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Showing posts with label Decisions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Decisions. Show all posts

Thursday, June 11, 2015

The Chronicles of Biscuit - Pros and Cons

The Chronicles of Biscuit: Stories about our younger son whose nickname is Biscuit.

Decisions and choices are hard for anybody at times, but for a 12 year old, they can be really tough.

Our younger son is at the right age where he can still go to the younger kids' session of Bible camp or to the older kids' session. The whole family will be at the older session, where only a few of us will be at the younger one.  He was planning to go to both.

But then we realized that there was a conflict with the younger session week.  The BIG Texas-Oklahoma Junior Golf Tournament (T/O) is scheduled the same week this year!  Biscuit wasn't sure what to do.  We didn't care, since he was already going to camp the next week. If he hadn't been, we certainly would have chosen for him, but since he had the option, we let him chose.

Fast forward a few weeks:  Biscuit's next older brother is going to be a counselor during the younger session. When he came home after a camp meeting, all excited about the week and its activities, Biscuit began to second-guess his decision.  Bigger brother encouraged him to make a list of the pros and cons of going to each, which he did.
(Pros)
After Biscuit made the lists, he still wasn't sure. I told him to go to bed, pray about it, and that God would help him make the best decision.  He wasn't in bed long (not long enough to sleep, but long enough to pray), but soon came and told me he was going to camp.  He had made his decision.
(Cons...*And a not about the 'fights between a family member'....It's not our family he's referring to!)

I wasn't sure the decision would stay the same the next day, the next week, or even especially after the first golf tournament of the summer (which was Tuesday), but it has. He hasn't wavered in his decision.  I'm pretty sure it's because he knows which decision was directed by God and is most important, spiritually.  There are worldly things at camp, no doubt, and he even lists some "bad" that can be found at camp just the same as it can be found anywhere, but there are many things that are at Bible camp that you can't find anywhere else.  You can't grow spiritually the same way anywhere else.  There's something about Bible camp that makes you feel even closer to God than anywhere else.  Biscuit knows that, and he knows the fun that's there, as well.

We would have been proud of Biscuit no matter what decision he made because he thought about the choices and considered the aspects of each.  I actually was a little sad that he wasn't going to do the golf tournament, but that's selfish of me!  I was sad to not be going to the younger camp, too, because I've been a counselor there the past two years!  Conflicts aren't fun!

But we're extremely proud that Biscuit chose the better.  He chose the best. He chose spiritual over worldly.  That's the best decision anyone could ever make.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8

Monday, February 11, 2013

What is the Basis for Your Decisions?

Our sermons yesterday were very, very good.  They always are, but these two especially got me to thinking.  (Note:  To listen to the sermons, click HERE.  The morning sermon is titled: Beautiful Things.  The evening sermon is: Escaping the People-Pleaser Trap)

Here are a few statistics Ken gave in the morning sermon:

"62% of people (in the U.S.) say that they are deeply spiritual."

That seems about right.  Sadly not more do, but it's about where I would have thought it would be.

"Only 14% make their decisions based on what God's Word says."

This is the shocking part of the statistic.  Only 14% of people use God's Word to make decisions.  Hmmmm......I see a problem, do you?  The saddest part of this statistic is that it seems to point out the fact that many of those who would call themselves Christians don't even use God's Word to make their decisions.  And we wonder why things go wrong in our lives.  Perhaps, and most likely, it's because we're using the wrong guide to make our decisions!  

What about you?  Are you one of the 14% that makes decisions based on what God's Word says or are you part of the 86% that does not?

The basis of the sermon was the fact that we don't always fulfill the mission Christ gave us - to tell others about Him.  We don't do this because we let other things shape our "World View".  This is evident by the above statistics.  

A challenge for this week is to try to make every decision according to what God would say and would want you to do.  How do you know what He would want you to do?  By praying to Him for guidance and wisdom, and by reading His Word - the Bible.  Ken's lesson pointed out the fact that God's "World View" is the Bible.  That should be our "World View" as well.  No other "World View" will please Him.

Be sure to take the time to listen to the sermons on the link!  You'll be glad you did!
 
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