From the Vault: Back to School Edition

Many of you have sensed it already. Perhaps it was the pumpkin spice that snuck into your cornbread. Or the temperatures dipping below 90 degrees. Whatever tipped you off, there’s no denying that it’s that time of year: School is about to begin.

In light of that, I wanted to pull a few helpful articles from the vault that deal with college, parenting, and family. If you like what you see, click the title for the full article.

Your Children Were Made for the Mountains

God gives us our kids so that we can prepare them for his mission.

When God designs a child to be shot out like an arrow—and instead we treat that child like a piece of furniture that we plan to keep in the house—we not only stunt their development, we also discourage them from finding God altogether. In protecting them from all of life’s challenges, we show them a picture of our faith that is dismally boring. And where your depiction of faith is boring, they will drift toward more interesting things.

Plumb Line #16: The Question Is No Longer If You’re Called; It’s Only Where and How

Hands down, the question we most get from college students is, “What is God’s will for my life?” Here’s your answer.

God may not call you to leave the United States (though he might!). But if you’re a believer, he is calling you to follow him where he goes, as he seeks to make his name known. Whether you’re an investment banker or a full-time pastor, a stay-at-home mom or an overseas missionary, God has a mission for you. From Raleigh-Durham to Bahrain, the responsibility to think that way belongs to every believer. As we often say, “Whatever you are good at, do it well for the glory of God, and do it somewhere strategic for the mission of God.”

Five Steps to Writing a “Family Mission Statement”

(Will Toburen, Executive Pastor of Discipleship Ministries)

Very little in life gets done without intentionality. If you want your family to grow, leading with a Family Mission Statement is a great first step.

Stephen Covey describes a family mission statement as “a combined, unified expression from all family members of what your family is all about—what it is you really want to do and be—and the principles you choose to govern your family life.” So, a family mission statement can be a tool to help your children remember and reflect on the core values and goals you’ve established as a family. Here are five practical steps you can take to help develop a family mission statement …

Three Reasons Christians Should Consider Fostering

(Wake County Social Worker)

We want to be a church that loves the most broken areas of our community—including the heart-wrenching world of foster care.

I’ve seen foster parents who lose sleep for weeks to wake children up and take them to the restroom because trauma sometimes makes children wet the bed every night. I’ve seen foster parents worry, cry, and fight for help for these children, only to lose battle after battle with schools, DSS, or that child’s parents. I’ve seen foster parents break down in tears and tell me they don’t know how to help, and they don’t know if they can take any more.

 

And when that happens, I don’t know what to tell them. Because there is no earthly reason why someone would want to be a foster parent.

 

In fact, I think it takes an incredible measure of God’s love, grace, and wisdom being poured into you and out of you to be a foster parent, which is the very reason Christians are called to do it.