Hugs

I am apologizing again, I m falling asleep!

I m in front of the laptop with 2 internet sites open plus the email as well It has taking me an enormous  amount of time just to write this little post,

Goodnight MAE To all,

Later,

Pat,

Child   of God

Word Press messed up somehow and lost my scheduled posts, all of them but 2

My dear Blogger friends,

I had a very busy day today so, I was up really late last night to find some of my usual posts and quite a few new interesting posts.

I schedule about 67 but only 2 showed up.

Somehow WordPress did not function so I had very few views and visits plus few likes. The site lost all of my posts. Tomorrow I have another very busy day and I will try my best to put a few posts out and check your posts which I also did little of today, sorry it was a very interesting but truly busy day for the Lord. 

I apologize in advance but their engineers do not work on the weekend so I have to wait until Monday to see if they find them.

All that work for nothing!!!

Please be patient with me. I will read as many as I can of yours tomorrow and post a little. Until Monday that is all I can do.

Love you all in Christ Jesus,

Hugs,

God Bless you,

Later,

Pat,

Child of God.

update,

it, they deny losing them

Seize the Opportunity

“When tests and challenges come at you from all sides consider it a joyful opportunity.”

    Jesus Always, August 23

Mr. Opportunity

Walt often greeted me with, “Hey, Dan, I have an opportunity for you.” This was how many of our conversations began. Over time I learned to laugh and beat him to the punch. “So Walt, what opportunity do you have for me today?”

Walt was one of those happy, easy-going guys who had the gift to see the positive in every situation. Even the worst of times was an “opportunity” for someone to learn something new, to grow, to rise above expectations and do great things. Walt lived as if every “opportunity” was a moment for us to remain faithful, do our best, and then watch as God showed up to redeem and transform a difficult situation.

I was a young man when I worked with Walt, and I learned a lot. Above all, I learned that even the most difficult of situations is “an opportunity” to see God at work.

Opportunity Arises

In May of 2016, a man dressed in a white coat stood at the foot of my hospital bed and told me I had Stage IV colon cancer. At that moment, my wife Nancy and I began a journey not of our choosing. Nancy and I have moved from grieving a devastating diagnosis to learning to see opportunity in the midst of a difficult situation. We have witnessed the reality of disappointments transformed into opportunities for good. It is possible to be joyful in the midst of adversity.

If I were granted the opportunity to make it all go away, to wake up from this horrible dream, I would take it. The cloud hanging over my life is not a pleasant one. Weekly trips to the oncologist for chemotherapy treatments, MRI and CT scans, labs and such are getting old. Yet in the midst of it all, there are opportunities to gain much more than I have lost.

My Transformation

Just the other day I asked Nancy if my personality had changed. I knew the answer. I just wanted to see if it was obvious to those closest to me. She confirmed what I felt to be the truth: I am a gentler, calmer, more peaceful person than I was before. The “type A” push and drive to get things done and succeed has been tempered with a dose of reality about the shortness of life. When I look at life, I have the ability to see that which is truly important.

Lunch with Nancy has become more of a daily reality. We slow down, stop for a few minutes and share time away from the office. It sounds simple, but it is significant. In the past there was too much to do, so much to accomplish.

My calendar is less full. This change is, in part, because I am not able to push and move at the pace I once called normal. This reality provides me with moments to be still and listen for God’s leading and directing. This has always been an important part of who I am, but cancer has provided me an “opportunity” to do it even more.

I laugh more. Each moment has a special quality to it. Confession: there were times in life I was so focused on what could be that I missed what was. Looking to the future and planning on how to make things become a reality often robs us of the chance to be with people in the moment.

I find I am living in the present much more than I was before. Not only am I in the present, but I also find it enjoyable and life-affirming. I am still planning, preparing, and working to move into the future. However, my plans are tempered with an ability to be at peace with what is. There are other changes. Some are subtle, others I see very clearly. Cancer was a “setback.” It was also an “opportunity.” I pray God continues to give me the strength to see the opportunities for myself and others as I travel this journey.

Coffee and Conversation

Imagine for a moment you and I had the opportunity to sit down for a cup of coffee. As we got to know each other, I would eventually ask something along these lines: “How do you experience God at work in your life?”

If you are like many people I talk with, you might struggle to answer. Pastor types will often begin by talking about what they are doing or reading. That is not what I am asking. What I want to hear about is how you are being with God. I long to hear how you are encountering God in the midst of your everyday life. As you think of your life, what opportunities currently exist for you to bring your cares and worries to Abba Father, trusting Him to transform and redeem a difficult situation into something lifegiving?

Easter is a season of transformation, renewal, hope, and opportunity. A Roman cross was transformed from an instrument of death to a symbol of hope and life. The tomb, a place of mourning, became a symbol of life and rebirth. Is there something in your life where you can invite God to transform what may currently be a difficult situation into something lifegiving? Go ahead, seize the opportunity, give us something to really talk about when we finally have a chance to sit down for coffee.

 “It is often these minor setbacks that draw you away from My Presence. When you reframe setbacks as opportunities, you find that you gain much more than you have lost. It is only after much training that you can accept major losses in this positive way.”

Jesus Calling, November 3

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About the author

Daniel Nicewonger is a graduate of Messiah College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Daniel has served as pastor for American Baptist churches in New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, and currently serves as the Pastor of First Baptist Church of Kennett Square, PA. Daniel is married to his wife of 28 years, Nancy. They have two adult children, Joseph and Rayann.

