Me:  That is an old boat.

Prodigal:  Yes, it was used years ago.

Me:  I have a story about years ago.

 

This is from the book God Will Make a Way:  Stories of Hope

 

Nearly 400 years ago, a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America.  The first year they established a town.  The next year they elected a government for the town.  The third year, the government decided to build a road extending five miles westward into the wilderness.  The fourth year, the people of the town decided to impeach their town government because they thought the road was a waste.  Why go there?  Of what use is it?  Who cares?

Within five years, these people of great vision who had forsaken all comfort and family, traveled three thousand miles across an ocean, and overcame great hardships to explore a new land and create a new life had lost their vision for exploring what might be around the bend just five miles out of town.

God is not only involved in your life today–He has been involved in your life from the beginning.  What is that you once dreamed of doing?  What is it that you once felt compelled to do for the Lord?  What was once your deepest desire?

 

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:  therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

Deuteronomy 30:19

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Me: Tell the truth and let the Lord love them.

Prodigal: Amen!

This is from the book The Soul Winner by C.H. Spurgeon

Dear friends, as soon as I saw my poor despairing patient the first time, I blessed God that my terrible experience had prepared me to sympathize with him and guide him. But last night, when I saw him perfectly restored, my heart overflowed with gratitude to God for my former sorrowful feelings. I would go into the depths a hundred times to cheer a downcast spirit. It is good for me to have been afflicted, so that I might know how to speak a word in season to one who is weary.

Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 23:12 (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: You might have some gumption.

Me: Sometimes the Lord gives it to me.

From Source Unknown

If you awake and see the sunrise

Bathing earth in red and gold,

As you gaze you’ll somehow find

It brings a washing of the soul.

It fills one with anticipation

To start the day with such a sight.

God is so very good to give

A fresh new day, giftwrapped so bright!

And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. 1 Samuel 2:1 (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: I have known him since he was knee high to a duck.

Me: Mighty long time.

This is from Jacqueline Syrup Bergan and S. Marie Schwan

Lord, my God, when Your love spilled over into creation You thought of me.

I am

from love,

of love,

for love.

Let my heart, O God, always

recognize,

cherish,

and enjoy Your goodness in all of creation.

Direct all that is in me toward Your praise.

Teach me reverence for every person, all things.

Energize me in Your service.

Lord God, may nothing ever distract me from Your love…

neither health nor sickness

wealth nor poverty

honor nor dishonor

long life nor short life.

May I never seek nor choose to be other than You intend or wish.

Amen.

These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. John 16:25 (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: Just because someone carries it well doesn’t mean it isn’t heavy.

Me: So true.

Author Unknown

We choose how we shall live;

courageously or in cowardice,

honorable or dishonorably,

with purpose or in drift.

We decide what is important

and what is trivial in life.

We decide that what makes us significant

is either what we do or refuse to do…..

WE DECIDE

WE CHOOSE

And as we decide and as we choose,

so our lives are formed……

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Revelation 6:17 (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: It’s right as rain.

Me: Amen!

This is from How to Have That Difficult Conversation by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

Any good disciplining conversation with your child contains four essentials elements: love, truth, freedom, and reality. Love allows the child to feel enough grace to tolerate the truth without feeling hated and bad. Truth provides the rules and requirements for his desired behavior so that he is aware of your expectations, what to do and what to not do. Freedom involves letting the child make a choice to respond to your requests (except in areas of safety, danger, and situations he is not ready for) so that he leans to “own” his decisions. Reality is the consequence or result of what happens to the child if he uses his freedom to defy or ignore your rules.

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. Romans 1:19 (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

 

Prodigal:  I can’t decide which book to read.

Me:  Yes, that often is a problem for me.  There are so many to choose from.

Prodigal:  I have a little while to figure it out.

 

This comes from Philip Yancey

 

A shelf of all the religious books on this subject would cleanly divide into two groups.  The older ones, by Bunyan, Donne, Luther, Calvin, Augustine, and others, are almost embarrassing in their readiness to accept pain and suffering as among God’s useful agents.  A sense of loyalty and faith in God’s wisdom undergirds each one.  God knows what He is doing in this world, and these authors do not question His actions.  They merely try to “justify” the ways of God to man.

More modern books on pain, beginning with some of the agnostic philosophers of nineteenth century and continuing through to many Christians today, contrast sharply.  These authors assume that the amount of evil and suffering in this world cannot be matched with the traditional view of good and loving God.  Therefore, many of them adjust their conception of God, either redefining His love or questioning His power to control evil.  If you read these two categories of books side by side, the difference is quite striking.  It is as if we in modern times think we have a corner on the suffering market.  Do we forget that Luther and Calvin and the others lived in a world without ether and penicillin, and that Bunyan and Donne wrote their greatest works in a dungeon.

 

Why do we think we are guaranteed a life with no pain?  When I start thinking that then I find myself bitter with God.  I find myself questioning more than accepting.  My faith is less and I take control.  In reality, sometimes we have pain and we have no answers but God is still got us and that is more important than if we have pain or not.

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians  3:16

 

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: Sometimes we need to pray.

Me: You’re speaking the truth!

This is from the book Splashes of Joy in the Cesspools of Life by Barbara Johnson

Lord, whenever I hear or read rumors, gossip, or just plain lies, help me fix my thoughts on what is true, good, and right. Help me tune out what is negative and suggestive and tune in what is pure and lovely.

When I get irritated with others and start finding fault, help me dwell on the fine things in them. Help me forget about their faults and remember their strengths.

And when I start feeling sorry for myself, help me remember all the reasons why I should praise You. Remind me of all the blessings You bring into my life to make me happy.

And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. Luke 19:32 (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: Time to clean!

Me: Yes, it is

This is from Joy in Christ’s Presence by Charles Spurgeon

Your cleanness is not measured by any scale or ruler; it is not a variable or vanishing quantity. Instead, it is present, constant, and perfect. You are clean through the Word, through the application of “the blood of sprinkling” (Heb 12:24) to your conscience, and through the imputation of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lift up your head, therefore, and sing with a joyful heart, because your transgression has been pardoned, your sin has been covered, and Jehovah sees no iniquity in you. Do not let another moment pass until by faith in Jesus you have grasped this privilege. Do not be content to merely believe that this priceless gift may be had, but lay hold of it for yourself. You will find that the song praising Christ’s substitutionary death for you is an excellent song, if you are able to sing it.

Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. Psalm 16:1 (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: I ain’t got a dadblame thing to do.

Me: Well, enjoy the peace.

This is from the book Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids In A Screen-Driven World by Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane

Multitasking reduces the quality of your work. In one experiment, students were asked to sit in a lab and complete a standard cognitive skill test. One group of subjects was not interrupted while taking the test. The other group was told they may be contacted with further instructions at any moment via text. They were interrupted twice during the exam. The interrupted group scored 20 percent less than the other group. That difference is enough to bring a B-minus student down to a failing student. In another study, researchers found that workers distracted by email and phone calls suffered a fall in IQ more than twice of that found in marijuana smokers.

If your child is multitasking while doing homework or other activities requiring focus, the quality of her work will suffer. When Suzy does her homework while watching television, she is prone to make errors she would catch if she weren’t distracted.

A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly. Proverbs 21:28 (KJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org