Change in Plans

Well here is a bit of a blog afterall, and it's personal.

Last night at this time I thought I would be a "Poppa" for the second time by now (Monday night). My second Grandchild was supposed to be born this morning. But the Lord has His ways and His will and we can only follow Him and trust Him.

After Jenifer was sent home today because Barrett decided to change positions drastically, I went to the office and watched as the Lord opened some doors of ministry opportunity. He knew I would be needed and would be pulled if my grandson had been born today. The Lord is so good. He even cared that I would be conflicted if a tiny baby was born today.

Barrett will be here in the morning around 7:30 a.m., the Lord willing. But we are trusting His way and His will and the Lord never does wrong.

Gripped by Grace,
Hal

No Prodigal Blog This Week...

I don't know if I will get a chance to blog this week.

I've got a new Grand-baby coming Monday and my son leaves for the first leg of his Afghanistan deployment Saturday.

Gripped by Grace,
Hal

Prodigals... (part three)

Prodigals are never easy to deal with from a parent's perspective. They are self-centered, self-indulgent and just down right disrespectful. The first thing you want to do is grab them up and "ring their neck".

But in this post today, I just want us to remember the Prodigal's Dad in the parable Jesus told in Luke. Even in the son's rebellion, the Dad never showed anything but love.

Remember in the midst of our own rebellion our heavenly Father shows us love, even in His discipline.

Hebrews 12:6 tells us,

"For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives."

So yes, we should and must discipline our Prodigal, as much as is possible. But never lose sight of this - it is to be done in love. Scripture tells us "Love never fails." 1 Cor. 13:8.

This is short but there is enough to chew on and think about.

Gripped by Grace,
Hal

OUCH!!

I preached today from Matt. 5:4:

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

I have been working on it for a couple of weeks. I told DeeDee it was getting me when I was studying for it but when I spoke it today WOW! the Lord ate my lunch.

I have to ask myself, do I mourn over my sin, my every sin, or do I tolerate some? Do I mourn over the sin of the world or do I just turn my head and say, "That's the way people are today," and move on.

If I truly mourn over sin, it must be all sin. Mourning is not measured in degrees. Either you are mourning or your not.

Do you mourn over sin? Never forget, even the "small" ones were big enough for Jesus to go to the cross.

Gripped by Grace,
Hal

Prodigals... (part two)

Parents of Prodigals: Respond or React?
(The second of a few blogs)

In last week's blog I asked this, "Do you have a prodigal?" Then I said, "Be truthful. It doesn't do any good to deny it or ignore it. Once you admit it you can begin praying rightly and responding correctly."

Responding - not reacting - is what is important as you deal with your prodigal. When you react you say things you may later regret. When you respond you can take time to think and say those things and do those things which are productive.

I speak from experience. During the days of my son's prodigal experience I often tended to react rather than respond. I would threaten and yell. But the truth is that never worked.

My wife tended more to respond and encouraged me to do the same. To respond is to step back and look at the offence and lifestyle your prodigal is choosing. Then see how you can step in and say, "Stop" before your prodigal goes over the edge into the abyss.

Responding does not mean you are not firm. But you are firm in a constructive way. Instead of saying, "This is wrong and that is wrong." You point out the error and then give constructive insights to lead away from the edge.

Don't misunderstand, you may need to take the car or cell phone and cut off the cash flow, but don't just do it - explain the loving reason and not that you are just reacting out of anger.

So the next time you are dealing with your prodigal, think, "Am I responding or reacting?"

More next week...

If you have comments or questions about dealing with prodigals leave them in the comments section or e-mail me privately at hal@calerabaptist.org, If there is a need to reply I will do so.

Gripped by Grace,
Hal

Prodigals... (part one)

The Pride of Parents of Prodigals
(The first of a few blogs)


"My name is Hal and my son was a prodigal."

From what I have seen that is a variation of the AA meeting. Why do I start like this? Here is the reason. I have heard of one family today from out of state who is dealing with a prodigal AND I have talked personally with a parent today who has a prodigal. And we know of many more. The encouraging thing about the parent I talked with today is that they recognize their child is a prodigal.

It was interesting, I was just about to order a new book titled ,"Get Outta My Face" that I am looking at maybe teaching at CBC. The phone rang and we had a good talk about this parent's prodigal and the problem that many parents are facing.

Let me say this... if you have a prodigal, you will never be able to begin helping them or yourself until you are honest enough to say, "my son, my daughter is a prodigal." Pride will not get them to return. The truth is where you must start. You don't place blame on yourself or God. You just see that rebellion is occurring and your prodigal is out there.

My son Jonathan went through a time of being a prodigal. (You can read some of his journey on his blog.) It wasn't days or months but years. The return was not easy for any of us. It was drugs, alcohol, sex and you name it. But one day after an arrest and a charge for drug use, etc. the slow journey for home started for him. Now he is home. But DeeDee and I were never fooling ourselves - he was a prodigal and we knew it. (By the way I have his full permission to share his story any time.)

Do you have a prodigal? Be truthful. It doesn't do any good to deny it or ignore it. Once you admit it you can begin praying rightly and responding correctly.

More next time...

If you have comments or questions about dealing with prodigals leave them I will read them and if you want a response I'll give it a try. (or if you need to email me privately - you are welcome to do so at hal@calerabaptist.org)

Gripped by Grace
Hal