Make the necessary change in your rss feed, too.

Enjoy our new site: www.faughnfamily.com .

This free site will still be available for some time, but all our posts, comments and other items have already been moved to the new site, so you can bookmark it. Thanks for your continued support of our blog. Tell someone about it!

You see, we are also going to record iPreach this morning. Along with guests Billy Smith, Marlin Connelly, and Clarence DeLoach, Dale and I will be previewing the Freed-Hardeman University Bible lectures. So, while we discuss the lectures and their theme books of First and Second Corinthians, the kids will be watching a movie (most likely, “Toy Story”). Yes, we might have a Buzz Lightyear in 1 Corinthians mention.

We are expecting between 3 and 8 inches of snow (quite a range!), and I say, “Yippie!” I love snow, and I’m glad we are looking to get a pretty  nice snow.

On to the links for this week:

1. Though we have different careers, Justin Burleson and I live about 3 miles apart. He writes beautifully about the stress we feel in this world, but how we can still have peace with God. Enjoy his first post in the roundup here.

2. After our list on Wednesday (check it out here) about families, I just had to link to this great article by Chris Gallagher. Enjoy “How to Have Dinner with Your Family.”

3. Tim Tebow (Amber, you can skip this one since you “can’t stand him!”) is taking an amazing amount of negative criticism over his decision to “star” in an anti-abortion TV ad during the Super Bowl. Neal Pollard gives a great reaction to the criticism in his article “Tebow’s Finest Accomplishment.”

4. Trey Morgan gives a good illustration and a wonderful challenge in his article “Jesus Flavored or 100% Jesus?”

5. Can a person, or even a congregation, fall away? Wayne Jackson gives a great article on the subject of “Apostasy: A Clear and Ever Present Danger.” This would make a great sermon outline (so, folks from Lebanon Road might hear this one in the future!).

6. Heather Fortenberry writes a brief, but deeply powerful article about what it really means to be a Christian. Enjoy “Leveling Out.”

We hope you have a wonderful weekend. If you get some snow, let it remind you that God can make your sins as white as snow!

Whatever you have planned for the weekend, make sure worshiping God on His day is your top priority.

What a fantastic new hymn! “In Christ Alone,” in my opinion, will stand the test of time because it is a simple melody in the usual construction of four verses. The beauty of this song is that it builds together (1) the sacrifice of Jesus and (2) our response to it.

The song begins with a verse of praise to Jesus. With that verse, we sing that our full faith is in Him, then we move to the reason why. Verse one uses many titles and descriptions of Jesus (my Comforter, my All in All, this Cornerstone, etc.), and powerfully showers Him with praise, but does so from a deeply personal level. After naming all these attributes, verse one ends with “Here in the love of Christ I stand.”

Why “stand” with Him? The rest of the song shares that message which the world needs to hear.

He was the “fullness of God in helpless babe.” He was Immanuel; God with us. But His own people, whom “he came to save” scorned Him. That led to the cross. The song doesn’t just talk about Jesus on the cross, though. It paints a glorious picture of what happened there. In my favorite line, the song states, “‘Til on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.” With that simple line, we are preaching the doctrine of atonement, though we might not use that word. What a glorious concept, that “every sin on Him was laid.”

The third verse celebrates the victory over the cross which gives our faith its basis. “Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again.” That is the event that shook the world and gives us our hope. Because He overcame death, the cross has its power. That being true, “Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me.”

The final verse truly provides the “so what” to the song. Here are the great words that conclude a wonderful hymn:

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me.

From life’s first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man,

Can every pluck me from His hand.

‘Til He returns or calls me home,

Here in the power of Christ I stand.

The song is destined, in my opinion, to be widely accepted and used in a very short time, and for good reason. Very few newer songs contain quite so much theology as does this one.

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Enjoy this version of the hymn. (You’ll need to turn up your speakers, as the video is recorded at a low volume.)

1. Play Outside. Not only is it good for the kids health, it’s fun and free. It doesn’t matter if you have a huge swing set or just a small patch of grass, the kids will find things to do, and you might end up being “base” for a game of tag.

2. Go to a Park. We have a nice little park in our neighborhood and we like to walk there about once each week when the weather is nice. Almost every town has a park that kids can play on for free, so walk (or drive) there for an hour.

3. Go to the Library. Far too few families take advantage of the library! Our kids love it, and we need to do better about taking them there. In addition to the great books, there are often little plays the kids will love.

