to our free e-newsletter on family related issues you can do so at www.PastorsHouse.com/newsletter.htm. A new edition will be coming out May 31st, Lord willing.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a time for us to honor and remember those who have given their life in the service and protection of our country. Most notably are those who have fought and died in the military. They gave their life so that we can enjoy the freedoms that make this country the best country in the world in which to live.

I received the following in an email from my uncle Gerard Gray that I thought captured the heart of Memorial Day and pays tribute to all veterans. The author is unknown.

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us
freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us
freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us
freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us
freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us
the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has given us
the right to vote.

God bless the veterans who have served our country well. Thank you!

Let us teach our children to show honor and respect to those in the military, especially those who have given their all for us.

Jesus said in John 15:12-14, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

My son, Zack put together a Memorial Day tribute video using a song that I sing. You can view the video by clicking here: View the Video

May God bless you this Memorial Day weekend, and may God continue to bless America!

Pastor Ken

Parenting – A Season of Life

Memorial Day weekend is upon us and that means that summer is here! I know, according to the calendar summer doesn’t officially begin until June 21^st, but in the United States summer unofficially begins with the Memorial Day weekend and ends with the Labor Day weekend.

Have you planned out your summer yet? Different people approach summer differently, depending on your personality. Some people will try to get the most out of every moment of summer so they plan every day of summer so that no time is wasted. Others take a more relaxed approach, planning out a couple weeks for the summer vacation but letting the rest of the time figure itself out. Others approach summer like they approach the rest of life. They fly by the seat of their pants doing whatever seems right at the time, no plans and no idea what tomorrow holds.

Summer goes by so quickly and I hope you and your family make the most of it, whatever approach you may take. The different ways we handle our summer season each year reminds me of the different ways we handle the ‘season’ of parenting.

Like summer, our children are with us for a short, finite amount of time. For approximately 18 years they will be in our care and under our direct influence. Some will be blessed with more time, but eventually our children will be out of our home and raising families of their own. Once they leave home we will never again be able to influence them, mold them, shape them, or teach them the way we can during this ‘season of parenting.’

Like summer, that time flies by all too quickly. God leaves it up to us to decide how we will make the most of this precious time with our children. Homeschool parents are more aware of this than most parents, but we still need reminders now and then, to make the most of this time of our lives.

So, as summer begins let me encourage you – mom and dad – to commit to putting time with your children on the top of your priority list, second only to time with your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Dads, schedule family time each week. Take time out with your wife, too. Mom, especially you homeschool moms, you, too, need to spend non-school time out with your children, one-on-one. Let them spend time with you as mom, the mom, not just mom, the teacher.

And ladies, don’t forget that special man who is working hard so that you can stay home with the children, the way God intended. Because when this ‘season of parenting’ has passed, as it will before you know it, it will be just the two of you…spoiling your grandchildren together!

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken

www.PastorsHouse.com

The Family Under Attack

The recent ruling by the California Supreme Court to strike down Prop 22, the marriage protection act passed by over 61% of the voters in 2000, underscores the fact that we are at war. The battle lines have long been drawn. The frontlines are a battle over who gets to define the terms “family” and “marriage.”

Words and definitions are powerful. He who defines the words used by a culture controls the culture. Words matter and the enemy and his minions are doing everything they can to twist God’s original design, words, and definitions. But words are not their ultimate goal. Words are the tools they will use to complete their ultimate goal – the destruction of the family itself.

This battle for the life of the family the way God created and defines it has been raging since at least the 50s and 60s. The war shows no signs of letting up.

The enemy has inflicted heavy casualties to Christians fighting to maintain godly families. Consider the following statistics:

• Approximately 50% of all marriages in the church are experiencing divorce.
• 69-94% of Christian teens are leaving the faith after they graduate from high school.
• Less than 10% of churchgoing families read the Bible together, pray together or worship together in the home.

Prior to the 50s and 60s the culture worked with the family and helped parents in their efforts to raise God-loving, law-abiding, productive members of society. But in the 50s and 60s all that changed. Today, we find ourselves fighting society at every turn.

