Newsletter: My Proudest Moment as a Parent
Greetings from the Campus Crusade US Staff Conference in Ft. Collins, CO! As I write I’m sitting in a dorm room at Colorado State Univ. having just finished our 2nd full day of teaching. It’s already been amazing! These seven days every two years are designed to equip and encourage missionary staff of Crusade. I was all set to share with you about a powerful message from Chip Ingram, but the Lord just redirected my plans. I think I’ve just experienced my proudest moment ever as a parent. We’ve always been proud of our kids. God has graciously given us five wonderful children who are all walking on a road following him. We’ve been proud of their achievements like Gene becoming an Eagle Scout. But nothing can compare to what I just heard.
I’ve just spend 45 minutes listening to my two oldest, Gene (almost 17) and Christine (“Chris†– 15), share about their afternoon sharing Christ in communities of Colorado. This outreach is a part of their program here with Campus Crusade. After a morning spent in prayer and training in evangelism, they were loaded up onto buses for unknown destinations and sent out two by two to share the gospel with strangers. Chris and her friend were taken to a high-end shopping center in Boulder, CO. Chris shared with me about how they were both a little scared as they began, each saying that the other would have to go first. Not surprisingly, though, my little girl finally said, “What are we doing? We need to be telling everyone instead of worrying about it.†So they started sharing with people, first engaging them in a conversation about their beliefs and looking for ways to share their own.
They looked for people who were sitting or waiting as they would have more time to talk. As they did, they came across a young artist who was drawing pictures of people for $5 each. They asked him if he’d be willing to answer questions and he said he would if they’d let him draw one of them. Chris’ friend agreed and they began what turned out to be a 45 minute conversation. As I sat on our dorm-room bed and listened to her recount what she had shared with this young man, I nearly burst with joy. As parents you often aren’t sure if your kids are really embracing the truth or just going along. But to hear Chris share her beliefs with such conviction was a reassurance of the highest magnitude. As we prayed together for this young man and the others that they shared with to come to faith, I got to reassure her that regardless of his decision, her treasure in heaven was secure. Her response to me was priceless. She said, “That’s nice and all, but right now I just really feel so good.†She said she’d really felt God use her and give her the words to say and that was so cool. What an incredible gift of grace from the Lord!
So, as I sit here typing at nearly midnight, I have to say this is probably the high point of my parenting life right now. Parenting can be really hard some times. Guiding teens through turbulent years tests your convictions to the max. But seeing a young man and a young woman stand up and acknowledge Christ before men makes it all worthwhile. So get in there and don’t become weary in doing good. God just might be taking your flawed efforts and doing more than you know.
Glory to our good, holy and sovereign God!
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Newsletter: Amazing Grace
I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.
Familiar words from a familiar song, but do you know the story behind them? If you do, then you know that an English slave-trader turned preacher named John Newton wrote the hymn. But do you know what other hymns John Newton wrote? Neither do most people.
I’ve had a lot of exposure to John Newton recently, mainly because the worship pastor at our church is also a leading Newton historian. One of the things that we get to enjoy on a regular basis is a whole set of lost Newton hymns that he has set to beautiful new music. In fact, our church’s choir and orchestra will be traveling to England in April to participate in the 200th anniversary of Newton’s death. Best of all, I’ve just learned that a foundation grant means I’m going to get to go with them!
But that’s not where the Newton links end. Last week the folks at Bristol Bay Productions and Walden Media treated the Senior Leadership Team at FamilyLife to an early viewing of a new film entitled “Amazing Grace.†The film will be opening on February 23 and, while John Newton is a significant character, it centers around the story of William Wilberforce and his battle to abolish slavery in England.
Let me tell you that if you are used to going to see “Christian†films, only to be disappointed by the low-budget quality, you will be very pleased with this production. It is a top-notch story of how a man of faith persevered to change the world, and the sad thing is that most of us don’t even know the name of William Wilberforce. You will want to see this powerful picture!
Be sure to watch the blog for more information about my upcoming trip to the land of Newton and Wilberforce. Also, check out the web site for the movie at www.amazinggracemovie.com. There are lots of resources there, including educational packets and flyers you can use to learn more or teach your kids about this story.
