25 ways men can be servant leaders.

The call to be a servant-leader is tough. No one gets it all right, and certainly no one gets most of it right overnight. It’s a life plan — a way of living you grow into with practice and time. Here are 25 suggestions, men, for being a servant-leader in your home.

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Gospel-centered mothering

Short but helpful article here which shares three areas moms can kind of a do a “quick check” on mothering in between more significant times of evaluation and planning. Gospel-centered mothering certainly involves more than these three things, but not less.

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Weak mothers are good mothers

Christine Hoover writes about her struggle with being a good mother. She concludes,

A good mother is not one who bakes intricate treats, who schools a certain way, who manages her household within an inch of its life, or who has her children in a million wonderful activities. A good mother is one that acknowledges her need for the power of God to train and teach and change the hearts of her children.

The most important thing I can do for my children each day is to trust God and acknowledge my weakness, not rely on myself. He will take my meager offering and turn it into a miracle.

Read how she describes her struggle–one that I’m guessing many mothers reading this post can relate to.

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Counseling wives and mothers who feel like failures

Nicole imagines a conversation that goes like this:

“I feel like such a failure. I’m a horrible mom and a terrible wife. I’m exhausted, depressed, and overwhelmed.”

Then she turns to you and asks:

Sound like a mom you know? How would you counsel this woman? What gospel-centered words would you give her? Maybe you are that mom. As your soul’s counselor, how do you apply the gospel?

I’d encourage ladies to read “Gospel-Centered Counsel for Moms” and learn how to”discern the specific gospel-truth that applies to a particular discouraged mom in her unique situation.”

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Parenting young children

Here are 24 encouragements, with examples and explanations, on parenting young kids, from Pastor Steve McCoy:

1. Believe Kids Are A Blessing
2. Read The Jesus Storybook Bible To Them
3. Pray With Your Kids Concerning Taking Risks
4. Teach *First Time Obedience*
5. Give Rules For Respectful Disagreement
6. Give Rules For Respectful Interruption
7. Give Rules For Being Respectful in Public
8. The Five Minute Rule (Warning)
9. Pre-Event Preparation/Conversation
10. Titles of Respect for Adults (No First Names)
11. Use Timers
12. Sharing Is Not Requested, It’s Essential
13. Boys Treat Girls Differently Than Boys
14. Play Rough & Teach Kids To Get Over It
15. Kids Sit With You In Church
16. Ask Your Kids To Forgive You
17. Kiss Your Spouse In Front Of Them
18. Talking Back To Mom Is Talking Back To My Wife
19. Hugs & Kisses To Friends
20. Disagree In Front Of Your Kids
21. Keep/Give Away
22. Teach Your Kids To Sing
23. Teach Your Kids God Loves Them More Than You
24. Get In The Pool

Read the whole thing for a short explanation of each point.

HT: JT

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Parenting and family: three great resources for really cheap

Instructing a Child’s Heart

Tedd andMargy Tripp

Kindle Price: $1.99

Shepherding a Child’s Hear

Tedd Tripp

Kindle Price: $1.99

Broken-Down House

Paul David Tripp

Kindle Price: $1.99

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3 examples of a dad’s legacy

Beverly continues to be impacted year later by the memory of watching her dad chop down an idol in their backyard.

Barry shares a letter that one father, grand-father, and great-grandfather wrote which he intended to be read at his funeral.  Very moving.

Kathy shares moving memories of her father: a reminder that it is never too late to start changing, men (and ladies too).

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How we might pray for our children

Andy Naselli shares this guest post by J. D. and Kim Crowley

[The Crowleys have six children, and J. D. is a pioneer missionary-linguist in Cambodia. I met J. D. several years ago and served with him for two weeks teaching other men and women.]

Faith

1. Grant them a heart of repentance from sin.
2. Give them faith in Christ from an early age.
3. Fill them with your Holy Spirit, and may they bear the fruit of the Spirit.
4. Lead them to be baptized into your church.
5. Make them members of a strong church with godly elders.
6. Give them spiritual gifts for use in the church, and help them faithfully use them.
7. Lead them always to increase in holiness.
8. Keep them within the orthodox faith of Christ and the apostles.
9. Protect them from false teachers and false teaching.
10. Make them fruitful proclaimers of the gospel, filled with love for all.
11. Make them humbly committed to daily prayer.
12. Give them hunger for daily Bible reading.
13. Fill them with love and forbearance toward others.
14. Help them endure trials with faith and joy.
15. Help them guard their conscience.
16. May their lives be like the sun that rises stronger and stronger until the full of day.

Wisdom

1. Give them hearts that constantly overflow with thankfulness.
2. Make them peacemakers.
3. Give them a vocation/skill/work that provides for their family and is useful to society.
4. Give them a sense of purpose and joy in their life work.
5. Rescue them from the fear of man.
6. Provide for them a good education.
7. Help them apply themselves diligently to their studies and other work.
8. Rescue them from laziness and dishonesty.

Influences and Relationships

1. May they be quick to forgive.
2. Give them godly friends all their lives who will influence them to love God.
3. Give them godly influences from “uncles and aunts” and “substitute parents,” especially as our influence wanes.
4. Don’t let them go through a time of teenage rebellion.
5. Help them remain pure and enter marriage as virgins.
6. May they marry only strong believers.
7. Save, sanctify, and bless their future spouse.
8. Keep divorce away from their lives and their children’s lives for many generations.
9. Give them the gift of children and the grace to raise them up in the faith of Christ.
10. If they are to remain single, make them unusually fruitful for God’s kingdom.
11. Protect them from predators.
12. Protect them from deviant sexual desires.

Physical

1. Heal and protect them from sicknesses and diseases.
2. Protect them from accidents.
3. Give their country peace in their lifetime.

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A sobering reminder for parents of young children

It was the night that Sinclair Ferguson went rogue–according to David Mathis–the Sunday evening when he tossed away his prepared sermon and challenged parents about the importance of speaking the Word of God into the lives of their children.

In the sermon, Ferguson says,  “What kind of instrument are you? I’m thinking particularly this evening about what kind of instrument are you in relationship to young people?”

Mathis continues,

This is an especially sobering warning from the veteran pastor to a young father like myself: “If you hide the Scriptures from your children, it may be better that a millstone be hung around your neck and you be cast into the midst of the sea than that you should ever imagine that you’re behaving like a Christian parent.”

The sermon is well worth the listen for young Christian parents — and everyone else. The preaching is raw and powerful — and Ferguson’s rich Scottish accent is icing on the cake.

You can stream or download the message here.

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Moms, chill out!

Stephen Altrogge:

“Moms, Jesus wants you to chill out about being a mom. You don’t have to make homemade bread to be a faithful mom. You don’t have to sew you children’s clothing to be a faithful mom. You don’t have to coupon, buy all organic produce, keep a journal, scrapbook, plant a garden, or make your own babyfood to be a faithful mom. There’s nothing wrong with these things, but they’re also not in your biblical job description.

Your job description is as follows:

Keep reading, moms!

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