Lisa Life Lesson ~"Fear of Rejection"

Fear of Rejection

I've read Paul Tripp's book, "Age of Opportunity - A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens" many, many times.  However, I read with a fresh mind the following statement the other day..."It is so easy to lose sight of the fact that these are God's children.  They do not belong to us.  They are given not to bring us glory, but Him.  Our teens are from him, they exist through him, and the glory of their lives points to him.  Our identity is rooted in him and his call to us, not in our children and their performance.  The ultimate rejection that should make us weep is not that they have rejected us, but him."

okay.

We get lopsided in our goals and expectations for family.  God created family for his glory.  So that the unit (family) could glorify him collectively and grow in him.  Somewhere along the way, we've missed this truth and found ourselves focused on the here and now.  And the sad truth is, we're teaching our children that glorifying us is much more important than him.  Please us, make us look good, let us brag about your many accomplishments, so at the end of the day we are SUPER PARENTS!!! DAH DAH DAH DAHHHHHHH!!!

When I take self out of the mix, I take away my selfish ambitions for my child and focus on what God has for them.  Why am I more concerned about my relationship with my daughter than her relationship with God?  I shouldn't be.  Yet I am.  I want her to like me.  I want to be her friend.  I want her and her friends to think I'm cool. 

This is the disconnect our children take with them to college and ultimately fall prey to the 70-80% who leave their faith.  This concept that God is somewhere up in the clouds and not really in my day to day activity.  I'm glad He's there, but right now I'm focused on all this other stuff.  One day I'll focus on God.  Up there somewhere.  

When I read that line from Tripp's, book, "The ultimate rejection that should make us weep is not that our children have rejected us, but HIm" I cringe.  "Oh Father God, help me to understand this message.  Help me not get in the way of your glory.  You alone deserve all praise and worship.  You alone."

~Lisa Clark

Sky Ranch SkyMoms Parenting Mentor

Prayer Encouragement: "Why SkyMoms Pray God's Word, Part 2" by SkyMom, Terrie Chevaillier

Why SkyMoms Pray God's Word

Rise during the night and cry out.  Pour out your heart like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him in prayer pleading for your children, for in every street they are faint with hunger. Lamentations 2:19

Do you ever loose sleep during the night over your children? Do you wake up with a situation on your mind and cannot go back to sleep?

Your child might not be faint with physical hunger, however on the streets of this day that our children walk on...they are hungry for truth. Spiritual truth in a world that often opposes it.

This verse says we should pour out our heart like water to the Lord.  Our last encouragement was on Isaiah 55: 10-12 and from it we learned that His Word is the water.

Let's Pour out His Word in prayer for our children by praying Lamentations 2:19.  Let's pray.

Father, I know there have been times that I did not sleep because I was worried about my child.  

I want to be a mom that rises during the night....one that prays for my child and does not lay awake and worry.  I want my sleep to be sweet.

I want to know Your Word and then pour it out like water as I lift my hands and thank You for allowing me the gift of parenting this child and then pleading for the life of this child.  Pleading that they would be so firmly grounded in the seed of Your Word.

Show me where they are hungry.  Hungry for love, truth, friends, rest, fun, vision....I could go on.  Where have they lost their way....show me so I can pour out my heart with the water of Your Word.

As I lift my hands up, I want to exchange worry for worship and praise You for the answers seen and yet to come.

Amen

~Terrie Chevaillier, SkyMom Prayer Encourager

Teach Intentionally..."Family Time…Let God know you love Him too!", with Stacy Davis ~ Bible Teacher and Sky Ranch Board Member

Family Time…Let God know you love Him too!

Every good and perfect gift comes from God. God is very worthy to be praised and He deserves every bit of our love for Him. This is the last week looking at the focus “God is love” and it is very important to remember that we are to respond to the love that He has shown us by loving Him back. Showing God that you love Him is simple; just consider how others show loving-kindness to you. Tell God thank you, praise Him, admire all the good that He has done for you, obey & follow Him, imitate Him in your lifestyle. Before you know it, you will be filled with gratitude toward God if you focus on the positives in your life and give Him the credit.

Personally, I fall short in this area of thankfulness and praise. I don’t thank or praise God as often as I should. God has shown amazing loving-kindness to me. But, I often take for granted all the good God provides and sometime only see the negatives of the things that go wrong and of course dwell on it.  But guess what? That behavior has a tendency to depress you and me! And I often find myself down and grumbling, when I forget to be thankful and reflect God’s loving-kindness. However, when I pray and ask for God’s help to be thankful and focus on the good of God in my life and have a joyful and thankful heart, my mood improves, my heart lightens, I am encouraged and my outlook is better. I am very normal and there are times that I struggle and God’s Holy Spirit helps me choose to praise and thank God. It is a choice to “thank” instead of “complain”.

