Tonight's Supper - Steak and potatoe Soup

just big enough for one person to eat. Jim has a leftover soup he'll be enjoying.

Steak and Potato Soup

Contributed by ladysown

39-40-21

Prep Time:	0 minutes
Cook Time:	0 minutes
Cook Temp:	0 degrees

Amt	Msr	Ingredient
1	Tbsp	Beef soup bouillon, powder
5	oz	Beef, Roast Beef, Deli
1/4	cup	Celery
1	Tbsp	Cornstarch
1	ea	Garlic, clove
1	6oz can	Mushrooms, canned
1/4	cup	Onions
1/4	tsp	Pepper, black
5	oz	Potatoes, red
4	cup	Water
1/2	cup	Water
1/2	cup	Water	0	0	0	L
TOTAL CALORIES: 509 Makes 4-1/2 cups (Each whole cups is 113 Calories)

Preparation Instructions: cut roast into bite-size cubes. Add all ingredients except for cornstarch and 1/2 c water. 1/2 hour before serving mix cornstarch and water, add to crockpot on high and stir in well.

True Woman - Delighting in your children

Nancy's email teaser:

Delighting In Your Children

Every mom would claim to love her children, but what does it really mean to show Christ-like love in a home? The Bible offers some practical ways to delight in your kids.*

• Mothers can get so caught up in the practical responsibilities of mothering that they forget to really love their children.
• Do you love your husband and your children more than you love your other friends, your outside involvements and interests, or your job?
• Don’t lose the joys that you could have in the present, and the opportunities God is giving you today, by being impatient for the future.

Listen to or read more from “Delighting In Your Children”

well...I'm almost done the follow-up emails to the true woman conference devotions that I went to last October. It's been an interesting study. Good in many ways to do. :) And today we get to look at the theme of delighting in one's children.

I have one. He is my delight...98% of the time...sometimes he drives me round the bend....but he's a good boy and oh boy...do I delight in him. But enough of me...let's see what Nancy has to say about this topic ....and God's word too!

From Titus 2:1-5 we read:

1But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

We need to love our children...why? that the word of God may not be reviled. Remember...that's the reason. We don't love our children simply because they are ours. We love them so that GOD's word will not be reviled.

So what does it mean to love our children?

I know from other scripture that loving means discipline, extending grace, being there, helping, giving tasks/duties and teaching. Just look at how God loves us! He's provided us with a whole world to live in! He gives us jobs/duties. He disciplines us when we are in need of it, and gives a hug (figuratively speaking) when we need one too. He helps us, trains us, calls us to be more than we think we can be. He tells us over and over that he loves us and cares for us and protects us.

This is how we love our children, at least that's how it seems to me. We love our children as God loves us.

Do I go that well all the time? no. I don't accept it well all the time either.
but does it give me an example to live by? for sure.

If in my parenting I try to treat my boy the way that God treats me I think we'll do okay. :)

Nancy speaks about how children are a blessing, and how we are to love on them through all the tasks that parenting brings. Makes sense to me. :)

Older women are to train younger women to love their children, according to Titus 2:4. This word love their children, in the Greek language in which the original text is written, is just one word. It’s a combination of two words made into one compound word.

The first word is the word philos, which is the word for friend; the second word is teknon, the word for child. It’s a person who is fond of children, a lover of children, somebody who enjoys children.

So older women are to teach younger women just how to love their children, how to enjoy them for who they are.

Learn to enjoy your children
Try not to be sucked into the world's view that children are a burden. They aren't. They are a delight! We are to care for them, love them, enjoy them.

Let us learn to be better parents! :)

Amazing this... :)

HT: Biblical Christianity.

True Woman - Letting God shape your husband

Here's the email teaser sent to me:

Letting God Shape Your Husband

Don’t bother with today’s message if you have a perfect marriage. But if you need solid advice on honoring God through an imperfect marriage, dig in.*

• The best marriage is nothing more than two sinners continually humbling themselves and knowing how to get to the cross to find the grace of God.
• Your husband’s strengths and weaknesses are exactly what God knew you needed for you to become the woman God wanted you to be.
• It's your job to love your husband; it's God’s job to change him.

