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Family

Being The Parent Your Child Deserves

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on August 18, 2016

332186_10150616787927412_1610808142_oNothing is more important than our children, so it makes sense that nothing ignites a good argument quite like a discussion on parenting methods.

I heard a psychologist say that parents shouldn’t try to make their children be like them. She thought it better to just let the kids become themselves. That sounds good, but nature and biology disagree and they had a pretty good head start. By the time the child is walking and talking and able to obey simple commands, he’s already developed some of dad’s mannerisms — and there are a bunch more stirring around in that gene pool waiting for their turn to shine.

I think the expert meant well and was encouraging parents to nurture each child’s individuality, but her presentation was a bit vague and too broad. But if that was indeed her intended message, she was right. Each child is one-of-a-kind and should be guided and appreciated for who they are.

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Living

If You Want A Third-Party Candidate….

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on July 26, 2016

face-skeptical-1527130-1279x878Having listened to a few dozen folks take me to task because I said a third-party candidate won’t win the Presidential election come November, I thought I might elaborate a bit more on the subject since I still have a few inches of flesh that are unbruised.

If you want a third-party candidate to win, the first thing you must do is agree upon which one. Folks insist that a third candidate could beat both Clinton and Trump, but they each want us to rally around their guy. Unhappy conservative voters are tossing around a half-dozen names that they want us to vote for, but until they all unite behind one person, they’ll be screaming the same mantra every four years from now on — if we are still here and our country still stands. I start here because I see this as the largest hurdle to get over. Just between you and me, I don’t see it happening.

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Living

So, You Aren’t Gonna Vote For President?

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on July 21, 2016

643895_4871037779607_1882235583_nSo, you aren’t going to vote for President? You can’t stomach either of the candidates, and your conscience won’t let you cast a ballot for either?

That’s certainly your right as an American citizen. And you’ll have plenty of company. Millions of Americans stay at home every election day for every reason under the sun. As a matter of fact, there will probably be more of you sitting at home than there will be those of us who will actually decide the future direction of our country by voting.

Like you, I wish we had better choices, but this is the bottom line: on January 20, 2017, barring some tragic catastrophe, either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will put his hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution as our next President. While it may be the first time in a long time that either of them has actually touched a Bible, it will still be one of those two. Like it or lump it, those are our choices. No write-in or third-party candidate is going to garner enough support to win a ticket for the self-guided White House tour that’s free every morning except Sunday and Monday — let alone become the official resident there. It will either be President Clinton or President Trump.

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Leadership/Ministry

Things I Didn’t Know I Needed (part one)

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on July 15, 2016

shoes-1238960-639x866I didn’t know I needed a pastor to serve. I knew that I needed a pastor to serve me, and I was quite content to let that happen in as many ways as possible. But I didn’t realize that I needed a pastor to serve.

In the Old Testament, during every festival they celebrated, Israel was admonished to include the Levites who ministered to their families. When a family parceled out the food they set back to help the poor, God told them to include the Levite who ministered to their family. Even though they had already paid a tithe to support the Levites, they were still required to include them in all the celebrations that God included in Moses’ Law.

Today, we don’t have all those celebrations, but we are still encouraged to take care of our ministers (I Timothy 5:17). Hebrews 13 indicates that our preachers are essential to our eternal success, and I Corinthians 1:21 flat-out says that believers are saved by preaching. If for no other reason than to express our gratitude, we need to take good care of our preachers.

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Living

Celebrate!

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on July 2, 2016

IMG_0802The pop of firecrackers and the explosion of light and color across the black sky mark the arrival of the fourth day of the month of July just as they have for past 239 years since John Hancock and his fellow rebels signed the Declaration of Independence. For me, the joy and glory that accompany this holiday are bit subdued this time around. The liberty that we celebrate has been redefined through the years, and its boundaries are significantly more confining than they were when I was a youth.

Israel’s enemy destroyed the beautiful temple that was Israel’s pride and joy. Years later,  it was rebuilt and the young men cheered and danced in celebration. But when the old men walked through, they wept bitter tears because the new temple lacked the awe inspiring magnificence of the old. Gone were the soaring walls that glowed golden in the evening sun. The arches, the porches, the stunning views, all gone. The young men had never walked through the old temple so they had nothing to compare their present to. The old men, however, knew what had been lost. The shouts of the young and the cries of the old mingled together until the joy and the sadness became indistinguishable.

