Some folks asked me to share the video clip I showed this morning from Art Linkletter’s show Kids Say The Darndest Things. Enjoy!
Love Those Kids!
June 14, 2015 — Craig T. OwensLinks & Quotes
June 1, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“The thing required is not to add to the good actions we have already done, but only to do that out of love to God which men of reputation and virtuous lives due from a principle of honor and regard of themselves. … Let us do all the same honest and virtuous actions, but let us do them for the sake of Him Who made us and to Whom we owe our all.” —Françoise Fenelon
“If, when no one is watching us, we are building ourselves up in the Word of God, then, when a crisis comes, we shall stand; but if we are not building on the Word of God, when a crisis comes we shall go down, no matter what our wills are like.” —Oswald Chambers
“So the issue for us is: Do we eagerly long for the coming of Christ? Or do we want Him to wait while our love affair with the world runs its course?” —John Piper
For all of my pastor friends who have kids, this post from Pastor Dave Barringer is an important read.
Dr. Tim Elmore uses John Wooden as a great example to ask the question: Are You A Coach Or A Teacher?
Have you heard that there are fewer Christians in America? Check out John Stonestreet’s analysis of the latest reports.
[VIDEO] John Maxwell talks about the consistency and perseverance of the professional—
Links & Quotes
May 19, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Only the mediocre are always at their best. If your standards are low, it is easy to meet those standards every single day, every single year. But if your standard is to be the best, there will be days when you fall short of that goal. It is okay to not win every game. The only problem would be if you allow a loss or a failure to change your standards. Keep your standards intact, keep the bar set high, and continue to try your very best every day to meet those standards. If you do that, you can always be proud of the work that you do.” —Mike Krzyzewski
“Spectacular achievements are always preceded by unspectacular preparation.” —Roger Staubach
“Christians who serve in ‘secular’ vocations are the ones who do most of the ministry and kingdom-expansion work that happens in the world. It’s the job of vocational ministers [pastors] to equip these folks so they can do their various ministries effectively.” Read more from Jon Bloom in his post Christian, Your Job Is A Ministry Job.
“One of the most important decisions we make is almost always made without thought, without discussion: ‘How big do you want this to be?’ It’s a question that always gets in the way of, ‘How good do you want this to be?’” —Seth Godin
Scientism keeps trying to find evidence to fit their theories (like this latest one to explain the absence of global warming), but few seldom recognize the genius of Our Creator. Sad…
Dr. Tim Elmore always has amazing insights into the youth mindset. Check out this article: Does A Loaded Childhood Delay Healthy Adulthood? (If you haven’t read any of Dr. Elmore’s books, please type his name in the search box, and check out the book reviews I have posted.)
[VIDEO] Check out Frank Turek’s answer to the question, “Will God send me to hell for not believing in Jesus?”—
Links & Quotes
May 16, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
Parents: you need to keep up to speed with the texting shorthand your children are using. Stay informed and stay involved! Here is a very helpful article on texting acronyms.
“We do not grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ by leaps and bounds but some try. They bounce from one mountain peak of Christian experience to another. Every year or so they make a new start, turn a new leaf, have a new thrill. Children do not grow by suddenly gaining a few inches or adding a few pounds now and then. They grow gradually, daily, by food, rest, and exercise. Christian growth comes the same way by feeding on the Word, resting in the Lord, and exercising unto godliness. It has been said that nothing is more detrimental to Christian experience than too many Christian ‘experiences.’” —Vance Havner
[VIDEO] For all the high school and college graduates, Kid President has some great advice for you—
Links & Quotes
May 5, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Learn to preach to yourself rather than listen to yourself.” —John Piper
Couples, check this out: 7 Lies The Enemy Tries To Sell You About Marriage.
Parents & teachers should check out what Dr. Tim Elmore says about our kids’ overloaded lives in his post The Case For Margins In A Student’s Life.
John Piper is in the midst of an excellent series in his video teaching series called Look At The Book. This series is about Christ’s teaching on anxiety. It will be a 9-part series, so here is a good recap of the first few lessons.
[VIDEO] Did it only take Adam and Eve to see the entire earth?
Links & Quotes
April 26, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“We know that God’s being is perfect, His essence infinite, His dominion absolute, His power unlimited, and His glory transcendent.” —Charles Spurgeon
“A great empire, like a great cake, is most easily diminished from its edges.” —Benjamin Franklin
“We will do most good for this world by keeping a steadfast freedom from its beguiling attractions. We will serve our city best by getting our values from the ‘city which is to come’ (Hebrews 13:14). We will do our city most good by calling as many of its citizens as we can to be citizens of the ‘Jerusalem above’ (Galatians 4:26). Let’s live so that the natives will want to meet our King.” —John Piper
Anyone who works with kids (parents, teachers, coaches) should check out Mark Merrill’s list of 9 things not to say to children.
Matt Chandler says, “sex can be about the Gospel, if we’re mindful enough to make it so.” Read more of his post The ‘Good News’ About Sex.
Eric Metaxas shares an alarming statistic: An astonishing 70,000 children are kidnapped by gangs every year in China! Check out the worldview that contributes to this.