Listen to or read more from “Letting God Shape Your Husband”

But if you need solid advice on honoring God through an imperfect marriage, dig in.*

• The best marriage is nothing more than two sinners continually humbling themselves and knowing how to get to the cross to find the grace of God.
• Your husband’s strengths and weaknesses are exactly what God knew you needed for you to become the woman God wanted you to be.
• It's your job to love your husband; it's God’s job to change him.

Listen to or read more from “Letting God Shape Your Husband”

I have to admit: I read this line "Don’t bother with today’s message if you have a perfect marriage" and I inwardly snorted. :) Perfect marriage? Who has a perfect marriage? I do think that people have marriages that are right for them, sometimes they have to work at them, but even those marriages that are "right" for those people, need work. Marriage is indeed a close relationship between two imperfect people. Not an easy thing, but overall...a good thing. :)

From Titus 2:1-5 we read:

1But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

In marriage, we have to learn what it really means to love our husbands. And guaranteed, it's not always so easy. But I've learned that in learning to love my hubby, I understand more of what God wants of me. To be a giving, less me-centred person who does try to see the bigger picture and not just what pleases ME. Pleasing myself less I think makes God happier. :) (Somehow I think I said that wrong).

But in marriage you do learn that it's not all about me. It's about more than me. This is an important thing for everyone to learn. Marriage isn't all about him either (from his perspective). It's too people learning to love each other through the grace of God.

I liked this line:

Remember that your husband’s strengths and weaknesses are exactly what God knew you needed for you to become the woman God wanted you to be. That’s true vice versa as well. Your strengths and weaknesses are what God knew your husband needed for him to become the man he needs to be.

It's all a growing process. Of learning to be more than ourselves, of seeing God more through how he works in us and each other. Of .....oh...marriage is hard work but it is worth it. :)

God knew what I needed when he had me meet my hubby. :) He's changed me, he's made me more than I was before, and he's brought me closer to himself.

Allow your marriage to do the same for you.
See your hubby for who he is, a sinner under the grace of God. JUST LIKE YOU.

Be a help-meet for him on his journey. Let him be yours as well.

True Woman - Make your Husband a Priority

The teaser in the email sent to me:

Make Your Husband a Priority

It’s a challenge to keep up with all the needs in a busy household. As you’re deciding what to tackle, who becomes a higher priority—your kids, or your husband? The Bible speaks to that question.*

* I wish young women knew how to reverence and adore their husbands, to protect their reputations, and to affirm them in public. Men blossom when you do that.
* If you are a married woman, loving your husband is the number-one way that you demonstrate your commitment to sound doctrine.
* Loving your husband means enjoying him. It means being his friend, taking pleasure in him

Listen to or read more from “Make Your Husband a Priority”

From Titus 2:1-5 we read:

1But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Oh...for those who don't know. I use biblegateway for my on-line scripture.

here's more from what Nancy had to say that I thought worth repeating:

The first thing that older women are to teach younger women, according to this passage, is to love their husbands. If you are a married woman, this is the number-one way that you demonstrate your commitment to sound doctrine. You can’t say you have sound doctrine if you despise or disregard your husband. Loving your husband flows out of the gospel, and this kind of love also flows out of a promise, a vow, a covenant.
Remember back to that day when you stood with your husband at an altar, and you made some vows before God? What did you say? Maybe it was something like this:

I take you to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward until death do us part.

Remember saying something like that? Those weren’t just words. This was a covenant. This was a vow. This was a promise.

I know in my own life, learning how to love my hubby has been one of the hardest jobs I've had to take on in marriage. Sounds funny eh? I loved this man enough to change my whole life to marry him....and yet I've had to work at just loving him...idiosyncrasies and all. To respect him when I want my own way. To figure out how to meld how I do things with how he does things. To show him how what he thinks about things is important too. NOT an easy task at times.

So having solid Christian women that I respect demonstrate what it means to just love your hubby is important to me. :)

I have to admit...when I read this from Nancy's piece:

By the way, when we say she’s fond of her husband, this suggests that it’s an exclusive kind of love. By implication, she is not fond of other men in the same way that she is of her husband. Your husband is to be the object of your affection in a way that is distinct and exclusive and different from the way that you are fond of any other man. This kind of love means more than just fulfilling your duties toward your husband. It means enjoying him. It means being his friend, taking pleasure in him.

