Two-Thirds Gone

Eph 5:15-17

15  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16  making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 

ESV

We are in Pittsburgh for the Thanksgiving holiday and we are staying at my mother-in-law's house. It is a smaller house so my 3 girls are sharing a bedroom. It's a little tight so the first night it didn't take them long to get irritated with each other. I used it as a chance to remind them that in 6 short years the oldest of the 3 could be on her way to college and they wouldn't always have the chance to do fun things like this because she might not be living with us anymore.. Well that made one of my girls cry. (I have to admit it was nice to see) Then it hit me. That applies to me as well. She will be 12 soon which means she is two-thirds gone if she goes to college at 18. Talk about a sobering moment.

So, when our kids say, "Daddy, come play with me." or "Daddy, will you read to me?" ask yourself if what you are doing is really that important. When they want to talk but you just want them to go to bed, be thankful that they still want to talk. If they aren't getting attention from you, know that they WILL eventually find it elsewhere.

So, have you been telling yourself that you were going to make a better effort at reading the bible to your children or doing family devotions or praying together with your wife but the days, weeks and months go by and nothing changes? What is getting in the way? Ask yourself this question.

This time next year, what would you like your child to be?
a) a better athlete
b) a better student
c) closer to God and love Him more.

If you had to chose one and ONLY one which would it be?

Did you choose?

Most likely it was 'c'. Be closer to God and love Him more.

Now ask yourself, did the way you spent your time in 2009 move your child towards that goal? If not what can you change?

Ask God to show you the things in your life that are getting in the way of what is important then ask Him to help you remove those things from your life.  Then ask Him to give you the power and the desire to do the things that will make an ETERNAL difference in the life of your family. 

I personally can do a lot better. We pray a lot as a family and I am happy about that but  I've made a commitment  to do a better job of teaching my girls what we believe and why we believe it. This is no New Years Resolution. By God's GRACE It's a LIFE Resolution. It starts now. Who's with me? 

Let's hold each other accountable.