Here is a must read from one of my friends, Jordan Stinziano, blogs. Check it out.

http://www.jordanstinziano.com/Site/The_Rant/Entries/2009/7/25_Clinging_to_the_Father.html

Friends,

I don’t have to tell you that signing up for this short-term investment could change your life.

If you haven’t joined a small group yet then what are you waiting for? We are saving a seat for you. Continue your spiritual growth by signing up for a Spring Small Group. There is still time to sign up! God is truly reaching down and meeting us on this journey called “life.” I have had the pleasure of hearing testimonies about how God is moving through our small groups. Take a moment and read some of the things people are saying about our small groups:

“I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to listen and offer words of wisdom and encouragement. I appreciate the guidance you provided. Thank you for helping me stay centered upon our amazing God! I am so grateful that you invited John and I to join this small group. It has been a blessing to us and has helped us connect with others in the church (isn’t that the great thing about small groups!!).”

“I must say…tonight’s meeting was my first “study” & it wasn’t at all what I expected. It was much better than I anticipated! I look forward to next week’s meeting already. Thank you again for picking me up & giving me a ride. I hope you have a relaxing evening & I look forward to Thursday night’s meeting.”

“Hi! This could not wait until our next small group meeting! We prayed for a lady named Ellen who was given just a few weeks to live because her cancer had returned and it was deemed inoperable…this afternoon, around 4pm, I received a call…there was no evidence of cancer! She knew our group was praying for her last evening and she woke up last night at 1am thinking she was in heaven for the first time for she was not in pain. She has had pancreatitis for some time as well and her pain could not be managed. This morning she remarked that she felt terrific! Thank you all for praying! Wow! Go-God! Makes me want to pray some more!”

As you can see God has moved in and through our small groups. I don’t have to tell you that signing up for this short-term investment could change your life. You will notice that in the spring we have a variety of topics to choose from. You can choose a group based on the location, day, and time that fits your schedule… and learn something new about a topic that interests you.

Spring Small Groups kick-off the week of February 7!

It’s easy to get connected to a great Small Group today:

1. Go to www.crosspointlive.com and click the small group tab at the top of the page. Then click the sign up button.
2. Sign up for the Small Group that fits your schedule, covers a topic that interests you, and is the type of group you are looking for (general, men’s, women’s, couples, etc.).
4. Click the “Join the group”
3. Have a blast attending your Small Group this spring!

*You can also sign up for a Small Group at any Crosspoint Sunday service.

Be sure to let me know if you have any questions or if I can serve you in any way. I hope you decide to get connected in a Small Group this spring!

See you on Sunday!

Pastor Brad

Society tells us that the family is being shattered and ripped apart. In the midst of the family decline I thought I would post 5 qualities that, if practiced,  will help our families grow stronger in the midst of great turmoil. There is reason to place hope back in the family if these 5 qualities are practiced.

Professor Nick Stinnett created an insightful study some years ago. Many different kinds of questions were asked to families from many backgrounds, cultures, and countries. His research represented a wide range of the families of humanity. What was his goal? He wanted to discover what makes a family strong.

Dr. Stinnett writes of his findings:

All together, we studied 3,000 families and collected a lot of information. But when we analyzed it all, we found six main qualities in strong families. Strong families:

•    are committed to the family,
•    spend time together,
•    have good family communication,
•    express appreciation to each other,
•    gave a spiritual commitment, and are able to solve problems in a crisis.¹

Take a moment and think about your family. Have you lost hope? Is your family to busy? Are you practicing these 5 qualities daily? When these qualities are put into practice the family will grow stronger. Maybe implementing these qualities, with the help of God, could even save your family from divorce. I challenge you to sit down with your spouse tonight and walk through these 5 qualities. It is time to make some changes. Do it today.

I have been trying to show Gracie-Beth that she is to be treasured and valued by all. The world we live in can often look at a woman as an object to be exploited. Little girls are taught what to wear to attract attention, to find their value in popularity and clothes, and to use the correct language. Women are devalued, called to compromise integrity, and then raped of their innocents. The sad part is that we, as parents, have or are allowing this to happen. We shove them into the latest trends of fashion, TV, or activity without a second thought. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying to shield our children from everything, but these things should never replace the practical lessons a parent can teach his/her child. So we need to carefully ask ourselves why we have our children in a certain activity, dressing a certain way, or encouraging them to watch certain TV shows or movies. We, as parents, have the blessing of building our children up through “teaching moments” that will help spurn them onto not only great things but self confident and valued children/adolescents/young adults/and adults. Allow me the chance to share just one key teaching moment that all parents should have with their daughters.

The other day I wanted to do something special for Gracie-Beth. In the past I have done things like play princess & prince with her (teaching her chivalry), taught her about honesty, and shown her what it means to be defended when picked on. We pray together and she asks for a blessing every night. The other day I picked her up from school and drove her to a flower shop. As soon as I pulled in to the parking lot, she immediately exclaimed, “It’s the castle with flowers in it!”

I looked at her and told her, “Gracie-Beth, Daddy wants to buy you a flower because I love you”.

It was at that moment, with her reaction, that I began to understand just how much my Gracie-Beth felt valued through a flower. The best way I can describe her reaction to even the thought of getting a flower is that everything in her body literally blushed from the inside out. My daughter was aglow. She put her hands over her face and acted shy. So I asked her what color flower she would like, to which of course, she said pink. We walked in and ordered her a pink rose and then mommy a dozen red roses. As we waited, we walked around the flower shop looking at all the beautiful flowers. I noticed the way she held my hand as we walked through the flower shop. It was very different from the way she holds my hand to cross the street. Instead, she grabbed my hand, and then with her other arm, grabbed my entire arm. It was as if she was a splint on my leg. She just wanted to be close to the one that valued her.