My very first thought was well DUH! But then I have to realize that in today's society the specialness of one's mate is sometimes lost. Going for a nice long walk with my hubby is different than going for a walk with a good friend, it's somehow better. :) And I love our Pinery excursions with the three of us. It's just "gezellic" (for you dutch people out there...feel free to correct my spelling). :) just nice is a good way.

But women.....learn how to love your hubbies, figure out how to make them more important than the other stuff in your life. God wants you to do this....so shouldn't that make us all the more want to? God, your hubby, your children, your extended family, and the rest of the world. that's the order of things. Get it straight, know it's hard work at times, but do it none the less. AND model it well so others see it as well. Talk about it with younger struggling women.

Just go out and love your hubby!

Updated family blog

Updated family blog complete with pics and a small vid. My camera doesn't do sound so you'll have to imagine the "kerplunk sounds" and the murmurings of a boy child.

True Woman - Intentional Training

Intentional Training

Finding a mentor sounds like a good idea, but where do you start? And how do you become a mentor? Here are some practical approaches to teaching and sharing your life.*

• As older women, we’re supposed to be modeling the beauty of a life that’s lived under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
• Mentoring takes place in the context of everyday life:
  • You’re there.
  • You’re with them.
  • You observe.
• You walk with them through life.
• You deal with issues as they arise.
• You look for teachable moments.
• You give friendship, counsel, encouragement, and exhortation.

Listen to or read more from “Intentional Training”

From Titus 2:1-5 we read:

1But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

We are to teach each, to train each other.

I find that having a mentor is a great boon. Learning from others....what fun! (well, okay...not ALWAYS) :) And being a natural teacher at heart, teaching others what I know I find to be a total hoot. :) (well...okay... not ALWAYS). Teaching and learning can be hard things. But they are also things that we to be deliberate about doing.

Unlike Nancy I don't see this is something merely reserved for empty nest women, but for women of all ages. We can all teach those younger than us how to conduct ourselves as Christian women. Now, women without youngsters at home might find that a bit easier at times, but easier doesn't mean ONLY for them to do. We all have this responsibility.

The original word that is translated "train" -

It’s a verb. If you care about the Greek word, it’s sophronidzo. It’s the only place that this word is used in the New Testament.

That word, according to E-sword (Robertson's word pictures) means

That they may train (hina sōphronizōsin). Purpose clause, hina and present active subjunctive of sōphronizō, old verb (from sōphrōn, sound in mind, saos, phrēn, as in this verse), to make sane, to restore to one’s senses, to discipline, only here in N.T.

Vincent's word Studies (also from e-sword) puts it like so "Better, school or train. N.T.o. olxx. The verb means to make sane or sober-minded; to recall a person to his senses; hence, to moderate, chasten, discipline."

So our job is to help restore one's senses and discipline and bring some sanity. :)
It's like getting people to take a different perspective.

I look at my life. It is SO easy for me to put myself first. But I'm not to do that. As a believing woman I am to put God and others before myself. If I do that then I am : loving my husband and child, being self-controlled, pure, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, and able to keep my house in order, so that the word of God may not be reviled. Having others mentor me, and/or watching what older women than I do, helps me keep my perspective where it aught to be. Off me and on God and others.

It's not an easy thing to do. One needs to be intentional about spending time with other women. Teaching them, showing them, coming alongside. Giving practical advise about how to live, helping younger women learn how to be grounded in the Lord God, and so forth.

How does one do this? As Nancy says:

It’s really just giving friendship, counsel, encouragement, exhortation by your example, by your words, one on one in the context of everyday life.

How do you train your children?

• You’re there.
• You’re with them.
• You observe.
• You walk with them through life.
• You deal with issues as they arise.
• You look for teachable moments.

We train younger women in much the same way. Not that they’re children, but it’s similar in the sense that it takes place in the context of everyday life.

This is what we are to do as older women who care for our younger women. Teach them, show them, just like you a child....but you're helping them to see beyond themselves into what God wants them to be. This is what I need to be doing more actively, even as I raise my boy. Teaching the younger women that God has placed in my life. Shall we get to it?