Schools, sporting groups, and social clubs no longer honor traditional church and family schedules. It used to be that no one would dare schedule non-church events on Sunday or even Wednesday nights because no one would show up. They would all be at church.

Today Sunday sporting events are commonplace. Wednesday nights are no longer considered “church night.” Instead, it is just another night in which society sends the family spread out hither and yon shuttling children from one event to another.

The old wartime strategy of “divide and conquer” has surely been an effective one for the enemy. We continue to fall prey to it week after week.

What can we do to hold our family together in a world that is trying to tear it apart? Here are some suggestions:

1. Jealously guard your family’s time. Limit the number of activities family members participate in by themselves. Instead, do things together as a family. Where and with whom a child’s spends their time, there their heart will be also.

2. Cut back on the amount of TV you watch, or better yet, do away with TV watching all together. TV watching wastes a minimum of two to three hours a day, usually the prime family time when dad is home. TV also is a key tool of the enemy to indoctrinate and brainwash family members into his way of thinking and his values.

Instead of watching TV, use this time for family games, family worship, hiking, picnics, field trips or other family-building activities. If you must watch TV, watch videos that edify the family educationally or spiritually. Look for videos that help bring the family together. Discuss the lessons being taught in anything you watch.

3. Cut back on internet use. The internet has become an even bigger time killer than TV. While the internet has brought many helpful advances into our home, with it has also entered harmful elements too numerous to mention. With the latest social networks children are being drawn away from the family and into a cyber-network family substitute.

As parents, because with their time goes their heart, restrict anything that is taking their heart away from yours.

We are in a war. Be aware of who or what is drawing your child’s time away from the family. Fight the good fight; do all you can to protect your family. We are here to help you any way we can.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken

Exciting News!

I had planned on posting yesterday but got busy putting together a sneak preview of our upcoming release of The Pastor’s House Father-Child Projects DVD. I’m so excited about this project and how it is all coming together. We finished principle photography and are now in post production. We hope to release the DVD soon. This is going to make a great Father’s Day gift!

The whole idea behind this series of Pastor’s House episodes is to help fathers build lasting relationships with their children. We dads have such limited time to spend with our children that we need to be deliberate and make the most of the short amount of time we get to spend with them.

The Pastor’s House Father-Child Projects series helps families build relationships and fond memories by building projects together. Each Father-Child Projects episode will contain several easy to build projects or great activities the whole family can participate in. We’ve designed the projects so they can be built using common tools that most dads have in their garage or work shop.

We are so excited about this first episode and can’t wait for you to see it. If you would like to see the sneak preview go to www.PastorsHouse.com/DVDPreview.htm and follow the instructions.

Dads, we need to work together and help each other with ideas of how to make the most of this time in our children’s life. We have a tough job and it is hard to balance our work life, our home life, and our ministry life. We are here to help you in any way we can. The Pastor’s House Father-Child Projects is just one example of the resources we provide to help Christian parents, and especially fathers, do the best job you possibly can in raising up the next generation for Christ.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken Lawrence
www.PastorsHouse.com
www.FamiliesForChrist.org

Another Year Older

Well, today’s my birthday so I’m taking the day off of blogging. I’ll post a new blog tomorrow.

Have a great day.

Pastor Ken

Time Waits for No Man

Isn’t it interesting that the same time period can seem like a long time to some people and like a short time to someone else? Time is funny that way. A fixed amount of time can seem long or short depending on what you are doing. If you are waiting on hold or in a line at the bank, a minute can seem like an hour. But if you have only a minute to clean up the house before guests arrive, a minute is nothing. I find it interesting how people think nothing of spending two or three hours watching a movie or sporting event on TV and can do so night after night and think nothing of it. Yet those same people find it too time consuming to spend two hours with the Lord on Sunday morning. Our perspective of time is indeed an interesting thing.

