“It was not you who chose me, but I chose you.” (Jn 15:16) Praise the Lord! It was another Spirit-filled encounter weekend for the Singles Ministry. This weekend saw thirteen young adults become part of SE Class # 33. It was beautiful to see our young adults - from the candidates, to the sponsoring class, the facilitators, the praise ministry, the auxies, and everyone else present at Graymoor Spiritual Life Center, spending an entire weekend focused on God. They could have been somewhere else, partying with their friends or spending their time doing more “fun” stuff, but they all chose “the better part.” The weekend served as a powerful reminder that we truly have an awesome and loving God!
With Halloween just past us, I thought it might be helpful to dwell a bit on the mysterious world of the invisible. Business and even entertainment has commercialized the mysterious and the invisible. It is ironic that as the world is becoming more secular and questioning of the invisible, entertainment in the form of horror films, and spooky costumes on Halloween has become more popular. Even though we might dismiss this as harmless, we would do well to be careful to avoid dabbling into witchcraft and horror programs which could have demonic roots.
As children, we have a common trait that becomes more evident as we grow older: believing that we know everything. How many times have you heard a parent receive the infamous, “I know what I’m doing!” or “I got this, don’t worry about it!” Probably more often than you’d hope. Honestly speaking, I know I’ve been guilty of that habit multiple times. We think that we know everything and we believe we’re ready to be independent, but we aren’t remotely close to being ready.
Is there a better way to give instructions to our children? Looking back in my life as a father of two teenage boys, I could easily recall the countless times I have unleashed harsh words. I easily reacted to situations without listening to my children’s reasons. Only recently have I come to realize the deep resentments of my children each time they heard the words, “be quiet,” in their formative years. With all good intentions in mind I often misused my parental authority.
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To nurture and promote the love of the Gospel of Christ.
Letters
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