One of the things that rests on me as the spiritual leader of my home, and father to my children, is the discipleship of my children. It is not the responsibility of the church, family friends, grandparents, peers, or anyone else to train up my child. It’s on me. And it’s something I take pretty seriously.

As a family we make sure that we eat breakfast together. Of course, with a seven year old and a four year old this is pretty easy. As we finish breakfast we read a passage or chapter from a book of the Bible. Then, starting with Julie and ending with me, each of us pray about the day.

And as a family we finish the day when the kids go to bed with me praying for the family and then me reading another passage or chapter from a book in the Bible.

Over the last few days we’ve been reading the Gospel of John, both in the morning and at bedtime. One of the things we’ve asked the kids to listen for is the things that Jesus says about himself. There’s no better way to understand Jesus than by understanding how he viewed himself. So far the kids have seen that Jesus refers to himself as:

• water
• bread
• light
• the good shepherd

By simply showing the kids these four things and talking through them our kids have a better understanding of the character of Jesus. Not complicated, not time consuming, but well worth it.

I’m not much for New Year’s Resolutions. To me, they are thinly veiled goals, which the average person isn’t good at setting and keeping anyway. I’m not a big goal setter, so it only makes sense that I wouldn’t be a resolution setter.

I read yesterday where John Stickley, in writing about the same topic, quoted the Apostle Paul who said,

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

That’s quite a resolution. But for the not-yet follower of Christ this type of resolution probably carries little weight. Even for the follower of Christ it needs to be unpacked a little.

I thought I would take a shot at unpacking it by talking about affection. Typically, our affections are stirred toward someone or something. It’s a general fondness or liking of someone (something). And when we have an affection towards someone (something) we are usually influenced by that person (thing). I’ve started thinking about what stirs my affections for Christ. This is not new, others have written about it before, but it’s a new way of thinking for me. So, what are those things in my life that stir my affections for Christ…those things that put my focus where it should be and result in a natural worship of God and an increased involvement in His mission. Here’s a short list of things that stir my affection for Christ. It’s not exhaustive, will probably change, and is no particular order:

• spending time with Julie
• the laughter of my children
• the book of Romans (the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Rome)
• anything by John Piper (sermons, books, podcasts)
• a good conversation with close friends
• most songs by U2

My encouragement to you in this new year…find those things that stir your affections for Christ and focus on them. Don’t resolve to be a “good” person or a “better” person. One, what is a “good” person anyway, and two, you won’t succeed. Instead, allow your affections for Christ to be stirred and you will be better for it.

Cheers.

Advent is upon us. We’ve got some ideas of how we’re going to celebrate with the kids. I thought this video would be a good kick-off for us adults.

[Worship Fully] [Spend Less] [Give More] [Love All]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU[/youtube]

Cheers to Amanda for initially pointing this out.

This short article resonates with me. It’s written by a guy called Jeff, one of the founders of Soma church in Tacoma. This is what we should strive for in our churches today.

Jeff’s Article
Soma Church

Cheers.

My friend, Mentanna, has started a new series on her blog entitled an invitation to the table. I like where she’s going with this. It’s worth a read.

Here are direct links to the first 2 posts.

http://mentanna.blogspot.com/2008/05/invitation-to-table-part-one.html
http://mentanna.blogspot.com/2008/05/invitation-to-table-part-two.html

Cheers.