4. Go Visiting. We try to take our kids visiting with us about once each month, and they love it. We don’t stay long, but those moments are invaluable in their training to serve other people.

5. Have a Movie Night. Watch a video you already own or rent one from RedBox for $1. Always watch things that are truly Christian and enjoy the evening with some popcorn.

6. Have a Picnic. Our kids love indoor picnics! We put a blanket on the floor when it’s too cold to go outside, pop in an episode of a good TV show (“The Cosby Show,” of course), and have a picnic. When it’s nicer outside, we walk over to a pavilion near our house and enjoy a meal, then let the kids run around for a while.

7. Have People Over for a Meal. What? For less than $5? Yes, if you all agree to it. Have a group of folks who agree to bring something for a meal that costs less than $5, or have them bring the ingredients for a nice meal. It might start a good tradition among friends.

8. Check the Newspaper for Free Stuff around Town. Most towns of any size have activities quite often that are family-oriented and free (or nearly so). Plays, readings, museums, and even concerts are often free or need a donation to a worthy cause (like a can of food). We did this around Christmas-time and enjoyed a lovely concert in town.

9. Go Window Shopping. Not looking for windows, but go to an upscale mall or store with no money and just enjoy seeing the nice stuff.

10. Buy a Donut. Here is a little tradition I’ve started with our kids. We have a Dunkin’ Donuts store about 3 miles from our house. Some nights, I’ll just drive them over there and buy each one a donut (okay, I get one, too). We just sit and talk and enjoy the sugar. Cost? About $2.50.

11. Read to Your Children. Most kids have dozens of books, but often end up looking at those books alone. Parents, please read books to your kids! Some children’s books are expensive, so take advantage of the library here, too.

12 Have a “Dollar Tree” Night. Those stores where everything is $1 can be a treasure hunt for kids. Give each one a dollar (remember you’ll pay the sales tax) and let them buy one item. It could teach them a little lesson about being responsible with money, since they have to choose.

13. Let Them See “The Big Buildings.” A lot of people think that, in a larger city, you have to pay to see anything. Take your kids downtown and let them just stand in awe of the huge buildings. Kids get a kick at just looking up at them from the sidewalk. If you find one that will let you ride up to the top, enjoy that, and see a great view.

14. Skip Some Rocks. Take the kids to a lake or river and let them play along the shore. Obviously, this takes some supervision, but who doesn’t love to skip a few rocks in a big pond?

15. Interview Someone. As your children get older, use your contacts to their advantage. You’re not trying to get a job, but you might ask someone if your child can interview him/her to see what their job is like. Do you know a banker? See if he/she will let your child come after school and watch him/her work for 30 minutes.

For the last 5, I want to share some that are more spiritual in nature. Obviously, these will have an eternal impact!

16. Have Family Devotionals. These down’ t have to be fancy. Ours surely aren’t, but our kids are learning about God through them. Read a Bible story, sing a song, and have a prayer. Leah keeps a prayer list for the kids to remember who to pray for (and the kids make the list).

17. Worship Together. This may be the most obvious one, but families need to attend worship together, and they need to do so at every opportunity. Dads and moms, your kids see your consistency…or lack of it.

18. Make Something to Give Away. Have the kids make a card or a small craft to take on your next visit. Let them help you make cookies or bread to take to a neighbor. These cost very little, but are impacting the kids as well as the one who received the treat.

19. Let the Children Help When Having People Over. Whether it’s for a Bible study or just for a meal, let the kids have a part in the preparation. Our daughter loves to help set the table (and she’s getting pretty good at it!), and that helps her see the importance of preparation for these moments. This is especially true of you are having people over who are in spiritual need.

20. Put God First. This doesn’t cost a dime, but it shows in everything you do. Your kids will know, over time, whether He is really first or not. Start today by praying for His guidance in your home, and then see what happens!

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What else have you done that doesn’t cost much, but has made a big impact?

Now, before you stop reading, this is not a rant about growing up. We get a lot of that (and it is needed!), but there is another principle implied in this, and similar, verses that I want to stress in today’s post.

First, to give us a little foundation, let’s think for a moment about maturing as a Christian. If you have been a Christian for some length of time, you should know more about the Bible and God than you did at first. You should be known for your good works, and you should have a heart that seeks to do even more. Your relationship with God should be better than it was earlier in life. You also should stop squabbling over minor matters. Children do that; those who are adults don’t.

