Jars of Wine

What has fear stolen from you?

What will others think?
What if I fail?
What if I cannot sustain success?
What if I lose what I have?
What if something bad happens?
What if I’m not good enough?
What if I offend someone?

What if we were able to conquer 1 of these?

How would we feel?

❤️

Family Warriors

Today I was thinking about a night some months ago that my wife and I took a walk around the block, which is the time we usually talk about some thing our kids did to make us proud as well as discussing some of the dumb things they did to cancel out the good. 🤣

(5kids x 2 dumb actions daily= a lot to discuss which means more walking for us)

All of a sudden it seemed like Lilia had this good kind of anger moment…and said to me something like:

“ You know what, nowadays to raise a strong family it seems like you can’t just be in cruise control, going through motions, assuming that everything will be all right just because of what worked on the past.

It seems like constantly there are fires to put out, anxiety episodes, a relationship challenge, health problems, bad habits forming, money stress, and so on.

She said “we have to be like a warrior mentality, alert and focused with the intention of working on improving each area if we expect to have a chance.”

She is right.

You can sense forces trying to destroy the family. Maybe u agree, maybe not but we all have battles to fight in our own journeys.

The more I talk to my cousins with kids and other parents it seems like they’re feeling the same thing. Sometimes we may feel like we are failing.

I ask for your prayers for families that are struggling as well as for those who are silently suffering because of fear of speaking up, ready to give up.
How can I expect my kids to thrive in a world like this without sowing in them repeatedly the values we want to harvest?

The Lord said “you will have tribulations, distress and suffering, but take courage because I have overcome the world. “😀

Lord please help me to intentionally help my family on the most important areas of their life according to your kingdom.

Amen

The moment you realize exactly what you must do to grow in an area of your life and still not be able to do so, (so freakin frustrating) is also the moment God is trying to remind me that life is a team sport with my teammates in heaven and here on earth working together to forge the best version of me for God’s victory.

Thanks for reminding me Lord.
I am never alone.

The Hourglass

What comes to mind when you see this image down below?

Recently my wife and I went to buy a wedding gift at Hobby Lobby for some friends of ours and I saw one of these.
I said "this is a cool gift sweetheart to remind them that their time together is a treasure that must be valued while they have it"...she was skeptical.

I wish I knew then what I know now, how fast the sand moves down the glass.

Like the timers in a board game, I cannot turn over the hourglass and re film Season 1 to now. I cannot undo the done badly and do the undone. All I can do is get myself to do now, live now.

The reason I am sharing this is that I find myself letting the speed of life take over me and only God knows how much sand is left at the top.
I don't know the direction of your life but I hope it is beautiful and that you are fully engaged in it.

For me it is a scary feeling to realize how many times I am doing something and thinking of something else. In a fog, or unconsciously going through life out of habit instead of right direction.
I ask God to help me to re-commit to put First things first and to remind me when I forget because unfortunately I will.
The distractions are too many, too accessible, and too strong to overcome without a FIGHT....and the sand left is to rare to waste.

I think I am going back to Hobby Lobby and buy one for myself...to remind me