"A dear sweet friend of mine has had nothing but trouble with his children. In my estimation he has been the perfect parent who provided them with everything they needed to grow up and do the right thing, but every one of them , in one way or another, took a wrong turn. He grieved over them and disciplined them and set proper boundaries with them. After years of cleaning up after their messes and making the best of the worst of situations, some of his prodigal kids came home and some of them did not. From all appearances his heart was broken over these prodigal kids. But through it all his love for them did not falter. To all of us who know him, he is a great example of how to deal with our children when they go the way of the world. He wrote a book about his experiences and it has become a best-seller. My sweet friend is Jesus and of course His book is the Bible." Stephen Arterburn, introduction to 'Moments For Families With Prodigals' by Robert J. Morgan * ~
"Wait for the Lord, Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." Psalm 27 :14
Wow! This was a powerful post. Thankfully, our Father is not through "growing us up" yet!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post Kathy.
ReplyDeleteKathy - wonderful post and a meaningful reminder!
ReplyDeleteDear friend....
ReplyDeleteMost of my children are not serving the Lord. For the most part they are "false converts"....said a little prayer when they were very young and think they are OK, tho they live like the devil. Where is the fruit? They are only bearing bad fruit. And a good tree cannot bear bad fruit. We continue to pray for repentant hearts, but I take great solace that THE perfect Father, God, had children that were rebellious. They have a free will and can choose life or death...
We will never give up praying and interceding for them.
Wow, good post and good Psalm!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Amy
http://goatpod2.wordpress.com
Wonderful post, Kathy. I love the pictures of your grandchildren too. :)
ReplyDeleteI was one of those children. . . and a father prayed and waited patiently for me. I am just learning the secrets of God's grace, and it is in the "waiting patiently" that we see Him. Thank you for such a lovely post! And thank you for visiting me today!
ReplyDeleteThat was powerful, Kathy. Thank you for this post today.
ReplyDeleteAmen! faithful fathers have a perfect role model.
ReplyDeleteHello Kathy!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you and may you have a terrific week.
Enjoyed this post. Hope is there when Jesus is our Lord. To have hope is very uplifting and encouraging. Many times I fail to side with there is HOPE! Pity Parties are crudy. When hope enters the picture there is joy!
The picture of your grandchildren running and walking on this country road is a sweet one.
Have a sweet day,
d
my perfect sunday morning message kathy captured by the perfect picture of a family taking a walk in the country together.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy B.,
ReplyDeleteThis post made me think. Both my husband and I are fortunate that all of our kids (from to separte families) have turned out well. Thank goodness.
When I read this though, not knowing your friend's circumstances, the word "drugs" popped into my mind. You can't reason with "meth" season. Of course any drug can become a horrible family and personal problem, but I really wish that particular drug would totally disappear.
I am also thinking of the old saying, "No Jesus = No Peace. Know Jesus = Know Peace." When I came back to the Lord, that really did apply to me.
I know, I'm random. Have a wonderful Sunday, and God bless!
Kathy
Kathy, this is such a thought provoking and powerful post, actually better than our pastor's sermon this morning.
ReplyDeleteI love those sweet pictures!!
Hugs,
Thank you for posting this Kathy. I'm so thankful that our Lord is the God of the "second chance" and the third, fourth, etc. Remember after the Lord Jesus had risen from the grave and he told Mary to go tell the disciples AND PETER. He wanted Peter to know that he loved him and forgave him. I'm SO thankful for His forgiveness. We are all prodigals in a way..
ReplyDeleteKathy, thank you so much for your timely post.
ReplyDeleteOur family has been at the point for a while of "prayer and giving it to God" over the decisions of my stepson who is currently in jail facing prison. I am affirmed that we are doing the only thing that we can...prayer and trust in our mighty God.