Partners in Parenting

 “Enjoying Someone Else’s Success!”

As some of you may know about me, I have a passion for the outdoors – and deer hunting in particular.  Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to spend a day in the woods with a very close friend, his college-age son, and a foreign exchange student from China assigned to his son.  We had a great day together watching the snow fall, sun rise, animals, etc…..  In the end, my friend and his son were both successful in harvesting a deer.  I, on the other hand, missed when the opportunity presented itself.  They experienced success.  I experienced failure.  I found myself sharing in their joy due to their success and my own failure didn’t bother me.  At the end of the day, I contemplated how that was a pretty odd feeling for me.  I’m usually pretty upset with myself when I fail at something in life.  I fail all the time at things, and I don’t like it.  I also found it odd that I would be so excited about someone else’s success at the very same time that I had failed.  I’m very thankful my heart was filled with joy and not envy.  Paul expressed his joy for the believers in Ephesus even though he was enduring great persecution for his faith – Ephesians 1:15, 16  “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”  The events of this past weekend reminded me to find joy in the success of others despite what is happening in my life.  Paul did it for the early Christians, and I think Christians today can do that for each other.

 

Family Discussion Points!

Share some personal failures with each other.  Now share some personal successes with each other. 

Consider this – as you “fail” at something, is it OK with you that others “succeed?”  Why or why not?

Paul is excited about the faith of the Christians in Ephesus.  What do we tend to get excited about in our own lives?

Partners in Parenting

"Enjoying Someone Else’s Success!”


s some of you may know about me, I have a passion for the outdoors – and deer hunting in particular. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I

was able to spend a day in the woods with a very close friend, his college-age son, and a foreign exchange student from China assigned to his

son. We had a great day together watching the snow fall, sun rise, animals, etc….. In the end, my friend and his son were both successful in

harvesting a deer. I, on the other hand, missed when the opportunity presented itself. They experienced success. I experienced failure. I

found myself sharing in their joy due to their success and my own failure didn’t bother me. At the end of the day, I contemplated how that

was a pretty odd feeling for me. I’m usually pretty upset with myself when I fail at something in life. I fail all the time at things, and I don’t

like it. I also found it odd that I would be so excited about someone else’s success at the very same time that I had failed. I’m very thankful

my heart was filled with joy and not envy. Paul expressed his joy for the believers in Ephesus even though he was enduring great persecution

for his faith –

Ephesians 1:15, 16 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I

have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

The events of this past weekend reminded me to find joy in the

success of others despite what is happening in my life. Paul did it for the early Christians, and I think Christians today can do that for each

other.

Family Discussion Points!

Share some personal failures with each other. Now share some personal successes with each other.

Consider this – as you “fail” at something, is it OK with you that others “succeed?” Why or why not?

Paul is excited about the faith of the Christians in Ephesus. What do we tend to get excited about in our own lives?

Partners in Parenting

“Enjoying Someone Else’s Success!”

As some of you may know about me, I have a passion for the outdoors – and deer hunting in particular. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I

was able to spend a day in the woods with a very close friend, his college-age son, and a foreign exchange student from China assigned to his

son. We had a great day together watching the snow fall, sun rise, animals, etc….. In the end, my friend and his son were both successful in

harvesting a deer. I, on the other hand, missed when the opportunity presented itself. They experienced success. I experienced failure. I

found myself sharing in their joy due to their success and my own failure didn’t bother me. At the end of the day, I contemplated how that

was a pretty odd feeling for me. I’m usually pretty upset with myself when I fail at something in life. I fail all the time at things, and I don’t

like it. I also found it odd that I would be so excited about someone else’s success at the very same time that I had failed. I’m very thankful

my heart was filled with joy and not envy. Paul expressed his joy for the believers in Ephesus even though he was enduring great persecution

for his faith –

Ephesians 1:15, 16 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I

have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

The events of this past weekend reminded me to find joy in the

success of others despite what is happening in my life. Paul did it for the early Christians, and I think Christians today can do that for each

other.

Family Discussion Points!

Share some personal failures with each other. Now share some personal successes with each other.

Consider this – as you “fail” at something, is it OK with you that others “succeed?” Why or why not?

Paul is excited about the faith of the Christians in Ephesus. What do we tend to get excited about in our own lives?

Partners in Parenting

Partners in Parenting

"Enjoying Someone Else’s Success!”

As some of you may know about me, I have a passion for the outdoors – and deer hunting in particular. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to spend a day in the woods with a very close friend, his college-age son, and a foreign exchange student from China assigned to his

son. We had a great day together watching the snow fall, sun rise, animals, etc….. In the end, my friend and his son were both successful in

harvesting a deer. I, on the other hand, missed when the opportunity presented itself. They experienced success. I experienced failure. I

found myself sharing in their joy due to their success and my own failure didn’t bother me. At the end of the day, I contemplated how that

was a pretty odd feeling for me. I’m usually pretty upset with myself when I fail at something in life. I fail all the time at things, and I don’t

like it. I also found it odd that I would be so excited about someone else’s success at the very same time that I had failed. I’m very thankful

my heart was filled with joy and not envy. Paul expressed his joy for the believers in Ephesus even though he was enduring great persecution

for his faith –

Ephesians 1:15, 16 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

The events of this past weekend reminded me to find joy in the

success of others despite what is happening in my life. Paul did it for the early Christians, and I think Christians today can do that for each

other.