Usually, when we study Hebrews 6:1, that’s where we stop. We list those areas wherein we should see maturity, and that’s it. However, there is another principle found in this verse that can be overlooked that is just as important.

What is it? It is that not every Christian is as mature as those who have been Christians for some time. It is that some struggle to mature, and they need your encouragement, teaching, and prayers.

When you first became a Christian, you probably struggled with certain difficulties and temptations. You made a great effort to put your former life behind you, but it wasn’t easy. That’s normal, and it is a sign that you are striving to mature. However, once you have become stronger in faith, it can be easy to forget those days of struggling.

Now, time for brief rant. Ready? Here we go…

There are too many congregations that have this attitude! We know what we know, and we deal with “our” problems, but, if someone struggles spiritually, it’s just obvious that he/she isn’t as strong as we are. If that person would just reach “our” level of religion, he or she would be fine, but I don’t know how I can help.

We need fewer churches with the mindset that says, “As long as the person comes in our building, they’ll get over their problems. Our preaching and teaching will just mold him and he will be fine. We’re preaching the truth, so she will eventually get it.” We need more churches that say, “Yes, we are preaching the truth–and doing so powerfully–but we also aren’t afraid to admit we all struggle, and we’ll take you under our wing to encourage you, pray for you, and teach you.”

End of rant. Now for some practical suggestions.

Elders, please lead by example in this area! Don’t have the attitude that “We’ve got the truth, and folks will gain it by walking in the building.” Re-read the accounts of the life of Jesus and notice how much time He spent in personal time with those who struggled to mature, but who were trying.

Preachers, preach with this in mind! Don’t just intellectually share deep thoughts for the saved. Share how those who struggle to understand and follow the commands of the Bible can use what you are saying. Remember that you don’t know everything, either!

Teachers, lead your classes with this in mind! Ask questions. Welcome “simple” questions and don’t treat them as less important than a deeper question. You may be answering the questions of someone who will be standing where you are someday, if you handle it right.

Members, keep this in mind! Step out of your comfort zone and talk to that struggling or new Christian. Remember that part of the Great Comission was for after the person is baptized. Go, teach, make disciples, and teach some more! Don’t treat a struggling Christian like a disease to be avoided. Remember that you have struggled, too, and you needed a shoulder to cry on, a mind to pick, and hands to hold. Be those to someone today.

Grow up, but don’t forget what it’s like to struggle. After all, we all have days when we continue to struggle.

Monday: Book Reviews. We used to put these on Wednesdays, but I am going to start reviewing books each  Monday, when I have completed a book or multiple books in the previous week.

Tuesday: Article. These are often about family or faith, but these are just brief and, hopefully, encouraging articles.

Wednesday: Lists. From 5 to 30, we’ve listed all sorts of things. These lists are about all sorts of topics.

Thursday: Hymn Reflections. Each Thursday (for about 30 more weeks), we look at a hymn requested by our readers and “reflect” on that song.

Friday: Links Roundup. The oldest series on our blog, we link to around five good posts or sites each Friday.

We hope you enjoy the blog, and that you keep coming back as we post. We also hope you tell others about our blog, so they can enjoy it and learn from it, too.

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I have finished five books since our last book reviews. One was the English Standard Version of the Bible. Here are the other four reviews.

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Marriage is for Those Who Love God–and One Another

Thomas B. Warren

Sain Publications, 1962 (144 pages)

This book contains a series of transcripts of sermons presented by brother Warren in Texas for a series of Gospel Meetings on the family.While the words were recorded 50 years ago, they are still relevant and needed. As I have presented our current series on the home at Lebanon Road, I have often used thoughts from this book.

The best part of this brief volume is brother Warren’s attention to those who are preparing for marriage. He is very serious and straightforward as he reminds his listeners (and the reader) of the extreme care that must be behind preparation for marriage.

The book is an easy read and will encourage you. While it might be dated a bit, preachers can find a wealth of help in preparing sermons. This might also be a good book for a teenage or college class to use as a basis for a “mini-series” on preparation for marriage. The difficulty is finding this book. Here is Amazon’s page for it, if you are interested.