Isn’t that the way we are in life? We run towards those we value. As Christians, we should always be in a state of “closeness” with God. However, we find ourselves all too often running toward those things or people that make us temporarily feel good about ourselves. As I looked down at my daughter, I was reminded that I have the continued responsibility to teach her how to find her value in God. The best way for her to see and learn this is through this father demonstrating the value that God has placed upon her.

The roses were ready, so we paid for them and got back into the car. Noticing the importance of the moment, we talked about why Daddy gives Mommy flowers and why she is valued. All day long she showed everyone her rose. I know that I will not be able to shield her from all the cruel things in this world, but for this day, I saw her being loved and valued. Allow me to ask you a question as a parent…are you creating those “teaching moments” for your children? Do it today and it just may change your child’s life.

One of my hopes and dreams as a parent is to see my children fall in love with Jesus. Sabrena and I have never been overbearing with our children telling them they have to accept Jesus into their hearts or they will be in hell, be separated from us, or any other harsh thing parents may say to “get” their children to accept Jesus. Instead, we have just tried to model His love, not always perfect, and pass on that passion we have for Him. Jeremiah has been asking us a lot of questions about Jesus over the last 7 months. He has always said that he was not ready to ask Jesus into his heart. I wanted him to know that our love for him is not dependent upon whether he accepts Jesus or not.

The other night I was over at a good friend’s house. I received a phone call from Sabrena. Jeremiah had come out of his room and said he was ready to ask Jesus into his heart. Sabrena was blown away since this was so unexpected. I asked her what she said to him. She asked him why. He recalled all the important events and even got teary eyed when describing the cross, but joyful when describing the resurrection.  There was one catch. Jeremiah told her that he wanted to wait until daddy got home. So I hung up the phone and booked it home. What does a parent say to make sure their child understands? How does the parent know when the timing and heart of a child is right?

When I arrived home I got another brief account from Sabrena and then headed to his room. He still wanted to ask Jesus into his heart, so we walked out to the kitchen table. Sabrena, Gracie Beth, Jeremiah, Mojo (our mastiff), and myself were there ready to listen. I opened the Bible to John 3:16. The key to really knowing if a child is ready is to ask a lot of open-ended questions and to have the child explain it. I read him John 3:16 and ask him what each line meant. With great surprise and joy he was able to explain the verse (talked about sin and after the resurrection, he even went on to tell me there would be a new heaven and earth, lol). I sat there overwhelmed with joy and shocked that he could understand it so clearly as a child. I looked at Sabrena, who had tears streaming down her face, and said, “I think he is ready.”

Turning back to him I asked if He really wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. It was his choice. He said yes with this huge smile. He then crawled up on my lap and prayed, asking Jesus into his heart. When he said amen he gave me a joyful hug and then hugged Sabrena. He was so excited! I understand that his faith will continue to grow from concrete to abstract over time, but the innocence of coming to Jesus as a child was overwhelming. Oh, to have that heart and faith each day I am alive!

Our son did something wonderful the very next day. With great joy he walked up to the first kid he saw at school and told them he asked Jesus into his heart. The boy promptly stared at him and said he was weird…the journey begins.

Brad

The other night Sabrena and I were sitting in our house watching T.V. It was a calm and peaceful night. Our kids were in their rooms for bedtime and were actually quiet, so we were savoring the moment. Then ripping into the quiet, my son bolts from his room holding his Halo action figure. The legs had been viciously ripped off of the Halo figure. He places the action figure in my hands, informing me that it was broken. He then asks if I can fix it. I informed him in a sad voice that I could not fix the figure.  Quickly, he runs into his room and brings me another broken piece of the figure.  Handing it to me, he looks at me with those believing eyes and says, “Now”?
Noticing the teaching moment I ask him the looming question.
“Son, were you playing too hard with this toy?”
Sheepishly, his eyes downcast, he replies, “Yes”.
Immediately, His eyes light up and he presents what he believes is the perfect solution.
“You can just buy a new one!”
As I proceed to tell him that he needs to take care of his toys, and that we do not have the money to buy him a new toy. With this new information, he starts to cry. Not the cry that says, “How dare you not get me a toy?” but the cry that says, “I hurt not having this toy.”
He crawls up in my arms and asks me, “Why don’t you have money”?
I gently explain that we are rich. God has blessed us with a wonderful family, house to rent, and food on our table.  We then talk about him doing chores around the house to earn the money to buy another figure.
Why do I tell you this story? I have felt like my son before. As a matter of fact, there have been many times I have felt this way about my relationship with God. God has blessed me with things before that I have broken or ruined. I ask Him to “fix” it only to have the delayed response, “You must work for it,” instead of the immediate fix. Truth be told, there are some things in life that seem to take an eternity to heal. Knowing my halo is broken and crushed and that I have disappointed my Dad, I crawl up into His lap looking for grace and the reassurance that He loves me. I sit there longing for Him to give me some direction. It is then, at my humble state, that he hugs me and gives me His direction. He reassures me that His love is never ending. He hugs me, kisses my head, and reminds me that I am His child. Finally, he puts me back down with a gentle hand and encourages me to learn from my mistake, to gain wisdom from the experience. All of us need that reminder. Come to Him today, crawl up into His lap, ask for forgiveness, and leave your cares with Him. It is then that you will gain clarity and direction in your life.

-Brad