Recipe - Cheesy Tuna Casserole

Cheesy Tuna Casserole 38-30-32
Contributed by KarenB using formulazone

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Cook Temp: 375 degrees

Amt	Msr	Ingredient
1 & 1/4	cup	Cheddar Cheese Soup, condensed
1/2	cup	Cheese, cheddar, 2%, shredded
1/2	cup	Mushrooms, Stems & Pieces, Canned
1	tsp	Mustard, Prepared
8	oz	Noodles, Egg
1	ea	Onions
2/3	cup	Peas, green, frozen
1/8	tsp	Pepper, black
1/2	tsp	Salt
1	cup	Sour Cream
3	6oz can	Tuna, in Water, canned

TOTAL CALORIES: 2,538

Preparation Instructions:
Cook noodles. Drain and set aside. Chop onion. Combine soup, mushrooms, onion, mustard, peas, salt, and sour cream in a bowl. Gently stir in noodles and drained tuna. Pour into 2 quart casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top, and bake for remaining 15 minutes.

Special notes:

• 1.25 cups condensed cheese soup = 1 can of campbell's soup
• 1/2 c. mushrooms = 1 can of sliced mushrooms (actually a wee bit more but not enough to matter)
• we mix the cheese right into the recipe instead of scattering on top
• also if you forget to put in the pepper as I often do....sprinkling pepper over the top of the casserole works well too. :)
• 18 oz of tuna is what this recipe calls for... there are 4.2 oz of tuna in one regular can of tuna so it takes 4 cans of tuna to actually make this recipe.

True Woman - The Anatomy of Addiction

The Anatomy of Addiction

When we partake of things that are addictive, just a little bit doesn’t satisfy. We want more—and then we need more. We can become enslaved to many things:

• prescription drugs
• food & overeating
• gambling & computer games
• pornography & romance novels
• television & soap operas
• spending & shopping

The desire itself may not be inherently wrong. The problem comes in when that desire becomes a demand and we find ourselves giving in to the temptation to fulfill it in an illicit way.*

Listen to or read more from “The Anatomy of Addiction”

From Titus 2 we read the basis for this devotional:

³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

I was wondering where Nancy Leigh DeMoss was going with the whole Addiction thing, until she pointed me to the "slaves to much wine" that women are not supposed to be and then I went AH...that's where the addiction thing comes in at.

We are not to be addicted to "much wine"...or much anything for that matter.

As believers we are supposed to want God more than anything else. More than our hubbies, more than our children, more than our critters, our computer, our tv, our smoking, our drinking, our food, our books our....... the list can go on and on.

What do you want the most?

What does your life show that you want the most of?

If you are a believer and you want God the most, and your life signals something different....make some changes. Not saying it will be easy...but do it anyways. Everything else will eventually thank you.

For me it means monitoring my computer time. I could live at my computer if I could! (but I can't and shouldn't). I need to play with my boy, do the dishes, spend time with the Lord God, spend time with my hubby and really LISTEN to him, and so forth. I love email and playing games and answering questions on various groups and ..... the list could go on and on. BUT GOD calls me to something more. he calls me to glorify him in all that I do. And the question I need to ask him is this: is what I am doing right now.... glorifying him? What is this teaching my boy? What would it teach his perhaps future wife? What is this telling my hubby?

Helps put things into perspective.

Being addicted to something is not an illness, it's just the result of making a series of ill-considered choices. Nancy says:

The word addiction is a modern term. It’s really not my favorite term because, the way it’s used today, it tends to imply that we have no responsibility or culpability, that this is something we can’t help.

We’re not saying that. We’re saying we make choices that lead to bondage and strongholds in our lives. The biblical concept is that of enslavement. That’s why it says, “Don’t be ‘slaves to much wine’” in the translation that I use.

The only path out from our slavery, our bondage is prayer and making better choices....difficult though they may be...make better choices, ask your self those tough questions...who is this serving...myself? my family? God? Then make better decisions.

Christian Homosexuals

Here is a sensitive and well-written article by Ransom Fellowship.

Go read it. It's entitled "“A Few Like You”: Will the Church be the Church for Homosexual Christians?" by Wesley Hill.

I have a huge heart for people who struggle with this.... it is NOT an easy one.

as an update: 22 words linked to a this post...well...to a follow-up post based on comments made about it. anyways, here's the link to 22 words post on this all.