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What Matters Now

edited by Seth Godin

Self-published e-book (82 pages)

What a refreshing read! What Matters Now is pure Godin. Each page is a very brief note from a noted person on his/her area of expertise, from money to leadership to attitude. While I certainly did not agree with each writer (and I didn’t appreciate those who chose to use curse words), the book is a quick and helpful read.

Authors include Dave Ramsey, Michael Hyatt, Ariana Huffington, and about 50 others. Each was asked to write in his/her own style, so the book is very much a compilation. If you like leadership materials, this is for you.

The best part is, this was a project that was to draw attention to a worthy charity through ads that are found about every 15 pages. Translation? the book is FREE! You can read it (in pdf format) here. I printed it out and took it with me on a holiday vacation, reading it when I had a chance.

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Parenting: from Surviving to Thriving

Charles Swindoll

Word Publishing, 2006 (272 pages)

If you read my blog often, you know I like Swindoll’s work…usually. Of all the books I’ve ever read by him, though, this was my least favorite. Of course, being a believer in Calvinism, the concept of original sin runs throughout the book. That “helped” my dislike quite a bit.

There are many principles in this book, especially the first half of it, that are helpful. I was able to gain a better understanding of some of the Bible’s texts about parenting due to the first 100 pages or so.

What caused me to not like this book as much, though, was that, in most of the second half, Swindoll seems to step away from his usual style. Instead of walking briefly through a text and then making good, solid applications, he seems to spend about 80% (or more) of some of the chapters on the text, only throwing a couple of quick applications for life at the end, almost as an afterthought. The textual work is good, but it’s almost as if the book changed focus part of the way through.

That being said, one of the highlights of this book is the 11th chapter (out of 12). Swindoll devotes a brief chapter to those parents who have to deal with special-needs children, a subject not discussed often in books with this focus. While brief, the reader will find that chapter to be helpful.

The paperback version of the book can be found on Amazon.com for $6.00 here.

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Saturday Shrines

The Sporting News, 2005 (223 pages)

If you like the tradition behind college football, this is an interesting read. The book gives quick stories and facts about some of the more well-known stadiums used for college football. While it mentions many stadiums, the best part of the book is the first half, where more space is devoted to the forty “best,” according to The Sporting News. This is a fun little book with lots of great photography.

You can find copies with several universities on the cover. Mine has the Nebraska Cornhuskers (of course). The Amazon.com page is here.

That’s where you come in. Would you please pass along a favorite post (or just our blog address) to 5 people? If each person who regularly comes would just tell 5 people, we could easily raise our numbers. If that person would like to be on our email list, just send me an email (adfaughn AT gmail DOT com) and I’ll be glad to add him or her.

Shameless? Nah….never!

On to the links for this week:

1. Today is the annual March for Life, as we mark another horrible anniversary of Roe v. Wade. However, this year, there is a special twist to the March for Life for those who cannot physically attend. You can join the virtual March for Life (as I did). As of this writing, over 65,000 are in the virtual march, placing their names alongside those who are actually in Washington. If you’d like to know more, or join the virtual march, here is the website.

2. I love technology, but I am amazed at how much teens and tweens are “plugged in” to every type of media imaginable. Is it too much? Albert Mohler explores in his article, “Like the Air They Breathe.” Parents, preachers and elders need to read and file this one.

3. Joey Sparks obviously feels guilty about pulling for Alabama in the BCS Championship Game and is trying to make up for it by writing about Colt McCoy’s post-game interview. Just kidding. Joey puts some great thoughts to Colt’s words in “Give God the Glory.”

4. I hate failing. I hate working on something only to have it “shot down” or fall flat. Those experiences, though, can motivate us to greater things. Seth Godin shows us that in the life of a famous Hollywood producer in his post “Unrealized Projects.”

We hope you have a great weekend. We are looking forward to a weekend as a family before our schedule really starts to pick up for a while.

No matter what you are doing, don’t forget to worship the Lord on His day.

Written by a housewife in 1872, the simple words of “I Need Thee Every Hour” continue to bring comfort to many folks each time they are sung. In his book Then Sings My Soul, Robert Morgan gives the Annie Hawks’ own words as to where the poem came from (from page 179):

One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words, ‘I need thee every hour,’ were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me.

To me, the greatest line in the song is in the 2nd verse, where Hawks wrote, “Temptations lose their power / When Thou art nigh.” While it is true that we need the Lord at all times, there is nothing more comforting to me than knowing He is near when I am fighting a temptation. That knowledge always makes the fight easier to win.