Some amazing pro-life news: doctors have discovered how to counteract the effects of RU-486 (the abortion-inducing drug) and save the lives of unborn babies!
[VIDEO] John Piper’s Look At The Book series is a great in-depth Bible study. Here is part 1 in this series about anxiety—
Links & Quotes
April 24, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“To some Christians today, this world is not a sinking ship or a world reserved for fire. It is an international capitol building overrun with undesirables whom these believers plan to kick out. They will then take their place, renovating and governing it all themselves. Such thinking is symptomatic of a dying love for Jesus and a clinging to this world!” —David Wilkerson
“Some of my best men are women!” —William Booth
Did you know: Babies in the womb have beating hearts at only 21 days gestation, detectable brain waves at roughly 42 days, and can suck their thumbs and yawn?
Frank Turek is exactly right: Sex Is The New Religion.
“For decades social science has found that there is an optimal family structure for a child’s intellectual, emotional and physical flourishing: being raised in a home by her biological, married parents. All other arrangements—cohabiting biological parents, marriage with one step-parent, two adoptive parents or single parents—do not generally provide the same level of benefit.” Read more in this post about children raised by same-sex parents.
Hopefully none of my pastor friends ever do this!
Good reminder from John Maxwell: How Do You Become A Successful Failure?
Important health news: What stress does to your body.
Links & Quotes
April 19, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“You cannot have seen much of the Savior, unless you desire to let others see Him. Your piety is a mere sham if it does not lead to practical service.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” —Winston Churchill
“Real security is in Heaven and thus earth affords only imitations.” —C.S. Lewis
“One thing I know, if you are free, then you are thinking about setting others free; and if you have no zeal for the emancipation of other men, you are a slave yourself. If you are free you hate all sorts of chains, all sorts of sin, and you will never willingly put on the fetters any more. You live each day, crying unto Him Who made you free at first, to hold you up that you fall not into the snare. If you are free, this is not the world for you; this is the land of slaves; this is the world of bondage. If you are free, your heart has gone to heaven, the land of the free. If you are free today, your spirit is longing for the time when you shall see the Great Liberator face to face.” —Charles Spurgeon
The Hubble Telescope is turning 25 years old. Here are some break-taking pictures that it has captured so far.
Seth Godin has a very intriguing question: What if you stopped doing what you are doing?
Antony Van Leeuwenhoek is the father of microbiology. Here is a very cool short biography about his work.
Parents and grandparents, Mark Merrill has a cool way to use technology to encourage your (grand)kids.
Links & Quotes
March 25, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
“Think lightly of hell, and you will think lightly of the Cross. Think little of the sufferings of lost souls, and you will soon think little of the Savior Who delivers you from them. God grant we may not live to see such a Christ-dishonoring theology dominant in our times.” —Charles Spurgeon
I share a lot of quotes from Charles Haddon Spurgeon, but perhaps you may not be as familiar with him. Here is a real short biography on a man called The Prince Of Preachers.
“From the moment a creature becomes aware of God as God and of itself as self, the terrible alternative of choosing God or self for the center is opened to it. This sin is committed daily by young children and ignorant peasants as well as by sophisticated persons, by solitaries no less than by those who live in society: it is the fall in every individual life, and in each day of each individual life, the basic sin behind all particular sins: at this very moment you and I are either committing it, or about to commit it, or repenting it.” —C.S. Lewis
If you are feeling tired, perhaps this will help: 9 Factors That Can Enhance Or Hinder Your Sleep.
David Wilkerson says, “God has given us a powerful weapon to use against any attack on our faith. ” Read more in his post The Great Cloud Of Witnesses.
Science becomes scientism when it is more speculation and theory than it is facts. Here is a case in point: this article about climate change talks about trying to get people to not just look at data, but tries to sell its model/simulation.
I love this! Stop trying to perform for God. It’s holding you back.
[VIDEO] Kids tell us what love is―
Links & Quotes
February 26, 2015 — Craig T. Owens
In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis has one demon giving advice to his young protege demon. This is profound wisdom: “You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” —C.S. Lewis
Two surveys seem to be related: First, “Fifty-four percent of U.S. teens 15-to-17-years-old do not live in a home with their married mother and father.” Read more in this post. (2) Lee Strobel reports on some findings from a Barna Group survey he commissioned: “Two findings emerged in a new national poll that I commissioned on fatherhood and faith: the younger the generation, the more people report having difficult relationships with their fathers. At the same time, the younger generation reports the highest percentage of people who are struggling with belief in God.” You can read Lee’s thoughts on this in Fathers & Faith.
Frank Viola shared this great story—In light of their doctrinal disagreements, someone once asked George Whitefield if he thought he’d see John Wesley in heaven. Whitefield replied, “I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him.”
“Grace is simply another word for God’s tumbling, rumbling reservoir of strength and protection. Grace comes to us not occasionally or miserly but constantly and aggressively, wave upon wave. We’ve barely regained our balance from one breaker, and then, bam, here comes another.” Read more in Max Lucado’s post Grace—A Never Ending Supply.
Astronomers are perplexed by the size of a black hole. Apparently it is challenging their views on the origins of the universe. Perhaps there is a better explanation….
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