How God Makes Men

The author, Patrick Morley, is well known as a leader in preparing and discipling men. He takes giant steps towards developing men alongside biblical characters who have learned the lessons of life. The author takes ten of the most well known characters of the Bible and wraps their life around men. The principles he gleans are just some of the treasures waiting in this book. Get your highlighter, Bible and pen ready to explore God's power for men today. The publisher provided me with an Advance Review Copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a favorable review.

Ten Commandments for Husbands

Respect and honor your wife

Keep your heart and mind pure for her

Tell her often you love her

Don’t forget important dates (birthdays, anniversaries)

Admire her strengths and life her up in her weaknesses

Date her often

Visit her family

Spend prime time together

Compliment her

Pray “God make me a better husband everyday.”

Comment below: Can you add another?

Copyrighted by Jim Laudell. Material contained in this post cannot be reproduced or copied without permission from the author.

Six Ways to Settle an Argument

You are not responsible for their actions but you are responsible for your reactions. A tense disagreement can ruin a relationship. Stress drives anger to the boiling point. We can learn to disagree agreeable and take the steering wheel in our hands. Let's look at Six Ways to Settle an Argument:

Lower your voice. A loud voice doesn't exert authority but only exemplifies your loss of control. "A soft answer turns away wrath," the psalmist David advises. You don't win by getting louder - you only escalate the problem.

Understand different interpretations. Even Matthew, Mark, Luke and John told the story of Christ through a different lens. Your personality, upbringing, environment, childhood and education will make a difference on how you view ideas around you. Allow for different interpretations. Your opinion is just that - an opinion. Don't put people in a box, your box.

Be ready to forgive. I'm sorry but... isn't really an apology. Saying your sorry has become such cheap words when said many times without change. It is better to say, "Would you forgive me? I will do my best to do better and to change."

Find common ground. Instead of magnifying the areas you don't agree on find the areas you do agree on. Find a common place to begin with.

Don't go to bed mad. You subconscious dwells on your most emotional downturn of the day, causing you to build a wall, one brick at a time. Unresolved conflict is still a conflict. Take care of the matter before it gets bigger.

Pray about it. Pray for you and pray for them. Pray for them to change after you pray for you to change. Remember Jesus forgave you. If the conflict still burns like fire in your bosom then most likely you have not forgiven yet.

Comment Below: Do you have a story of forgiveness?

Copyright By Jim Laudell. Permission must be obtained from the author to reporduce or copy.

Rating Children's Movies

In the reinvention stage several black and white classical themes and characters are being recreated into culturally relevant pseudo movies. These cartoon character movies are aimed at children, ages 7 to 14, but characterize demonic, anti-God and sexual innuendoes aimed at diverting, de-sensitizing and perverting.
According to a Christian publication, in one children’s movie, rated PG, there was 1 sexual verbiage, 5 profanities, and twice disrespected God with a laugh and a sneer. Focus on the Family reports a recent pirate cartoon includes 5 curse words, including taking the name of the Lord God in vain plus, several sexual allusions, including a nudist boat, (though all is covered by camera angle) and an island where the women are covered only by their long hair and flowers.
Without being thought a prude, old-fashioned, negative or “holy Joe” let me contend for the children. While it is most impossible to cover the “little ones” eyes every time they go into the grocery store it is most possible to shield our children from the entertainment that introduces crude language, amoral sexual behavior and other “innocent(?)” attacks on moral standards of the Christian family.
This is no longer the clean humor of Porky Pig, Mickey Mouse or Clifford the Dog. Cartoon or otherwise, PG rating or not, we must guard the hearts of children and maintain their innocence as long as possible. And in the popular Facebook language, “Just sayin….”

Reducing Stress During Recession

Julie and Bob had a good income, a good marriage, and a good life until Julie came up expecting with complications during her last three months of pregnancy. Within a few months she delivered with a normal birth and a beautiful baby boy. But hospital bills, doctor’s visits and the loss of Julie’s income for three months put the young couple at rock bottom. They struggles to pay for diapers, heating costs and even, food. Bob would come home exhausted and Julie felt defeated as she raised her baby as a stay home mother.

Julie prayed.

In the despair of foreclosures, job layoffs, uncertainty of the future, mounting costs and imaginable pain there is a dynamic – a hope that rides through the storm.

First of all, know He cares. Prayer is seeing life through God’s view. To see earth through His window. Jesus feels the pain, sees the hurt and weeps over the mess. “Jesus wept.” Jn 11:35 To know that He knows. He keeps me close. He delights in me daily. Pr 8:30 He is always within reach. Never ignores us.

Know He is with us. We often remind ourselves that His eye is on the sparrow but the scripture actually goes into greater detail. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. Matt 10:29. Did you notice? He didn’t say He would watch the sparrow fall but He said the sparrow will not fall to the ground without the Father.

Know we can lean on Him. When we learning to lean we grow stronger. Faith gives up in atrophy. Faith only grows stronger under duration. Becomes greater in practice. Produces greater results when meshed with a trail. As one man stated, “If you don’t have a problem – you won’t need a miracle.”

Know His Word is our strength. One of the greatest strengths on earth is to hear the tender voice of Christ in the day of your greatest struggle. One of the surest ways to hear His voice is to read, ponder, and meditate on His word. The Bible is full of scriptures bringing delight to the hearer. When Elijah was running for his life from the crass Jezebel he hid in the obscurity of a cave, as he pitied his dilemma he cried, “just let me die.” Yet, the Son of God entered the darkness of the cave and whispered his name, “Elijah.” What a comfort, a joy, a celebration of spirit, just to know, He knows your name and He knows where you are.

Know tomorrow is coming. When a Japanese Christian preacher was thrown in jail for his faith it was almost more that he could bear. His dungeon was deep below the earth and no one heard his cries, no sunlight and little food but he kept his faith. After, what seemed eternity, the dungeon door came open, the direct sunlight blinded his dirty face. The noise of men beckoning him to come out seemed to bellow out in his nearly deafened ears. Finally the glad words were heard, he was now free but as he looked around he noticed this was not the home he once knew, not a home, tree or building stood – all but the few men with him , were now gone. The men exclaimed, “Your home here in Hiroshima does no longer exist.” The United States had retaliated against the Japanese for their merciless killings at Pearl Harbor and the city of Hiroshima was destroyed by a nuclear bomb but the old preacher was saved because he had been hid in the deep cavern. His dark cell had become his salvation. Tomorrow is coming.