For one month out of the year most Americans are contemplating all that is good every single day. You see it most vividly via social media as people post what they are most thankful for each day. It is November, the month of Thanksgiving. But what happens in December or even further down the road when the month of remembering to be thankful is but a distant memory. God’s word doesn’t designate a month for thanksgiving, but a lifetime…

It was a typical night in my home when I got the dreaded call. The kids were running around after a warm summer’s day. I was curled up on the couch chatting with my husband. All seemed to be well with the world and then the phone rang. My oldest sister was intensive care and it wasn’t looking good. By midnight she was gone. It’s one of those surreal moments in life that you wish you could forget but you know you never will. In a few days, I will gather with my remaining fun-loving sisters and mom to celebrate Thanksgiving. We will laugh a lot, you can’t get us in a room together without hearing laughter, and I imagine we will think and speak about our sister. There is no doubt that we will also mourn that she is not with us this year…

I finished reading Pastor John Piper’s most recent post on raising children, looked at my husband and cried out, “We are failing.” He looked at meand said, “We are learning.” Yes. That is right. We are learning.

Pastor John urges parents to require that their children obey. After my episode, I wondered if there were other parents who felt the same way as I did at that moment: deflated, incapable, and self-sufficient. There isn’t anything I’d like better than to know that I trained my children well. But I can’t do it on my own. I can’t muster up the energy. I can’t read enough books. Oh, I can try. I can try in my own strength. I can try in my own wisdom. I can read every parenting book on the market. I can do all of those things, but it is only God who will enable me to be faithful in my calling to train my children…

This morning I woke up and thought to myself, I want a relationship with Jesus. Here’s the good news, I have a relationship with Jesus. I am a Christian. But what I desire is to know him intimately, to pray, to read, to learn, and to love. I want to know my Savior and foster a relationship with him. Often, not always, when I think of something or have a desire on my heart, the Lord provides the answer. Today, I woke up thinking about my relationship with Jesus and how much I love it and yet how much more I’d like to know him and then I stumbled upon the Desiring God website…

Relevance: The quality of being directly connected with and important to something else

I’ve been doing a little wrestling match with the word relevance today. As a freelance journalist I’m generally on the lookout for what is relevant for today’s reader. What is the latest trend, news story, and what has gone viral. These are questions that are valid and important for readership.

I’ve noticed that much is the same for blogging. We are searching out what is the hot topic for the week and what might be useful to address. What are people “liking” and reposting, etc. It’s good to be aware of what others find interesting or powerful so that we might encourage or challenge one another (when done graciously, of course)…