Run With Horses

Marriage A to Z: Sharing in Marriage

There are lots of things we share in our marriage. Experiences, joys, sorrows, ministry and all parts of life. This helps build a solid foundation for the future.

Identity Crisis and Growing in Patience

Quote of the Day: “He knew that in order for his mission to succeed, much would depend on the dedication, loyalty, courage, and faith of the men whom He had chosen and trained.” The Lost Art of Disciple Making, Leroy Eims
 
This is true for leaders in the church today. The future of your church will rest in the hands of those your chose and train to carry the work into the future. Pastors and deacons need to take their role as disciple makers seriously as they intentionally spend time with the younger men in the church.
 
News and Culture: Identity crisis
Broadly speaking it is questioning who your are how you fit into the world.
Depends a lot on how you view the world - good place, bad place?
How do you view people - people basically good, basically bad?
How do you view God? Distant and uninvolved? Personal and caring?
Includes life purpose, core beliefs, thoughts about yourself
Truth matters. Who do you trust? What do people say about you? What does God say about you? Which is more important to you?
How do you gain approval from God? work harder? What about Grace? Can you work hard enough.
 
Living Theology: Patience - Wait on the Lord
Right now generation. Fed by fast paced video games, mini commercials, instant access to information.
Availability of social media 24 hours a day in the palm of your hand.
Is this healthy? Ar you a better person because you don’t ever have to wait?
God seems to value patience and endurance. Long suffering and self control!
James 1 faith is tested and endurance grows.
Can you be a mature person without patience and self control?
Children are marked by impatience, they are the center of the world. Cute in a 2 year old. Not so much in a 30 year old.
Try hard things. Make efforts to live out Scripture. Practice the “one another’s” of the NT. It will take effort. Persist in it.
It will be worth it in the end.
 

Family Friday: Coming to America!

The Smith family is on the way to America! Seven months of traveling throughout the heartland of America visiting supporting churches and family. Here are our thoughts on the coming adventure.

Marriage A to Z: Quilting A Marriage

A patchwork quilt is a good picture of marriage. Many small pieces fit together to make a beautiful work of art!

Growing Older and Pursuing Fruit of the Spirit

Quote of the Day: John F. Kennedy’s famous words, "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
Is this spirit totally dead in the world today? Where do you see it in the country? In your church? In your life?
It is a call to action to do what is right for the greater good.
We too often are serving only our own interests in the world today.
Trying to make yourself happy will only end up with you miserable. You can not satisfy yourself. but you can make someone else’s life better.
 
News and Culture: Growing Older -
How do I view life and my place in it? Joy should grow with age. Greater understanding of God’s plan and my place it it.
Chance to invest in others, particularly the next generation.
Wisdom learned from life’s hard lessons.
Improved social skills from when we were more self-centered as a child and young adult.
Hopefully a chance to reflect on accomplishments and God’s work in my life to this point.
Young people - appreciate your parent’s and grandparents if you have them. you may not agree with everything they say, they grew up in a different time with different hardships and opportunities. But there are lessons you can learn from them if you are willing. be humble and teachable. Love them while you have the chance.
 
Living Theology: Fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22-23 - love, joy, peace, longsuffering/ patient, gentleness/kindness, goodness, faith, meekness and self-control.
Attributes of spiritual fruit you can actually work on and make intentional effort to apply.
There are things you can do to apply your self to the work of sanctification that God is working out in your life. Apply yourself to growing in your faith and in your character.
Practice patience. Learn to listen to others well. Look for opportunities to serve people, even those you don’t know.
Prayerfully ask God to change you and at the same time, apply yourself to change.

Family Friday: Life Lessons from Karate

All three of our children have taken Shinkyokushin karate for the past 5 years. Cameron and Chloe received their black belt this past week. We talk about the lessons they have learned through the difficulties of full contact karate.

Marriage A to Z: Roles in Marriage

A couple has several roles that each take on throughout the life of the relationship. Some never change, some change over time and in different circumstances. Communication is the key to maintaining a great relationship through the many changes that life brings our way.

Domestic Violence and Practicing Theology

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Quote of the Day: Roland Allen - Missionary Methods, St. Paul’s or Ours?
“It is not enough for the church to be established in a place where many are coming and going unless the people who come and go not only learn the gospel but learn it in such a way that they can propagate it.”
 
Three points flow from this. 1. The church needs to know the gospel. 2. the church needs to know how to spread the gospel. 3. The church needs to understand that the gospel was entrusted to them for the purpose of spreading.
How are we doing at those?
 
News/Culture:
https://ncadv.org/STATISTICS (accessed June 6, 2022)
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV)
*1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.
*1 in 7 women and 1 in 18 men have been stalked by an intimate partner during their lifetime to the point in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed.
*On a typical day, there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide.
We struggle to have healthy relationships. At work, in the community, at home.
All people are broken and looking for affirmation and support from other people. You will never find it there.
Only God can satisfy your longing for purpose and meaning. Only He can give you peace.
 
Living Theology: What is Theology?
Theology is defined most simply as the study of God.
Everyone has a theology. Even atheist have a theology. When you ask the question, “Does God exist?” You are practicing theology.
What is the church? You are practicing theology.
Why am I here? You are practicing theology.
Why do bad things happen? You are practicing theology.
 
The question is not, do I have a theology? The question is, How much effort have I put into having a theology based on reality and truth? Have I intentionally asked and answered life’s important questions or have I just gone along with whatever the culture around me is currently saying?
 
Ultimately the goal is for the theology that I stand on to be God’s theology. I want to accurately understand God as He IS, not as I want Him to be. I want to see the world as it IS, not how I wish it was. It is easy to approach God, the Bible and theology with an agenda - to justify my thoughts and behavior. Instead, I want to approach God with a desire to know Him. He reveals Himself in His Creation and in the Bible. I want to approach the Bible with a desire to understand it and God as He is revealed in it. I wan to approach theology humble, looking to be changed through my relationship with God and His Word.

Marriage A to Z: On A Quest

Marriage is like a quest. It has a goal. It is a long and often arduous journey. It takes preparation and effort along the way. And it is worth it!

Walk The Dog Wednesday: Homeschool

Two of the kids, Chloe and Cameron, join Susan and me as we talk about  our homeschooling experience.