But no matter how we view time the fact is that time is always running at a fixed rate and there is nothing we can do to slow it down or speed it up. We are each given the same 24 hours every day. We cannot save it up to use at a later date. We cannot borrow tomorrow’s time to use today. We have only 24 hours each day, no more and no less. It is what we do with those 24 hours that makes the difference in our lives. We need to make the most of this precious, limited resource.

Keep in mind that activity is not necessarily the same thing as accomplishment. Many times we run around looking busy but accomplish very little. In Ephesians 5:15-17 Paul gives some good advice on time management. He writes, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Here Paul is telling us to: 15: Walk circumspectly. This means we are to analyze our lifestyle. We are to be cautious and be aware of what we are doing. 16: Redeem the time. We are to be time conscience. We are to utilize the present wisely. How do we do this? 17: Understand what the will of the Lord is. We are to prioritize what is important.

What is most important to the Lord oftentimes is not where we spend our time. If you only had $24 to your name you would be very careful how you spent it, wouldn’t you? You would not waste a single penny. Well, we only have 24 hours each day of our life, yet how many of us waste minutes and hours every day on unimportant things? Focus on the important things and you’ll be amazed at how much more you will accomplish with your time.

As Christian parents we are well aware that our time with our children is limited. We need to make the most of every moment because before we know it our children will not be children anymore. They will be grown and gone and we will sit back and ask, “Where did the time go?” Capture the moments, put first things first, and make every second count.

Serving Christ and His family,

Pastor Ken

A Message for High School Graduates

Last week I had the pleasure of being the speaker for the Norwood High School Baccalaureate service at our church. Here is the gist of what I told them that night.

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle. When you start putting together a puzzle you begin by putting together the border pieces, the ones with the straight edges. These pieces make a framework inside of which all the other pieces fit.

As you start your journey of life you will begin by putting together the border, your belief system. Once you have defined your belief system the rest of the pieces of your life will be assembled within the framework of that boarder.

I then shared with them four verses for them to use as the framework within which to build their life.

The first verse of the framework is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The key to this verse is to realize that God loves you. There will be times in your life when you feel like all have abandoned you, like nobody loves you. It is important at those times to remember that God loves you. He loves you so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to die for you so that God could have an eternal relationship with you.

The second verse of our framework of life is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

This verse says to trust the Lord with ALL your heart, not just a piece of it. In ALL your ways acknowledge Him. Too often people compartmentalize their life. They have their spiritual experience with God on Sunday and don’t think of Him again for the rest of the week. The key to success in life is to realize that our spiritual life, our relationship with God, affects all areas of our life. We are to acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will direct our path in all areas of our life.

The third verse of our framework of life is 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

This is important because it tells us that we can withstand the temptations this world throws at us. Through out your high school career you may have been presented with temptations that you thought you could not resist. The temptations do not stop when you graduate. In fact, once you get out on your own and there’s no accountability to anyone but yourself, you will find there are a lot more temptations.

But this verse tells us that we do not have to give into them. God loves us, and if we trust in Him and do not lean on our own understanding we will see that we can resist the temptations of the world. Look for the way of escape, it will be there. In order to resist the temptation you’ve got to want to resist. The way of escape will be there, you need to look for it and take it.

Finally, the forth verse for the framework of life is Matthew 16:26-27. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”

It has been said the only things certain in life are death and taxes. There is truth in that statement. Death will come to us all. True success in this life is not measured by how much of this world’s wealth you have accumulated. True success in life, as defined by the creator of life itself, is measured by where you will spend eternity.

Let me tell you from personal experience. The world lies. When you get to the top of the world’s mountain of success you find it is empty. It is like biting into a chocolate Easter bunny. You think it is going to be solid chocolate but when you bite into it you find it is hollow. True happiness is nowhere in it.

True success, true happiness, true joy in life comes from finding your purpose in life in God’s system for success and fulfilling your God given potential within His framework, not the world’s framework.

As a high school graduate, society sees you as an adult now. You must now decide what system of success you are going to follow. You will follow someone’s system as you try to find success in your life. The question is, whose system are your going to follow? Are you going to follow the creator’s system or some cheap imitation from the created?

