Me: Look at all the fish.

Prodigal: I wonder if they are related?

Me: I don’t know, it would be nice if there parents were there.

Prodigal: Yes, that would be a good support.

This is from the book Bringing up Boys by Dr. James Dobson

If character training is a primary goal of parenting, and I believe it is, then the best way to instill it is through the demeanor and behavior of a father. Identification with him is a far more efficient teacher than lecturing, scolding, punishing, bribing, and cajoling. Boys watch their dads intently, noting every minor detail of behavior and values. It is probably true in your home, too. Your sons will imitate much of what you do. If you blow up regularly and insult your wife, your boys will treat their mother and other females disrespectfully. If you drink to excess, your kids will be at risk for chemical substance abuse. If you curse or smoke for fight with your coworkers, your boys will probably follow suit. If you are selfish or mean or angry, you’ll see those characteristics displayed in the next generation.

Fortunately, the converse is also true. If you are honest, trustworthy, caring, loving, self-disciplined, and God-fearing, your boys will be influenced by those traits as they age. If you are deeply committed to Jesus Christ and live by biblical principles, your children will probably follow in your footsteps. So much depends on what they observe in you, for better or worse.

Mark 2:41

And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Me: You are getting in the Christmas mood?

Prodigal: I am just checking if any gifts have found there way in yet.

Me: Might bit too early for that.

This is from the book Reclaiming Your Heart by Denise Hildreth Jones

Can I share something with you? There may always be people who don’t think you are worth much. They may see only your failures, only your sins, only the wrong things you have done. They may even determine that you have nothing of value to offer them. But that is about their hearts, not yours. It doesn’t have anything to do with what God sees when he looks at you.

The Lord sees you. He knows you. What does He feel? He feels love toward you. Even with what people have said about you today, focus on what the Lord says to your spirit.

Psalm 95:1-5

The heights of the hills are His also.

The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: You hit the nail on the head.

Me: Sometimes I get it right…

This is a short video devotion on Proverbs.

Click here to watch the video

Proverbs 10:3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. (ESV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Me: I like your picture.

Prodigal: They are some friends of mine.

Me: I want to share too.

This is written by Helen Steiner Rice

When we feel we have nothing to give,

And we are sure that the song has ended,

When our day seems over and the shadows fall,

And the darkness of night has descended,

Where can we go to find the strength

to valiantly keep on trying?

Where can we find the hand that will dry

the tears that the heart is crying?

There’s but one place to go and that is to God,

And, dropping all pretense and pride,

We can pour out our problems without restraint,

And, gain strength with Him at our side

And together we stand at life’s crossroads,

And view what we think is the end,

But God has a much bigger vision

And he tells us it’s only a bend.

For the road goes on and is smoother,

And the pause in the song is a rest,

And the part that’s unsung and unfinished

Is the sweetest and richest and best.

So rest and relax and grow stronger,

Let go and let God share your load,

Your work is not finished or ended,

You’ve just come to a bend in the road.

Proverbs 5:9

Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one;

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: I am ready to listen to a sermon.

Me: Yes, there is nothing like a good sermon filled with meat for the spirit.

Prodigal: I think I need one of those today.

Sermons should have real teaching in them, and their doctrine should be solid, substantial, and abundant. We do not enter the pulpit to talk for talk’s sake; we have instructions to convey important to the last degree, and we cannot afford to utter petty nothings. Our range of subjects is all but boundless, and we cannot, therefore, be excused if our discourses are threadbare and devoid of substance. If we speak as ambassadors for God, we need never complain of want of matter, for our message is full to overflowing. The entire gospel must be presented from the pulpit; the whole faith once delivered to the saints must be proclaimed by us. The truth as it is in Jesus must be instructively declared so that the people may not merely hear, but know, the joyful sound….Nothing can compensate for the absence of teaching.

Charles Spurgeon

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

John 13:34

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: There ain’t no flies on you.