Family Discussion Points!

Share some personal failures with each other. Now share some personal successes with each other.

Consider this – as you “fail” at something, is it OK with you that others “succeed?” Why or why not?

Paul is excited about the faith of the Christians in Ephesus. What do we tend to get excited about in our own lives?

Partners in Parenting

Partners in Parenting

"Enjoying Someone Else’s Success!”

As some of you may know about me, I have a passion for the outdoors – and deer hunting in particular. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I

was able to spend a day in the woods with a very close friend, his college-age son, and a foreign exchange student from China assigned to his

son. We had a great day together watching the snow fall, sun rise, animals, etc….. In the end, my friend and his son were both successful in

harvesting a deer. I, on the other hand, missed when the opportunity presented itself. They experienced success. I experienced failure. I

found myself sharing in their joy due to their success and my own failure didn’t bother me. At the end of the day, I contemplated how that

was a pretty odd feeling for me. I’m usually pretty upset with myself when I fail at something in life. I fail all the time at things, and I don’t

like it. I also found it odd that I would be so excited about someone else’s success at the very same time that I had failed. I’m very thankful

my heart was filled with joy and not envy. Paul expressed his joy for the believers in Ephesus even though he was enduring great persecution

for his faith –

Ephesians 1:15, 16 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I

have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”

The events of this past weekend reminded me to find joy in the

success of others despite what is happening in my life. Paul did it for the early Christians, and I think Christians today can do that for each

other.

Family Discussion Points!

Share some personal failures with each other. Now share some personal successes with each other.

Consider this – as you “fail” at something, is it OK with you that others “succeed?” Why or why not?

Paul is excited about the faith of the Christians in Ephesus. What do we tend to get excited about in our own lives?

Partners in Parenting

“Good Days and Bad Days!”

“So, how was your day?”  These are pretty common words shared amongst family members.  Parents ask their kids the question referring to school.  Spouses ask each other the question referring to each other’s work day.  Our sincere hope for our family members is that they have indeed had a good day and not a bad day.  Ideally, everyone would respond to that question with a glowing response filled with wonderful details about the abundance of blessings showered upon them by amazing people throughout the entire experience of their day…YEAH RIGHT!  (sarcasm intended)  Notice I started that sentence with the word “ideally.”  We don’t live in an ideal world.  Instead, we live in a sinful world.  Kids don’t go to school with 100% “ideal” classmates.  Adults do not work with “ideal” coworkers.  None of us live next to 100% “ideal” neighbors.  In fact, none of us are “ideal” to everyone else, and I guess now…I’m just wondering what “ideal” even means.

I want my kids to have good days, but I also know that God’s Word is truth, and some days will not be the fantastic experience we all hoped for.  Matthew 6:34b  Jesus says, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  I think we would be wise to celebrate and acknowledge all the good days, but also all the good things in each day.  Whether the day as a whole was good or bad, there are good things to take from that day.  Taking good things from the day instead of dwelling on the bad things can be the perspective that actually makes the day a good day!!  Celebrate it!

Family Discussion Points!

Discuss the ideal friend, parent, child, neighbor, etc. – tough to do!!

Talk about the good things from the day – ONLY the good things.  Nothing bad.  That’s hard to do, isn’t it?

Celebrate and thank God for all the good parts of each day on a daily basis even if it is just thinking about them during your drive time.

Partners in Parenting

“Cool Chills but Cold Bites!”

Chills = relaxed and enjoyable

Bites = painfully unpleasant

These definitions are ones I made up for the purpose of this writing!

The cool autumn air makes me feel rather “chills” inside.  I love the cool weather: jeans, sweatshirts, football, leaves, etc. are great, but now we are into November.  The cold this past weekend was the kind of cold that “bites.”  The air was moist with the wind blowing out of the north.  I was not outside very long when the cold became more than uncomfortable.  The cold penetrated all the way to my bones, and I thought, “Wow, this cold really bites all the way through me.”

As I endured the cold, I was reminded of how my words can be “chills” or “bites” to others.  Most times, I don’t desire to hurt anyone, but it can happen.  I don’t want words to be unpleasant, but sometimes they are.  I especially need to be aware of this as a parent.  James 1:19 “My dear brothers, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…”

Family Discussion Points!

Talk about a time you hurt someone with your words without intending to do so.

What kind of words do you remember most easily:  words that chill or words that bite?

Why are we to be slow to speak?  What’s the benefit?