The choice is now yours and yours alone. May God guide you to make the right decision.

Pastor Ken
www.PastorsHouse.com

This is the day that the Lord has made

They tell us here in the Colorado Rockies that if we don’t like the weather wait an hour and it will change. Yesterday we had a good day working outside preparing an area for a vegetable garden. It was a bit windy but still pretty nice. As the day went on the clouds started blowing in and the wind got cooler. The clouds were dark most of the evening.

After I put the boys to bed I went over to the main building where my office is to do some work. I was only there about an hour. When I stepped outside to go back over to the house I was surprised to find that it was raining with a bit of snow mixed in. I went in the house and told Chris. I gathered whatever it was I needed from the house and headed back to the main building. By this time it was snowing. There was no rain in it at all. The snow was coming down pretty well.

This morning we awoke to a beautiful layer of snow. We received about two or three inches of snow and it is still coming down. It’s May 13th, the middle of spring. We’re supposed to be planting gardens, going hiking and fishing not admiring the new fallen snow.

We could get upset at this strange weather. We could let the snow ruin our day and put us in a foul mood all day. Or we can choose to accept the weather as something that we cannot change and appreciate the beauty of it, the uniqueness of a May snow fall.

I guess age has mellowed me out. With the passing of years I have learn to take life as it comes and not let the little things or things I can’t control upset me. I have learned to say as the Psalmist, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

God sent us a beautiful reminder this morning that He is in control. He sends the sunshine, the rain, and the snow as He sees fit. In an area that is just coming out of a long drought He knows how much moisture we need. Praise be to God for His provision. I chose to see a May snow fall as a blessing, not a curse.

We rototilled the garden just in time. Now this moisture that God has provided will soak into the freshly tilled soil where it will do our plants the most good.

The lesson in this for your family is to enjoy every moment that God has given you. Some moments will be filled with sunshine and warmth. Others will have rain and snow, even when you don’t expect it. But in all moments, make the most of it, find the blessing in living for the Lord, in whatever situation you may find yourself in. Into each life some rain (or snow) must fall. But we have the power to choose how we let it affect us.

Be blessed and thank the Lord always!

Pastor Ken

Mother’s Day Traditions

The local grocery store here in Norwood offered a free service today that my boys and I took advantage of. They give the young children of the community a little cake and let them decorate it for their mother for Mother’s Day. They provide the cake, icing and sprinkles and let the kids do the decorating.

This is only our second Mother’s Day here in Norwood so I had forgotten about this wonderful local tradition. Thankfully, I was talking to one of the men from church this morning and he reminded me.

When I told the boys about it they were very excited. So after breakfast, the three of us took a trip into town so the boys could each decorate a cake for Chris. Robert, our three year old, needed a little help with the frosting, so I got to participate a little with that. Thomas, age 6, did his all by himself.

When they were done, they were both very proud of the job they had done and they could not wait to come home and give mommy her cakes. The store also provided a carnation, a plastic box to put the cake in, and a little card for the children to fill out. What a great tradition this store has created for the families of the community of Norwood.

This is one of those simple but lasting memories our children will have from their childhood. Parents, it really does not take much to make lasting family memories. This store does it with a little 5″ cake, a little bit of icing and some sprinkles. The whole process took us maybe 15 minutes to complete. But to our boys, it was an exciting event. It gave them the opportunity to show their mommy how much they love and appreciate her. You should have seen their faces when we walked through the door and they shouted, “surprise!” I know tomorrow is Mother’s Day, but they could not wait to give mommy the cakes they made for her.

Look for opportunities like this to make family memories. If no one is creating events in your community that you can take advantage of, make your own family traditions. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or long, drawn out.

I’d like to hear about some of your family traditions. How about sharing some things that you have done with your family, or things you remember from your childhood that we might be able to do with our family today. Just post your ideas as comments to this blog post. Let’s help each other make family traditions a part of our family’s life.

Pastor Ken