5 Tips to Help Teens Navigate Their Busy World

When you walk around the house, it’s probably not hard to see you have teenagers living there. Backpacks in random corners. Coffee tables piled with notebooks. Bedrooms where you haven’t seen a floor in weeks. Kitchen shelves you can hardly keep stocked with food. At least that’s how it is at my house.

If that’s you too, first of all, you’re not alone. Parenting teenagers in 2019 is not for the faint at heart, but God put those teenagers in your home for a purpose—to love and care for them as you help them navigate their world.

On the surface, it appears teenagers primarily eat (pizza, gum, and anything with the word sour in it), sleep (nightly campaigning to push their bedtime an hour later) and go to school (begrudgingly). But if that’s all they do, why do they find navigating their world so difficult? Why are they stressed out? Why do they seem so anxious? Why do they seem so busy all of the time?

Believe or not, research shows that Generation Z is the most stressed out generation ever. The reality is that teens are feeling caught in their schedule, their access to culture, their constant connectedness to the world through technology, and the pressure to succeed. In fact, kids begin to experience these feelings at younger ages than ever, even before they enter their teen years.

Days of rest really don’t really exist anymore. We expect teenagers to act a certain way, maybe because we remember the way we were as teens or because we still see them as children. Often the expectations placed on teens are too unrealistic for them to handle.

But it doesn’t have to be this way, and you have role in that. In fact, the most influential person in a child’s life is a parent. And along the way, you can influence them lean into the power of God to help them navigate the complexities of being a teenager in the twenty-first century.

Here are five things we can do to prepare our kids to tackle anything throughout their busy lives:

Pray for them and with them.

The most important thing you can do for your teen is pray for them. The world they navigate can feel like a battlefield. Pray that God will be their strength through the ups and downs they face. Let them hear your prayers. This communicates how much you love them and are on their side at home, no matter what happens at school.

“You can talk to Me lying down, sitting up, or with arms stretched up to heaven. Your eyes can be opened or closed. I don’t care about the position of your body—I care about the position of your heart. And when your heart is seeking Me, I will hear you.”
– Jesus Calling for Teens: 50 Devotions for Busy Days

Help them find community.

We can’t do life on our own. Help your teen develop strong friendships. Find a church with a great youth ministry and bring them consistently. Make your home a place where your teen wants to hang out with their buddies. Friends are a strong influence at this phase of life. Be sure your child’s friends are pointing them toward the ultimate Friend: Jesus.

“My friendship is practical and down-to-earth. As your Friend, I am always here to listen and to help. Together we will face whatever each day brings: pleasures, hardships, adventures, disappointments.”
– Jesus Calling for Teens: 50 Devotions for Busy Days

Make fun a priority.

As teens navigate life through school and extracurricular activities, they face immense pressure to succeed from teachers and coaches and even parents. When it comes to letting go of stress, laughter really is the best medicine. Make fun a priority during their teenage years, because adulthood will have enough pressures for a lifetime. Yes, help them accomplish goals, but make sure they’re having fun along the way!

“Don’t take yourself so seriously. It’s okay to make a mistake. Everyone stumbles and falls. Everyone does something embarrassing sometimes. Learn to laugh at yourself, and don’t worry if other people laugh along. Besides, you have Me on your side, so what are you worried about?”
– Jesus Calling for Teens: 50 Devotions for Busy Days

Be the encouraging voice in their life.

The world is filled with voices trying to define how we see ourselves. This is especially true of our teens. Voices from pop culture. Voices from friends. Voices from teachers and coaches. But even though it doesn’t seem like it, a parent’s voice is still most important to them. Be the voice that reminds your teen how God defines them: His beloved child, created in His image, who has what it takes to accomplish His purpose for their life.

“Ask My Spirit to help you hear My voice above all the others. Listen closely to what I have to say, and then follow Me wherever I lead.”
– Jesus Calling for Teens: 50 Devotions for a Thankful Heart

Allow them time to rest.

The pace of the teenage life can be nonstop. Going to school, participating in extracurricular activities, hanging out with friends—not to mention fitting in homework and studying somewhere along the way. This pace of life will wear on them at some point. Before that happens, make sure they’re scheduling time to rest and rejuvenate. Help them learn to find peace in the only One who can give true peace for their busy life.

“Stop trying to figure everything out, and hang out with me. I created you to need rest. Not just the kind of rest that comes from sleeping, but the kind that comes only from spending time with Me—rest for your soul .”
–Jesus Calling for Teens: 50 Devotions to Grow Your Faith

Parents, your role is crucial when it comes to helping your teen navigate their busy world. You may wonder if they’re listening. You may question if anything you say is having any impact on them right now. Please be assured: what you do matters.

When we step into their messy world and love them unconditionally through these formative years—even if we don’t get it right all the time—our kids will know they have someone on their side who loves them, no matter what’s happening. Our homes will be a place where they can take a break, find a place to breathe in the middle of their busy world, and find peace in the arms of their Heavenly Father who loves them beyond anything they can imagine.

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About the author

Dan Scott has been working with kids for over 20 years as a teacher, pastor and communicator. He is passionate about engaging the hard-to-reach preteen age group and is the author of Caught in Between: Engage Your Preteens Before They Check Out, which offers the latest research findings on preteens. Dan and his wife, Jenna, live outside of Atlanta, Georgia with their four children. For more information, please visit www.caughtinbetweenbook.com. And if you unsure of how to move forward and support your preteens through one of life’s most challenging times? Take Dan’s Preteen Engagement Assessment, here