This week in your family time, I would encourage you to prepare by praying for your family and asking God to show you if you or anyone struggles with being thankful to God and reflecting His loving-kindness.  Ask Jesus to call to mind things to be thankful for in your life. He will. Spend time teaching your kids to focus on this too. God wants us to have a thankful heart. Try spending time searching in the Psalms for passages on thanksgiving if you need inspiration. God will honor your search. The last two family devotionals are short and both look at how you can show God that you love Him.  One is on showing God your love by honoring Him so that you obey Him. The other is about imitating Him by parent’s showing loving-kindness to your kids and kids responding back to their parents with loving-kindness. Try working through them and ask your family to discuss their connection to each other.

Do you need help or prayer for your family time? Email me at SkyMoms@skyranch.org.

I will be praying for you! 

Stacy

Stacy A. Davis

Teach Intentionally

This week we are in the 6^th  Month Topic and 4^th & 5^th  Family Time (or page  56 & 57) of the Sky Ranch Devotional “Open Your Eyes”…

Family Time 4: 

Month 6 Topic: God is love…Showing God’s love through obedience

Talk with God: Read…1 John 4:19, John 14:15, 2 Chronicles 6:14

~ 1 John 4:19  We love, because He first loved us.

• In 1 John 4:19, who initiated love?

~ John 14:15  If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

• In John 14:15, if I love God, what will I do?

~ 2 Chronicles 6:14  And he said, "O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no god like You in Heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and [showing]  loving-kindness  to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart.”

• In 2 Chr 6:14, who does God show loving-kindness toward?

Walk with God: Discuss… Love is an action.  The best way we can show God we love Him is by being obedient to Him.  Are there areas of our lives that we need to change to be more obedient?  The shows we watch? The music we listen to? The friends we hang out with?

Prayer suggestion… Ask God to show you your areas of disobedience and for His help in making changes in your life that show Him you love Him.

Family Time 4: 

Leader Answers:

• God
• Obey and keep His commandments
• Servants who walk uprightly before Him with all their heart
• Discussion ideas: Obedience is keeping God’s Word. But you have to know it to be obedient to it. Do you know it? Could you know it better?

Family Time 5: 

Month 6 Topic: God is love…God’s love/parent’s love

Talk with God: Read…Romans 8:38, Psalm 136:1   

~ Romans 8:38  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the  love  of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

• In Rom 8:38, what can separate me from God’s love?

~ Psalm 136:1  Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His loving-kindness is everlasting.

• In Ps 136:1, how do I respond to His everlasting kindness?

Walk with God: Discuss… How does it make you feel to know that God will NEVER stop loving you? Pretty awesome! Parents are to imitate God’s parenting style and love our children the way that God loves us.  Discuss the parent/child role and how as a parent no matter what the child ever does…your love will NEVER change.

Prayer suggestion… Thank Him for His power and everlasting loving-kindness.

Family Time 5: 

Leader Answers:

• Nothing
• Give thanks
• Discussion ideas: God loves us. Parents love their children. God has placed an instinctive love in a parent for their offspring that is unique. It is called “philoteknos” (love in Greek in Titus 2:4) and this love gives parents a desire to meet their child’s needs. We also are to show “agape” (love in Greek in John 3:35) and this love desires the highest good for the child, even if they have done something wrong. Hug your kids and tell them you love them!

© 2011 Tori Miller and Stacy A. Davis, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ronda from~ The Family Table, brings us "Simple Roast Chicken!"

The joy of simplicity. I love simple. As a matter of fact when life starts to spin out of control with too many obligations, the first thing I try to do is simplify. I think, like many of you, I can place more demands on myself than necessary. No where is this more true than in my kitchen. This week, with back to back tests, clinical shifts, baseball, basketball, homework etc, I have decided to rein it in and just focus on the basics in the kitchen. Tonight was my simple roast chicken. With only two ingredients in addition to the chicken, I don’t think it can get much simpler. 

Simple Roast Chicken

1 organic chicken

kosher salt

cornstartch

Line a dutch oven with foil and spray with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put chicken in roaster and sprinkle very generously with salt. Then, sprinkle with cornstarch. The outside of the chicken will be nice and white. You really want to make sure you are generous with the salt as this is the only flavoring on your chicken. Now pop it into the oven and roast for 15 minutes per pound or until the juices run clear. 

If you are feeling fancy, put a glug of white wine in the bottom of the pan, or stuff the cavity with a whole lemon that you have poked with holes. Toss a few garlic in there too. But the true joy is that this recipe, just the chicken, is delicious! It doesn’t need anything else! 

Let the chicken rest for about 10-15 minutes and then use an electric knife to carve. Slice the breast into very thin slices and you will have the most succulent, tasty goodness you can imagine! 

