2009-11-12T09:13:04-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com http://www.gospel.com/feeds/topics/parenting http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/your-no-vacancy-sign-5959 2009-11-12T09:13:04-05:00 Don't make your child, your husband or your wife feel shut out of your life by your invisible but very real "no vacancy" sign. Just always have room for them even if it means sacrifice. People who know they're loved and important and listened to don't have to start looking somewhere else for what you didn't give them - somewhere that could scar their life and break your heart. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/waiting-for-your-father-5951 2009-11-02T09:23:19-05:00 The problem is that God is sinless and holy totally perfect. And you and I, on the other hand, have a lifetime of sinning; of doing it our way instead of God's way. You can't get into His family unless something is done about your sin, and something has been done. In fact, God did it. That's how much He loves you and He does not want to lose you. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/climate-control-5940 2009-10-16T13:25:57-05:00 You're a leader. You're setting a climate, whether you realize it or not. And the interesting thing is that you end up reaping the climate you sow. So make the place where you are feel like it would if Jesus were there. He is. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-most-important-relationship/the-winter-of-their-leaving-the-spring-of-their-return-2398 2009-09-24T16:11:39-05:00 Maybe it seems hopeless right now, but don't underestimate the power of Savior to bring stray children home. Believe Jesus for the day when He will in a sense give you back that child that you prayed for so long. In the meantime, let the father and the prodigal son be your example. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/your-lingering-aroma-3342 2009-09-22T14:09:53-05:00 It could even be that your positive actions are actually cancelled out by the stinky atmosphere you bring - the stress, the insensitivity, and the criticism you create while you're doing all those good things. You can be doing great stuff and have a lousy attitude and drag people down. What people are supposed to experience by being around you is "the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus." http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/the-problem-with-pushing-2821 2009-09-17T12:02:10-05:00 We can learn a lot from Jesus in how to get people to do things. As parents, for example, we want so much for our kids to make right choices - so much that we tend to just push harder and harder when they don't seem to be doing it - or when we're afraid they won't. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/my-child-my-mirror-2653 2009-09-15T14:50:54-05:00 There is something about having a child that makes you start thinking about yourself in ways you may not have thought before. They are mirrors to us. As a dad or a mom trying to shape this life we have been entrusted with, knowing the dangers, the challenges, the consequences, we begin to see things we may have never fully seen before - like our own incompleteness or inadequacy, our baggage, our weaknesses that can now do serious damage to this vulnerable life in our hands... http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/letting-go-of-your-little-ones-5832 2009-09-10T12:47:14-05:00 For some of us who tend to be like control freaks, we have to make sure we're not trying to "play God" ourselves in our child's life. Parents who truly place their son or daughter in God's hands can lay off the nagging, the manipulating, the meddling, and the criticizing. What we try to control we often end up crushing. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-relationships/security-checks-for-families-5827 2009-09-10T12:31:43-05:00 A selfish husband, a defiant wife, a rebellious child, a frustrating parent: they each bring things onto your family's flight that can bring it down. But we each can do our part to make our home a safe place to be, where people are built up, not torn down. We each have a position to play to bring love and encouragement and respect to the other members of our family whether they're doing it or not. Be sure you're not bringing things aboard that can hijack your family's happiness. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-mission/the-eye-opener-5795 2009-09-10T11:30:14-05:00 It's time to start blowing a lid off your relationship with Jesus by telling people about that relationship; about explaining it to others! Because when you show someone else this Jesus that you know, He'll mean more to you than He's ever meant before!