I’ve never heard the phrase “courageous parenting,” but it’s certainly a quality moms and dads need for their overwhelming roles. Looking through Scripture, even kings had varied results raising their kids. Today, we'll look at three, followed by three parenting principles and one key verse.

KEY VERSE:

Colossians 3:21

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. (NIV)

Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. (ESV)

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

We all have to come face to face with our humanity. When we’re hit with a surprise diagnosis or a pain that lingers, our mind should go right to God. Our dependence on him should deepen, our hope in him should spring fresh. Instead of fear, confidence in God can grow.

That looks good on paper, but it’s not easy to live out.

Paul was plagued by a secret illness or disease that theologians have been trying to figure out for centuries. It was so intense, Paul describes it this way, “I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me” (2 Corinthians 12:7 NIV).

Today, we'll see how Paul dealt with it, and how we can deal with our health issues, too.

KEY PASSAGE:

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Here's the scene: You have to deal with a conflict, rift in a relationship or bringing a friend to accountability. And as difficult as it may be, avoiding these hard conversations usually causes more harm to the other person. If you come to them with the right spirit, you’re saving them pain in the future. Let’s look at one of the hardest conversations in the Bible and see how courage saved the day.

KEY PASSAGE:

Colossians 4:2-6

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

My wife and I have been recipients of the generosity of hundreds of people over the years. Ministry and missions has been our work for all our adult lives, so we’ve had a team of personal and ministry supporters. We try to make it a point to thank every person who has contributed. We couldn’t serve without them.

But some people don’t want to be thanked. They remain anonymous.

The most dramatic anonymous gift arrived in the most unusual way. Hear the whole story in today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

My dad practiced “inside out” generosity. Inside out generosity is the kind that flows from the heart, not forced from the outside.

Inside out generosity looks for opportunities to give. It doesn’t withhold, but is open-handed. It blesses. Instead of squeezing out a tithe to God, inside out generosity pours out much more to the Lord. I find it interesting that my dad had so little growing up but gave away so much as an adult. I can only explain it by saying that he had a heart of generosity.

How can we have a heart of generosity. It flows from our relationship with God. Let's discuss that with God in today's audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

Psalm 50:7-12 (NIV)

“Listen, my people, and I will speak;

I will testify against you, Israel:

I am God, your God.

I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices

or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

I have no need of a bull from your stall

or of goats from your pens,

for every animal of the forest is mine,

and the cattle on a thousand hills.

I know every bird in the mountains,

and the insects in the fields are mine.

If I were hungry I would not tell you,

for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

How about having fun giving? Like when unexpected funds arrive. Or beyond that, how about always having fun giving? Paul tells us that God loves a cheerful giver. He defines this person as one doesn’t give “reluctantly or under compulsion” (2 Cor 9:7 NIV). Today, we'll explore six ways to have fun giving.

KEY PASSAGE:

1Corinthians 9:6-12 (NIV)

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

Here’s an exercise to try when impatience creeps into your life.

Take a look at the trigger that’s setting you off.

• A child disobeys.
• You’re waiting for someone.
• You can’t figure out how to make something work.

Whatever it might be at the time, call it out and lay it on the table. Then stop for a minute and give it a score from 1-10, depending on how critical the trigger is. In the big picture, is your trigger a 3 or is it a life-threatening, scoring 9 or 10?

Today, we'll learn more about triggers and patience.

KEY PASSAGE:

James 3:3-6 (NIV)

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com

How in the world can we be a patient parent? Seems like a contradiction. Those two words don’t exist together.

Hats off to those moms and dads who have this quality mastered. What’s your secret? Tell the rest of us!

My wife was one of those patient parents. Now she’s a patient grandparent.

Her patience showed up often when he gently explained things to the kids. While I would bark, “Stop it!” she took the time to share the why with the what. Spending an extra minute, she taught them, speaking to them as individuals, rather than giving orders.

Today, we learn how to be patient parents on our audio devotional.

KEY PASSAGE:

2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 (NIV)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

RESOURCES:

--> Take the Free PERSONAL SELF-ASSESSMENT. It only takes 3 minutes. Download it at www.retreatingwithgod.org.

Visit FRESH FAITH 24/7, a place where you can retreat with God and get to know him more deeply: www.freshfaith247.com.

Connect with Jon at jon@freshfaith247.com