I try to get the biggest chicken I can, but it never seems big enough. The family just gobbles this bird up and they always say it is one of their favorite meals. The left overs are great over greens, made into chicken salad or just thrown in a tortilla with cheese and salsa. 

When I am really stressed, I will make a huge batch of mashed potatoes at the beginning of the week as a time saver. I then pick a few easy to roast veggies and dinner is on the table in a snap. 

For a quick gravy, Better Than Gravy Packets are very good and go great with this chicken and over the potatoes. If I have more time, I will use the drippings and make my own. But with such a good product, I love it to use it to round out this meal.

SkyMoms, I hope you all have a great week and would love to hear some of your very quick, easy meals!

Blessings and Happy Cooking! Ronda from The Family Table :)

Prayer Encouragement: "Why SkyMoms Pray God's Word" by SkyMom, Terrie Chevaillier

Why SkyMoms Pray God's Word

The rain and the snow come down from heaven and stay on the ground to water the earth.  They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with My Word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit.  It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Isaiah 55:10-11 (NLT)

As I encourage SkyMoms to pray God's Word, I thought it might be good to offer a few reminders of why we do that this  week and the weeks to follow.

Praying His Word acknowledges His plan and purpose for our children and gives us the certainty that we are praying His Word over our own limited and sometimes simple plans and hopes for their future or current situation.

His Word brings peace to our hearts and acknowledges His sovereignty as we lay down our mom sovereignty.....acknowledging that the I AM is in charge and knows more than we could left to ourselves.   Peace should come in and chase away anxiety and fretful doing.

When His Word is hidden in our hearts, the Spirit prompts and  guides us with the truth of what to pray.  When a scripture comes to your mind...that is His prompting to believe and stand on that promise or take that course of action.  These moments are not coincidence....they are invitations to pray His Word.

Let's pray Isaiah 55:10-11
Father, thank you for Your Word that is written and available. Just like the rain and snow that refresh and nourish the earth, let Your Word refresh my heart as I lay down the "dry places" in the lives of my children to Your Sovereign care.

Your Word is Your will for my child.  I want to be a mom who agrees with your Word and not my own...or the word of the world.

I want to see all of the sweet fruit in their lives as I cultivate a heart that prays and believes Your Word for them.

You say that when  Your Word goes out, that it will accomplish everything that You want it to.  There is so much amazing truth that I want to watch for as my child grows.  Just like a seed planted in the ground that does not produce an immediate blossom, I desire that my prayers so agree with Your Word that even when I feel the answer is dormant....it isn't.  Even if it takes months or years, I want to believe that as I have battled in prayer Your Word for my children....that I WILL see blossoms and buds that scatter and spread everywhere they tread and touch every area of their lives.

You don't say it sometimes produces fruit....You say it ALWAYS produces fruit.

Lord, I want to trade your Word for my own words.  Lead me to know the truth and then believe it in prayer for my children.

Amen

~Terrie Chevaillier, SkyMom Prayer Encourager

Teach Intentionally..."Family Time…Love like God loves", with Stacy Davis ~ Bible Teacher and Sky Ranch Board Member

Family Time…Love like God loves

You might be thinking “I can’t love like God loves!” and you are right, on our own, it would be really tough to love like God loves. But I am very grateful that God does not ask His people to do this feat on their own. He sends us help! Scripture tells us that God has given us His Spirit to help us. God tells us throughout scripture that His Holy Spirit helps those that follow Him to remember things, to understand His Word (scripture), He tells us what we are to say, He gives us strength to do it and He even gives us a desire to obey the things that He tells us in scripture. Awesome, isn’t it! In John 16:7, Jesus told us that He would send us the Helper and that is what the Holy Spirit does…helps! This special help is for all Christians who follow Jesus as a lifestyle, however, we always have a choice and we can make the wrong choice and not listen or accept His help. But life goes much smoother when you listen!

As a Mom, I watched my kids struggle with showing God’s loving-kindness to each other, especially in middle school. The middle school years can be very tough years for kids because other kids can be so mean to your kids. My daughter had a particular group at school and they were just were not being nice. Girls can bully in so many ways, usually by excluding others. My daughter and I took it to God. He gave us the idea to start praying for each person’s heart to change in this group and we asked that He would help both of us desire to showing loving-kindness to them. God did help our desire to show them compassion even in the midst of their bullying. We kept praying. In time, we could see that God began to change their hearts too. Most kids just want to be accepted and often if you are being rejected, your first impulse is to lash out at someone else, hoping it helps. But, it never does. Sometimes you have to learn to deny your own pity party and learn to selflessly show kindness to another.

