StaddonFamily.com

A New Song for a New Life

posted by Donald on 01/31/11

Have you ever wished that you could simply but effectively communicate the difference between godly music and worldly music to others in the Church today?

I was recently encouraged to read the testimony candidly shared by Adam Waller on his website recounting a time the Lord helped him to put in words this key distinction. I hope the five questions he used will “resonate” with your spirit just as they did with those who asked him to speak in Korea. Spoken in love, they help to unveil the heart of the issue, accurately addressing music composition as a moral issue—an art and a language of its own, independent of its words or lyrics.

The longer I live, the longer I see the value of using this approach. I encourage you to take any amount of time necessary to sit back, read this account to the end and take your thoughts to the Lord on what has been called a watershed issue of our day. It’s worth it!

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

Pic of the Month: January ‘11

posted by James on 01/31/11

Full Moon in January

It’s fun to go though pictures of the past month as I sit in my cozy little office looking outside at the blowing snow and thinking about the blizzard warnings here in Chicago. There was snow on the ground for most of January, and it appears as though there will be for the beginning of February, at least.

Can you guess what time this picture was taken? Believe it or not . . .

Leave a Comment » | posted in Family News

Taking the Challenge!

posted by Esther on 01/27/11

What! A memory verse challenge? That’s right, they have that every January! Oops. We realized we were a week late but David and I decided to jump in anyway and take the challenge to memorize Hebrews 12. There are 29 verses in the chapter so we hurried to catch up. Our goal was to memorize the verse of the day in the morning and quote to each other in the evenings. When it didn’t work out to quote it too each other in the evenings we made time for it the next morning or worked on it at the same time as canning pumpkin, fixing hair (that was me) or riding in the car. (You should see David’s paper! Or what’s left of it!) This has been a stretch for us both but in a good way. There is nothing more rewarding than meditating on scripture because you know God in a deeper way and plus if you meditate on it day and night, and do what is written in it, you will be prosperous and successful! (See Joshua 1:8). David and I have found it getting harder as we come down to the final few verses and would like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone else who has taken this challenge not to give up! It is worth the time. Finish strong. And if you didn’t know about it, why not make it your February challenge?

The living the journey website offers some outstanding commentary on the passage if you want to check it out. I’d also encourage anyone who would be interested in a memory verse aid to sign up for memverse. This is also a great tool for reviewing scriptures that you want to keep in your heart!

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11

9 Comments » | posted in Family News

Resolve.

posted by Donald on 01/24/11

Reagan’s speech in the previous post rekindles a hope that we might be more committed to the founding principles behind our nation’s greatness.

That commitment is our resolve. Resolving is resting–building our lives on a principle which produces a single passion and cannot be compromised. As Christians we “give diligence" to determine our purpose just as our nation did.

Now notice: the accusation which Reagan addressed parallels the accusation often leveled against Christianity: that Christianity is “too simple”. But this notion is an easy one to see through. It comes from those who have left both their child-like faith and their mature resolve; their first love, their passion. Somewhere along the way, they have become confused and given up. They forget that some things truly are simple, not necessarily easy, but simple.

Christianity—the relationship more than the religion—is simple: simple in it’s trust in God and in His Word, the Bible. (And trusting can be the hardest thing of all.) As Christians, we trust in the fact that God’s best is the best: for America, for our family, and for each person individually.

Why envy anyone who must cloak his cause with confusion? Our principles and rights are “inalienable”, granted naturally by nature’s God. It is not too simple to own the cause of such liberty dear fellow patriot! Today, live a streamlined life. Let no one turn you from “the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Corinthians 11:3). “For if you do these things you will never fall.”