I must be on a country kick! Here is another country music video by Brad Paisley called, “He didn’t Have to Be”. It’s about a step dad coming into his step sons life and being a dad that he didn’t have to be.

Some thoughts:

1.) You Parents Do & Did the Best They Knew How

• If you have great parents recognize that they didn’t have to be great. They choose to. They choose to love you and raise you right.  Be grateful.

• If you have “bad” parents, recognize they did the best they could and the best they knew how. Love them for the investment they made, even if it wasn’t a great one in your eyes.
  

2.)  Be a Parent to Someone Who Needs One - I love it when I see a family take someone in who doesn’t have a great family life and treats them as their own. If you’re in a position to be a dad or a mom to someone that doesn’t have one, I promise you, that persons life will be forever changed as a result of you bringing them in.

Do your parents know you’re grateful for them? Do you know they’ve done the best they know how? Has someone been a parent to you that didn’t have to?

If so, do something for them to show your gratitude, because whether you recognize it or not, you’re blessed more than you could ever imagine.

Thoughts?

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the GOOD of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.”                                                                       Romans 8:28

The Loss of My Mom

For those of you who don’t know my story, I lost my mom when I was a senior in high school. She was sick for the majority of my life and I saw a lot of suffering throughout the process.  After losing her I realized what it’s like to lose a mom, to see a husband lose a wife, to see parents lose their daughter, and to see friends lose a great friend.

Since my mom passed I’ve seen a lot of people lose people dear to them. Everyone seems goes through the grieving process in their own way. I’d like to share my thoughts on getting through storms as big as these can be and what got me through.

Experiences like this can cripple people for a lifetime. They can also stand as a period in your life that while they seemed like the most devastating time in your life, God will turn it into something great. If you’ll give your hurt over to God, I promise your life will never remain the same.

Though it may not seem like it, the difference between the two is simply a choice.

Tomorrow I’ll start to share some things I’ve learned that I pray will help you if you’re currently going through something as tough as losing a loved one.

In the mean time, I strongly encourage you to watch this sermon by Louie Giglio. The message starts about 29 minutes into the video. Definitely a life changing message that will help you out.