Millions have gained comfort from these words at other times, though, as they speak to nearly any difficult situation. It would be hard to think of the number of funerals at which I’ve sung this song of simple comfort, and it has, no doubt, been sung at the bedside of those passing from this life into the next, as well.

One thing I take from this song is the final line of the chorus, where we sing, “O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.” I take from this line that there is nothing wrong with asking for a blessing. We can often cower from doing so, but, if we are walking near to God, we will be blessed!

For many, the best part of this song, though, is the line that says, “No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.” What a beautiful statement about God. Not a “booming” voice, as in the movies. Not a “harsh” voice, when we are hurting. His is a “tender” voice that brings peace in the midst of storms. What a great God, in that He doesn’t leave us to fend for ourselves. He is nearby, and we do need Him.

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Enjoy this good version a classic hymn:

Since we are focused on that subject, I thought of some things for our Wednesday list that might help improve your home. To help, they all start with “P.” I hope you’ll add to the list in the comments!

1. Prayer. If you want your home to be a better place, why not pray about it and ask God’s blessing on the home. Pray specifically for good things and bad. Trust that God can help, and watch Him use your home to His glory.

2. Patience. Every home needs more patience. Husbands need patience with wives and vice versa. Parents need to be patient with maturing children, and children need to understand that parents make mistakes, too. Since we are in the same house and around each other a lot, it is easy to get on one another’s nerves about petty issues. Get over it, and have some patience.

3. Passion. No…no….no…not that! I mean that each household needs to have some emotion to it. Don’t make every day just a checklist of things to do before you go to sleep. Find something to laugh about each day. Hug one another and have lots of kisses for each other. Let your children see you cry about important things often. A family with no emotion is truly sad.

4. Pageantry. By this, I mean to have some traditions. Celebrate in special ways. Make a “big deal” out of things that may not seem all that huge. One of ours is this: when we take the kids visiting to a nursing home and we finish, we stop and get a donut on the way home. Cost? About $2. Excitement for the kids? Unchartable!

5. Positions. Fulfill your God-given role in the home. If you have children, let them know who is daddy and who is mommy. Never let them see one spouse berate the other. Let them know that they are a loved part of the family, but that they do not run the family!

6 & 7. Precepts and Punishment. Have rules, and enforce them. Children not only need rules, they actually like them. They like them even more when they know what they are and that they are not going to change. It’s not easy, but it is a very important part of a great home.

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What would you add (and, no, they don’t have to start with “P”)?

After the service, I was walking around the room with the kids. They were hugging, waving, and shaking hands. It was special to see many smiles, both on the faces of the residents and on our kids’ faces! (When you don’t attend services like these, you miss out on some special moments.)

One of the residents took a special liking to our kids. He nearly always has a bag with him that he keeps magazines, papers and other things in. After talking with us for a few moments, he reached into his bag and had a little gift for our kids. He gave Turner a sports magazine. He gave Mary Carol this:

They thanked him and we went to talk to some other folks. A moment later, Mary Carol was handing me her $1million bill. I thought she just wanted me to hang on to it for her, so I said, “Why don’t you just keep it and we’ll put it in your purse when we get to the car.”

Her response, though, blew me away. It reminded me of what sacrifice really means. You see, to her, this is a real amount of money. She doesn’t realize that this is play money. She also has no idea what $1,000,000 really is! She thinks it’s just a dollar like the dollars we use to buy groceries, clothes, books and other items. Her focus isn’t on the amount. Her focus is what can be done with it.

So what did she say that showed me sacrifice? I have a car that isn’t running. In fact, we’re selling it, because it’s down to just being a “parts” car. I have left it at the church building while trying to sell it because I’m afraid to even drive it home! Each time we are there, she says something about it, and we say, “Daddy’s car isn’t running right now.”

So, when she was given her “dollar,” she brought it to me. When I tried to give it back, she said, “Daddy, that’s for your car that isn’t running…so you can fix it.”

That is sacrifice! She wasn’t focused on the amount. She wasn’t thinking about what she could do with that dollar (or a million dollars, for that matter). Mary Carol wasn’t thinking of giving me the left-overs. She saw a need, and she was determined to help meet it.

Today, I’m praying that I’ll learn to be more like that when I see a need. True sacrifice puts others first, and I’m grateful for a four-year-old precious treasure named Mary Carol who reminded me of that.