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Newsletter: Voice of the Orphan
November 1997: Our hearts were burning, but we needed to hear from the Lord: Should we pursue adoption or not? Karaña and I felt a desire for more children but was it part of God’s plan for our lives? So, we decided to pray and listen for God’s voice. We heard from God the next morning, independently, and God sounded a lot like Dennis Rainey. OK, so it actually was Dennis, but we are certain that it was also God’s word of confirmation for us. Separately, but at the same time, Karaña and I each heard a FamilyLife Today program encouraging couples to consider the needs of orphans worldwide and whether or not they were called to adopt.
November 2006: Now, almost 9 years later, our family includes two precious children who were born in S. Korea and we can’t imagine life without them. Well, in November 2006 an estimated 10 million people will again hear about the needs of orphans worldwide through an unprecedented partnership between FamilyLife’s Hope for Orphans, Focus on the Family, and Steven Curtis Chapman’s Shaohannah’s Hope. For the entire week of November 13-17, both FamilyLife Today and Focus on the Family will be dedicated to raising the church’s awareness of the fact that there are nearly 150 million orphans around the world. During that week, James Dobson will be a guest on FamilyLife Today and Dennis Rainey will be a guest on Focus. Steven Curtis Chapman will be a guest on both.
Next to the Lord’s Great Commission, is there any clearer mandate in Scripture than James 1:27: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress� Now that doesn’t involve adoption for all of us. There are many ways to help meet the needs of orphans. Some of us might be called to pray for or financially support overseas missionaries who manage orphanages. Some might need to aid another family who feels called to adopt or help start an orphan ministry at their church. But for many families, like ours, we were left with a provocative question, “Has God provided enough resources and love for us to bring another child into our family?†That was the question we heard back in 1997 and we had to answer, “YES!†So please be in prayer for this historic week of broadcasts. Never in the past have so many people been presented with the enormous need. Only in heaven will we learn how many children will find their “forever families†as a result of this effort, but pray that many will be moved to help the helpless, and make sure you don’t miss these important programs.
I know for our family, we have received so much more than we have given. Let me leave you with one final thought: in a nation where so many Christians are struggling with taking the focus off themselves and the things of this world, is it possible that the church needs the orphan more than the orphan needs the church?
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Newsletter: The latest on FamilyLife’s big technology shift
As most of you know, as Director of Information Services I’ve been asked to lead the project of replacing our foundational software systems and Internet site. This software is used to coordinate the 200+ conferences and seminars we lead, the 7 different broadcasts we produce that are carried by over 1000 outlets and listened to 9.1 million times per week, production and sales for the life-changing products that come from FamilyLife Publishing, as well as all the administrative stuff that goes on behind the scenes. Once our new Internet site is launched, our constituents will be able to experience a totally personalized FamilyLife.com that guides them to the help they need sooner.
This multi-million dollar project is going to be changing things around headquarters between now and July 2007, when we’re scheduled to go live, and for years afterward. Our board has looked at many different software partners and selected our top choice and by the end of April we hope to have contract details worked out. Make sure to catch the latest news on our blog at www.walkerfamilylife.com/blog.
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Newsletter: BOZ blitzes preschoolers for FamilyLife
As a lifelong Sooner fan, I have to admit that when I heard about “BOZâ€, my first thoughts were of an outlandish linebacker with spiked hair. The idea of BOZ partnering with FamilyLife sounded a little scary. But rest assured, your preschoolers are safe with this BOZ.
If you’ve got a preschooler you may have already come across the big green bear that started showing up in stores last month. BOZ is the latest creation of Dennis DeShazer, who also created a certain purple dinosaur named Barney.
Following the success of Barney, Mr. DeShazer teamed up with Jon Green to start Exclaim Entertainment for the purpose of creating quality family entertainment with a Christian perspective.
What’s most exciting about all of this is that the folks at Exclaim approached FamilyLife about partnering with them to help provide quality biblical help for parents of the preschoolers that their videos target. As a result, every BOZ video that is sold will include a promotional piece that directs parents to FamilyLife for practical help with marriage and parenting. It’s a great opportunity to expose a whole new constituent base to FamilyLife and the life-changing truths of God’s Word.So, if you know any preschoolers, you might want to check out BOZ at www.familylife.com/boz or http://www.bozthebear.com/.
Regardless, know that FamilyLife continues to look for partners like BOZ that can help us fulfill our mission to effectively develop godly families that change the world one home at a time.
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