This week in your family time, I would encourage you to prepare by praying for your family and asking God to help your family love like He does. How much compassion is there in your family? And look at how your family handles anger. Is your group slow to anger? Are there outbursts of anger often? Remember to keep giving your kids and husband hugs and telling them that you love them too! It is those selfless acts of compassion and kindness that can impact the hearts and break down the walls, even in the difficult moments. As a Mom, think about a time that you could have reacted in anger at a situation, but instead you chose to show compassion and mercy and it caused a positive outcome. Consider sharing that in your family time. You are a role-model for your kids. Encourage them to think of times that they have handled anger correctly. If there are not many times, make a group decision to start handling anger correctly and work on this together. Encourage each other and praise them often when they are doing the right thing!

Do you need help or prayer for your family time? Email me at SkyMoms@skyranch.org.

I will be praying for you! 

Stacy

Stacy A. Davis

Teach Intentionally

This week we are in the 6^th Month Topic and 3^rd Family Time (or page  55) of the Sky Ranch Devotional “Open Your Eyes”…

Family Time 3:

Month 6 Topic: God is love…Love like God loves

Talk with God: Read…Exodus 34:6, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 36:7

~ Exodus 34:6  The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness  and truth;  Who keeps  loving-kindness  for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin.

• In Ex 34:6, how much loving-kindness does God have?

~ 1 Chronicles 16:34  O give thanks to the Lord, for [He is] good; for His loving-kindness is everlasting.

• In 1 Chr 16:34, when will His loving-kindness end?

~ Psalm 36:7  How precious is Your loving-kindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

• In Ps 36:7, because of His loving-kindness, we can do what?

Walk with God: Discuss… Can you love like God loves? We are to imitate Him. We can probably be compassionate and gracious at times. But are you slow to anger? Anger can be a challenge for all of us. I am very glad God is slow to anger, are you? Do you show that same kindness to others? What are some ways to help slow your anger down and show the mercy that God shows?

Prayer suggestion… Thank Him for loving you with His endless love!  Ask Him to increase your ability to love others as He loves you.

Family Time 3: 

Leader Answers:

• It is abounding
• Never
• Take shelter in Him
• Discussion ideas: Anger is tough. Anger is the result of feeling that you have been treated unjustly. A common response to anger is revenge, but God tells us that we are not to seek revenge; vengeance is His (Romans 12:19). Examples of handling anger correctly are pray, make sure you know the facts correctly, talk calmly to each other.  Matthew 18:15 defines a Biblical way to handle disputes, forgive and show mercy. 

© 2011 Tori Miller and Stacy A. Davis, Inc. All rights reserved.

Prayer Encouragement: "Talking, Walking, Sitting, Standing, Lying Down= Continually" by SkyMom, Terrie Chevaillier

Talking, Walking, Sitting, Standing, Lying Down= Continually

 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.   Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up

Deuteronomy 6: 6-7

This will be the last prayer encouragement with the sweet little heart picture.

I hope that as you go about loving your children, this picture helps you 

remember scripture that teaches us just how to love them best.

We’ve prayed that we would understand that the little feet are bound 

with foolishness when they are born so they need discipline.   We have prayed about how

we are to teach and train the feet to stay on the right path.

This last encouragement is on just when and where to do that teaching  and training.

Capture the vision of the picture with a father’s hands and a mother’s hands

encircled around the child’s feet with a command to teach and train

while talking, walking, sitting, standing, and lying down.

Let’s pray God’s Word:

Father, thank You that I am not left alone to teach my precious children.

Your commandments written in Your Word direct me and guide me.

I cannot impress them on my children’s hearts if they are not impressed on my own heart.

Show me where I need to grow in the knowledge and truth of Your Word.

Guide me as to how to talk to them in our home.  Help me to use idle time

and capture it for spiritual training.

Help me to take courage and limit social media, and video game time to name a 

few and lead me to take the harder way which requires saying no to the 

world a little bit more so that I can talk to them about eternal things.

Show us what is stealing and taking away our time to talk.

Show us time for walks and help open our hearts for 

great conversation about Your Word.  When we get in the car

in the mornings or on the way home from school, prompt me

in my Spirit to just how I can love them best

while we drive to and from place to place.

Help me to be intentional with the time in the mornings to not only feed them

physical food and pack great lunches, but also to feed them spiritual food that

will sustain them throughout the day.

Where we are too busy for this teaching and training to take place, 

convict our hearts and lead us to Your mercy and grace and to Your way….the best way.

I pray that we would take every opportunity given to lie down with them at the end of the day,  if not for  

Just a minute and focus on Your many blessings throughout the day and then give You thanks and 

praise.

Dear Father, I ask that you bless these times of the day and that nothing would be 

greater to us as SkyMoms than giving out Your Word throughout the entire day.

Amen

~Terrie Chevaillier, SkyMom Prayer Encourager