Prodigal: Grapes!
Me: Yes, fresh from the vine.
This is a short video devotion on Proverbs.
Proverbs 15:2
The tongue of the wise commands knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. (ESV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: That is a lot of pieces of fabric.
Me: That reminds me of saying worth repeating. I would rather be in a million pieces at His feet than a million miles from His presence.
This is from the book The Power of a Woman’s Words by Sharon Jaynes
First, a thought bursts forth from the stall called the brain. It runs across the mind headed for the door called the mouth. In a split second we must determine if that thought is of God or if it is against the knowledge of God. If we determine that the words are not of God, then we lasso the thought and it never makes its way out of the gate. If it passes the God test, we allow it to go free.
What is the lasso? It is the Word of God–the Word of Truth.
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: This is going to be an amazing quilt!
Me: You can’t hide the sun, the moon, or the truth.
This is from the book God’s Psychiatry by Charles L. Allen
God said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” and that law of life we are guilty of breaking. There are five objects of worship which multitudes today have put before God: wealth, fame, pleasure, power, and knowledge. While most of us have no idea of ever being really rich, we never become satisfied with what we can reasonable possess. Maybe that is good, except when that dissatisfaction obscures our feelings for God and diverts us in our search for God. I can become so interested in what I have that I forget the needs of my soul.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! John 1:47 (KJV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: Those have got a pretty shine on them.
Me: Thank you!
This is a short video devotion on Proverbs.
Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. (NKJV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: Those are some dandy gloves!
Me: I agree, that goes with the story I found today.
This is from the book The Power of a Woman’s Words by Sharon Jaynes
Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom spent the last years of her life speaking to men and women all around the world about God.
During one of her presentations, she held up a lady’s white glove.
“What can this white glove do? she asked. Then she went to explain…
The glove can do nothing. “Oh, but if my hand is in the glove, it can do many things….cook, play the piano, write. Well, you say that is not the glove but the hand in the glove that does it. Yes, that is so. I tell you that we are nothing but gloves. The hand in the glove is the Holy Spirit of God. Can the glove do something if it is very near the hand? No! The glove must be filled with the hand to do the work. That is exactly the same for us: We must be filled with the Holy Spirit to do the work of Go has for us to do.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23).
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: I like the balance of this quilt.
Me: Balance is a good thing.
This is from How to Have That Difficult Conversation by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
Every good relationship has a balance of yeses and nos. If you never said no to anything, you would be a puppet. If you never said yes, you would be a dictator. In the middle is the give and take of a good relationship, in which you negotiate and persist when something is important to you.
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Luke 22:32 (KJV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: That quilt just hit the nail on the head.
Me: I agree.
Today we have a video devotion on Proverbs.
Proverbs 14:35 The King’s favor is toward a wise servant, But his wrath against him who causes shame. (NKJV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: I have known you since you were knee high to a grasshopper.
Me: True.
This is from The Strong Family by Charles Swindoll
Our family, while made up of independent-thinking, strong-minded people, is still close. All of us are imperfect and in the process of learning and growing. But the good news is this: We are still having fun, still communicating openly, and still committed to each other. God gets all the glory. As we enjoy each other, our family knows it is because He is the One who has honored our commitment to principles that broke the mold of traditional parenting.
If parents were to ask me, “What is the greatest gift we could give our young child?” I would answer rather quickly: a sensitive spirit. That is especially rare among busy parents who live under the demand of hurried schedules, constantly doing battle with tyranny of the urgent. Nevertheless, my counsel to you would be, give your child the time it takes to find out how he or she is put together. Help your child know who he or she is. Discuss those things with your children. Help them know themselves so that they learn to love and accept themselves as they are. Then, as they move into a society that seems committed to pounding them into another shape, they will remain true to themselves, secure in their independent walk with their God.
Psalm 139:1-2
O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. (KJV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: I’m snug as a bug, and ready for a story.
Me: Maybe this one you will like.
This is by Caryll Houselander
As a child during World War I, I attended a French convent school. One of the nuns was from Bavaria. She spoke little English and very poor French, and she made no real contact with the children. Local police interrogated her as an “enemy alien,” and there were even subtle murmurs in the community that she was a spy dressed as a nun. As the Germans advanced, so did the nun’s loneliness and isolation.
One day as I passed the bootroom, the little cubicle where our shoes were kept, I saw the Bavarian nun sitting alone, cleaning shoes. I can see her now as if it were yesterday–a tall, gaunt woman with brilliant red cheeks, and eyes so dark that they looked black. There she was, wearing her large, cobalt blue apron, with a child’s pair of shoes on her lap.
Then I noticed the tears running down her rosy cheeks and falling onto the shoes. Abashed, I dropped my eyes to her large toil-worn hands. Hands, red and chapped, with blunted nails, which were folded in a way that expressed inconsolable grief.
We were both quite silent, I staring away not wanting to see her crying.
At last, when I raised my head, I saw an unbelievable sight: the nun’s head was circled by a crown of thorns.
I shall not attempt to explain this. I am simply telling the thing as I saw it. That bowed head was weighed down under the crown.
I stood dumbfounded a few seconds, and then I told her, “I would not cry if I were wearing the crown of thorns like you are.”
She looked startled, and asked, “What do you mean?”
I sat down beside her, and as I described to her what I had seen, a glow of joy enveloped her, dispelling the grief.
Together we polished the children’s shoes.
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. Zechariah 3:8 (KJV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
Prodigal: That looks yummy!
Me: Yes, it is.
This is a short video devotion on Proverbs.
Proverbs 14:34
Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people. (NKJV)
Jennifer Van Allen
www.theprodigalpig.com
www.faithincounseling.org