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Family

Family/July 4th

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on June 30, 2016

FullSizeRender-10Every year, our church hosts a God and Country celebration just before the July 4th weekend. We invite and honor our public servants. This year, eighteen of them were kind enough to show up. There was a short piece that was read during this year’s program that I thought I’d share as part of a July 4th medley. This post celebrates the joy of family.

The center of all civilizations has always been the family. More than just the tribe that produced you, family protected and nurtured you until you could care for and believe in yourself. The prayers of your family has sustained you, the company of those most dear where no explanations are necessary or expected.

Family is that place where we get our noses and those funny facial expressions that make us unique. Just like they made Dad, and Grandad, and his daddy, too.

Family is that fortress where we’re always secure. The hospital where we go to heal.

It’s the teacher who always shows us how. The psychiatrist who talks us through our fears. The lawyer who always bails us out. The preacher who keeps us on the right path.

Family. It’s forever the standard by which we will measure all home cooking. It’s where we learned to understand tone of voice, raised eyebrows, and the purpose for middle names. It’s where the water from the well was always the coldest, the work in the field always the hottest, and the laughter in the yard always the sweetest. Where love held everything together.

Family. It’s where both good and bad have had their day. Where both joy and sorrow made themselves welcome.

But no matter how old we get or how far away we travel, our most precious memories always bring us right back here. To Family.

332186_10150616787927412_1610808142_o

Leadership

Those Who Would Change The World

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on June 24, 2016

http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/mmagallan-38172Little people spend their lives fighting other people. This kind lives and dies with their tombstones being the only noticeable change to the landscape.

The great ones, those who bring positive change to their worlds, are driven by passion and vision. These folks realize that time is too precious to waste fighting with those who disagree. Vision and Purpose are bigger than life and will outlast it. When you stop working on your vision to fight with your enemies, you become insignificant. The world is full of that kind.

Nehemiah did not build a wall around Jerusalem by forming an alliance with his enemies, but he moved men to action with his unwavering devotion to his vision of a protected city.

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Living

I’ll Die Tomorrow

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on June 17, 2016

cemetery-1564346-1598x1160I love life. I really like living. One of the main reasons is that, as a child, my parents helped me understand that a life devoted to God would not only give meaning to life, but would take me through some pretty cool experiences. As I look back at fifty years of memories, I’ve got to acknowledge that they were right.

For most of my life, I’ve tried to stay close to God. I recognized His call in my teens, and I’ve prepared myself to serve. Measuring talent and skill, I fall somewhere in the middle of the pack. I’m not that great, but neither am I all that bad. I’ve learned to give it my best and realize that God takes over from there.

Over the years, my zeal has occasionally been dampened by a quiet conviction that slips in as I read scriptures that talk about sacrifice and suffering. To be honest, I don’t do either of those very well or very often.

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Living

It Depends On Where You Stand

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on May 30, 2016

standing-tall-2-1315613-640x480The apostle Paul was certainly a colorful character. He didn’t hesitate to confront Peter or the Roman authorities when he thought they were wrong. By his own testimony, he traveled with caravans across desert places, encountering bandits and thieves along the way. Making tents with his hands made his living, yet when he visited the liberal free-thinking philosophers’ paradise on Mars Hill, he plunged right in the debate. And who could forget his voyage through the storm when he chided the seasoned sailors for not taking his advice, and then gave them instructions on how to save their lives?

Paul did not appear to struggle with self-esteem issues. He challenged those who thought he was a paper tiger, that he talked tough in his letters but was really a wimp, to just wait until his next visit to their town. He had no trouble giving advice and taking charge. He even (some say in his arrogance) went so far as to call the gospel “my gospel” (II Timothy 2:8).

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Family

Mother’s Day: A Tribute To Feminine Influence

by Doug Ellingsworth @https://twitter.com/DEllingsworth on May 2, 2016

IMG_2086It all started with those two in the picture. Some days I wanted to show them to the whole world. Other days… well, if you’re a parent, you understand. But every day I have loved them.

Loving them, I wanted to teach them everything that God would expect of them when they were grown, but at the same time, I had no desire to force them to endure family and religious traditions that served no useful purpose. Some of my friends and colleagues were leaving the churches they had been raised in opting to teach their children the less restrictive traditions found in most mainstream churches.

So, what was I to do? Continue on the path generations of Ellingsworths had traveled, or sign up with those who were choosing different routes?

I went back to the Bible to see if what I had been taught was correct, and if so, was necessary. For instance, why did the apostles care about a woman’s appearance? What difference does it make?

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