Me: Trying to get a lot done.

This is a short devotional video on Proverbs.

Click here to watch the video

Proverbs 10:2

Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death. (ESV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Me: Well that’s mighty nice of you, to bring others round today.

Prodigal: It is the season to remember service to others.

Me: That is something we can all try to do.

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

I suppose that we sometimes get nearer to Christ when we think we are at a distance than we do when we imagine we are near Him, for we are not always exactly the best judges of our own spiritual states. We may be very close to the Master, and yet we may be so anxious to get closer that we feel dissatisfied with the measure of grace that we have already received. To be satisfied with self is not a sign of grace, but to long for more grace is often a far better evidence of the healthy state of the soul.

As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you (John 15:9)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: Sometimes we need to just have more action.

Me: That is true.

I was hungry

and you formed a humanities club

and you discussed my hunger.

Thank you.

I was imprisoned

and you crept off quietly

to your chapel in the cellar

and prayed for my release.

I was naked

and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.

I was sick

and you knelt and thanked God

for your health.

I was homeless

and you preached to me

of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.

I was lonely

and you left me alone to pray for me.

You seem so holy;

so close to God.

But I’m still very hungry

and lonely

and cold.

So where have your prayers gone?

What have they done?

What does it profit a man to page through his book of prayers when the rest of the world is crying for help?

Author unknown.

Proverbs 12:19

The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Prodigal: Working to the bone today.

Me: Yes, and here is something to help you.

FEAR:

Forget Everything And Run

or

Face Everything and Rise

This is a short video devotion on Proverbs.

Click here to watch the video

Proverbs 10:1

The proverbs of Soloman: A wise son makes a glad father, But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. (NKJV)

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Me: Hello, what is your name?

Prodigal: His name is not Mara.

Me: Well after reading let’s make sure of that.

Hi Mara!  What your name is not Mara?  

Mara is found in the bible in Ruth 1:20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them.  “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.  Why was Naomi bitter?  Her life did not look like she had imagined it.   

At this point in her life, she should have been with her husband and her two sons.  She could even imagine the happiness that would fill her heart with waiting for her first grandchild.  That was not her life though.  She had no husband and no more children. 

She was bitter. 

Bitterness is feelings of anger or hurt because of a sense of unfair experiences that have happened. 

When we get married there is a dream.  We often imagine in our mind all the wonderful memories we will make during our life together.  We don’t imagine the struggles that will take place in between those memories we make. 

You have married a sinner and you are a sinner.  Add being together in commitment for 50 years in a sinful world, that will equal your struggles. 

One day after one event though you had enough.  You were tired of the unfair experiences.  Your heart began to keep locked away a part that was bitter.   

Now you tell yourself you will deal with that bitter heart, when your spouse deals with his sin.  My dear friend the Lord is saying, I deal with each of my children separately.  Your bitterness is really against me. 

Your bitterness is saying that God did not keep His promise.  The promise that you can have joy.  That doubt brings whispers when you go to sleep.  When you are putting the dishes away.  They began sometimes as you are pouring the milk in the glass.  The bitterness grows silently, in its tucked away spot.  The dark cloud in your heart whispers, is God like those men that I have seen? 

Maybe you could be called Mara?  Maybe it is difficult to say that?  But if that is your name, God already knows.   

The Lord answers with a heart of compassion. Come to me my daughter, so I can make you white as snow.  He is saying I need to clean you up.  You can be clean no matter what sinful behaviors your husband has been participating in this week.  You can feel joy because I am loving you. 

The Lord can be trusted and cleaning your bitterness is the good that the Lord has for you. 

Lord help us.  Help us to see bitterness that has taken form in our hearts. Help us to repent.  Lord help us to be as white as snow. Bring us that joy that you promised.  The promise that can happen in our imperfect lives. 

Jennifer Van Allen 

 

www.theprodigalpig.com 

www.faithincounseling.org