Yesterday, right before it was time to preach, the lights in the church went out. It was pitch black. Someone gave me a flashlight, and I preached a message on revival, from Psalm 85. To be honest, it made everything better. People had to focus in the dark. Not only that, it was easier to preach with boldness. It was just me, a flashlight, the Bible, and the power of God. It is a service I will never forget. The lights came back on as soon as church dismissed. It was surely a God thing and a good thing. Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Just go with it and trust God. It might turn out even better than you expected.

Parenting is not for the faint of heart. I love my children. They are such a blessing, but parenting is not easy. I thought about a beloved verse on parenting, Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it.” What’s the first word: Train. Have you ever trained for something. It’s not a cake walk. I’ve ran several marathons. Each marathon requires 3-4 months of training. At the height of the training, I run 20+ miles on my long days, usually Saturdays.  I once trained for a marathon in July. Have you ever ran 20 miles in the Summer? In Louisiana? Wow, it’s miserable! I had to run at 4am to finish before sunrise. Training for a marathon is not always fun, but I keep the end in mind, crossing the finish line. When you get frustrated and overwhelmed in parenting, keep the end in mind. The goal is for our children to follow the ways of the Lord. It’s worth the blood, sweat, and tears.