Are we all in?-Indulgences

Our pastor recently preached about Elisha and Elijah as part of his "Sidekick" series. He commented on the fact that the minute that Elijah called him and transferred the mantle of leadership to him, Elisah was "all in". He didn't hesitate to say yes, he burned all of his ox, told his family good bye and ran after Elijah.

Being "all in" he said doesn't mean simply adding Jesus to your life. Many Christians only "add" Jesus in on Sunday or when they need guidance. This scares me though after being reminded of Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ It means making sure he is the center of your daily life, and that everything you do is reflective of your desire to love and obey Him.

A legacy of faith. That is Adam's grandpa second from the left at his baptism. 

Same grandpa and Nannie last month on our way home from the beach. 

It got all of us thinking, especially Goober, who took a whole page of notes and had a great discussion with us later on about being "all in" whether he is a missionary, quarterback or a stay at home dad.

Two things that I took from this sermon are more dedication to my daily bible reading and a serious consideration of how to more be "all in" as far as raising my children in a christian environment.

1) I am disciplined enough to wake up at 4:15, leave my home by 4:30 and meet 2-5 other women to work out for an hour every day. Over the last week I have started the daily discipline of immediately starting to read the Bible and pray from the time I get home from my workout until the kiddos wake up. I want them to see what a daily habit of walking with God looks like. They have even asked to join me and I love that they are excited to read the Bible and discover TRUTH for themselves.

2) We are constantly re evaluating where we are at as far as parenting, our marriage and having "too busy" of a life. We got to do that twice last week as my mom was here to watch the kids. On our overnight stay at a nearby hotel we spent a ton of time thinking through how much more involved in our children's education and spiritual growth. We aren't naive enough to think that just because they attend a Christian school and go to church that they will grow up to know and love the Lord. We know that this world is constantly pulling people away from TRUTH and telling us that our happiness is all that matters. We know that the world tells us to CELEBRATE sin and TOLERATE everyone so that we are always at peace.

The verse Matthew 13:44 "“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

My children are a treasure from the Lord and their salvation and continued trust in Him is worth all of our earthly possessions. So, are we willing to sell everything and make sacrifices in order to make sure that they "treasure" their relationship with Christ?

My treasure getting spiffy with Momma.

My other treasures at a car show with Daddy.