I have this habit of running ahead of God. He gives me this faint inkling of what he wants to do in my life and I am off to the races to make it happen. It never works out like HE intended because I am not patient enough to wait for him. Eventually, I’m crawling back to him on my knees, bloodied and bleeding, seeking his will once more.

Why is it so hard for me to wait for him to open each door? What makes me so presumptuous to think that I know what is the right thing to do with my life? It has to be lack of faith. I don’t trust him to do what I need him to do when I think I need it! I don’t trust him to give me what I think I need. I don’t trust him.

Father, help me to trust you more. Help me to trust you with every facet of my life, especially my relationships. You have always proved faithful in the past. I don’t know why I doubt you. But, I do.

Lord, I’m sorry. Help my unbelief.

There are many things that are important for successful Christian living. THE most important is the S-factor.

Before I came to Christ, I survived on whim, wit, and will. The S-factor is none of these. In fact, the S-factor is not an “it”, he is a “he”! He is the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is power. He is God in me. I cannot live successfully and powerfully without him. I can never achieve the joy and peace until the old “self” is fully crucified. I cannot walk in my former life and expect Jesus to live there with me.

Christianity is a not a lifestyle choice. Christianity is a re-birth! Jesus didn’t die to make me better. Jesus died to make me brand new! The new thinking and new acting comes as I permit Jesus to live in me.

I must listen more to the Spirit. I must listen to him above everyone else, especially myself. Otherwise, I get second-rate help. God wants first-rate Christians. He accepts nothing less. I must accept nothing less than him.

How do I explain this? How can I describe it? I don't have the vocabulary. There are no words. It's like a drunk! I've never been on a drunk. I've never been drunk. How would I know drunk? But, that has to be what this feels like! I can’t stop laughing and smiling. I laugh and people look at me funny. They say, "That's not funny. Why are you laughing?" It's not me. It's inside. It's like bubbling up.

I didn’t jog this morning. I get a similar "high", slight euphoria, after a good run. But, I didn't run! This is manic! But, I’m not manic! (I’m more depressive! HA!) I have the same worries and problems I had yesterday! My wife is still gone. She's been gone several days. Down with her Dad. His cancer is back. It's in his lymph system now. Chemo, again. Not good. So sad. I woke up with a headache. The alarm didn’t go off. I’m running late for work. My sinus infection is back, again. Then, I'm driving to work, late, and BOOOMMMM! Inexpressible joy! I’m on the phone with my wife and we are having a ball. We are bursting with laughter, joking. Her Dad is dying. We're laughing like two kids! We're nuts! We've both lost our minds!

We're not nutso. We know nutso. We've been nutso. This is joy. This is indescribable. This is unexplainable.

(God, you let me bottle this stuff and we'll make a fortune. No hangover! HA! Sorry God, not exactly a spiritual thought. I'm just SO giddy!)

Thank you, Father. You are faithful. Keep this "drunk" coming! It's SO great. I love being drunk on you! It doesn't matter what others think. It doesn't matter that everyone thinks we've lost our minds.

We're not crazy. God, we're just crazy in love with you!

Control over your child works like a pyramid. When the child is small, the parent has the say in almost everything. As the child matures, the strings come off one-by-one as the child is able to handle responsibility, and you exercise less control.

When a child is small, we do not expect them to make correct choices. Children must learn to make right choices. Parents make right choices for children regardless whether the child agrees or understands those choices. You can’t always reason with children. Children behave responsibly by setting appropriate rules for conduct and by punishing (consistently and appropriately) their misconduct. You pick your battles carefully. You allow freedom in areas that are not critical.

To a child, milk looks as good on the floor as it does in a glass. He LEARNS cleanliness and personal hygiene. In small decisions, such as what to wear and eat, parents can allow freedom when appropriate and not a health risk. If the child desires to wear uncoordinated clothes to daycare, let them. If he chooses to wear shorts into a blizzard, intervene and be firm. Just don't make small issues equal to life and death choices. For example, don’t give the same weight to matching apparel that you do to dashing out between parked cars! Exercise reason.

Some parents are too hard to please. Parents should not allow their perfectionism to cause constant frustration, discouragement, or self-doubt in a child. Children must be allowed to be children. Ten praises must be given to every criticism. Children should not lose heart. Once lost, it takes a child a long time to find his heart back.

As a child matures, the controls should be relaxed in areas where the child will one day be expected to be responsible as an adult. For example, you shouldn’t have to continually remind your teenager to get his homework. Just punish him when he does not. Don’t harp about it. If the child is unable to handle responsibility, take it back. Take away his privileges and take back control. Encourage the child to EARN back his right through proving he can be responsible. Do not trust a child with a huge responsibility until he has proved faithful in small things over long periods of time.

By the time your child is old enough to leave home he should be responsibly making most of his own choices. If you continue financial support, or your child continues to live in your home, you still have control to some degree. The child should not be allowed to use your home for his college dorm. While you are paying for these things, you retain the right to choose the college, apartment, car, and lifestyle! If the child wishes to make his own choices in these matters, set him free to support his choices. Remove your cash and resources. Should the child come back under your care, help him understand that he comes back under your rules. You always have a say on how YOUR money is spent. You also have a say, to some degree, in the life choices made with your money. If you are not supporting him, you have an obligation to offer advice, but you must respect his choices. You never have an obligation to support choices with which you disagree.

We all would like to have someone give us their money and let us live as we choose. Life doesn’t work that way. If you take your parents' money, your parents have a say in how their money is spent. It is not responsible to take someone’s money and not expect to give an account. It is also not responsible to give away your money and not follow up to see that your money is being spent appropriately. Your money should never be used to support activity that is illegal, immoral, or irresponsible -- especially in your children! That’s called enabling.

May God bless you with wisdom in the great responsibility of rearing responsible adults.

Can you wait on God in silence? Are you able to sense his presence? Can you discern his moods?

It’s time to return to my quiet place. He's calling.