True Woman - how to control your tongue

How to Control Your Tongue

How can you become a woman who does not sin with her tongue?*

• humble yourself
• put off all slander and evil speaking
• put on words of kindness, love, forgiveness, and grace
• bring your thought life under the control of the Spirit
• talk less
• think before you speak
• refuse to listen to, slander, or gossip about others

Listen to or read more from “How to Control Your Tongue”

From Titus 2 we read the basis for this devotional:

³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Older women.....not slanderers....
So what does it mean to not be a slanderer?
To slander means:

• words falsely spoken that damage the reputation of another
• defame: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone; "The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation"
• aspersion: an abusive attack on a person's character or good name

So basically, it's talking in such a way that it causes damage to another person. Particularly if it's a lie. But if one slanders another, you are casting aspersion on their name, so be mighty careful how you talk of others. Build them up, don't cast them down. Whether it's the truth or not.

Yes...it is so very easy to gossip. To mention this that or the other tidbit about what's going on in the lives of people around you, or even in the periphery of your life.
Don't do it.
Are you helping the person?
Are you solving a problem?
Is the person you are talking with part of the problem or the solution? if not BUTT OUT. seriously folks.
If you are just chatting for the sake of chatting Stop it!

Don't hurt other folks by what you are saying about them. We are called to better than that.

I've had to learn this myself. To stop and say...
1. am I breaking a confidence?
2. would I want someone to talk about me this way?
3. am I helping this person or not?
4. am I talking with the person that I aught to be talking with this about.

I have learned the following:
yes...my hubby can act as a sounding board.
yes, my hubby can advise me on what to, and what not to say.
talking with him serves me a purpose - helps me check my heart and spirit in matters that "sit with me"....
AND it helps me to moderate what I say to others.

In her article/devotional, Nancy lists seven ways that we can combat the 'sins of the tongue'

1. humble yourself before God and others
   
2. put off all slander and evil speaking
3. put on a heart and words of kindness, love, forgiveness and grace
4. bring your thought life under the control of the Spirit
5. talk less
6. think before you speak
7. refuse to listen to slander or gossip about others

It all makes sense doesn't it?
Make choices in how you live before God and your fellow man.
Make choices in how you will talk and what you will listen to.
Control your thinking patterns...watch for envy, bitterness, jealousy and such like. These things lead to ill talk. Purge them from your life as much as you can.
Lead a life of humble repentance.

Women! Let us change the world by watching how we live and talk! :)

Interesting Post

My Hubby pointed my way to this interesting post by Derek Thomas over at Reformatio21 Blog.

Last Nights Supper

After having a few meals with pasta in them, I thought a change was in order, besides...we got meat on sale today...which means we ate for about $2 each tonight. :)

This recipe made by me using formulazone.

Beef, potatoes, and applesauce

Prep Time:	0 minutes
Cook Time:	150 minutes
Cook Temp:	300 degrees

Amt	Msr	Ingredient
1 & 1/8	cup	Applesauce, Unsweetened
9 & 1/8	oz	Beef, loin, bottom sirloin butt, tri-tip roast
13 & 1/2	oz	Potatoes, red

Preparation Instructions: cook beef as desired, do the same for the potatoes. :) I did a 300 oven, for 2.5 hours with a wee bit onion seasoning and dutch meat seasoning, and then boiled the potatoes.

Our meal was a nice size, simple and tasted good. Jim was pleased with how I prepared it as well.

AND we have enough meat left that if Jim wants this for supper tonight, we just have to cook up 2 more small/medium potatoes and it's all ready for him.

Jim is pleased...thus far he has lost 16 pounds by sticking to the diet. Me, well, I'm eating healthier and once I stop eating the remaining house junk food, should start losing weight as well. :)

True Woman - Applying Sound Doctrine

Applying Sound Doctrine

For the final ten days of our make-over, we’ll journey with Nancy Leigh DeMoss through her teaching on Titus 2:1-5 titled “God’s Beautiful Design for Women.” We highly recommend the entire series.

Have you ever assumed that doctrine is for scholars who like to pore over ancient texts in big libraries? Actually, solid doctrine isn’t meant to stay in books—it’s supposed to be used in the day-to-day decisions you and I make.

• Just because we pick an idea up in a Christian bookstore; or hear it on Christian radio, television, or in a church, doesn't mean we can assume it is sound doctrine.
• Doctrine—what we believe—determines how we live. And the way we live reveals what we believe. Doctrine and life have to match each other.
• We know so much. If we’d just live a fraction of what we know, we’d be spiritual giants instead of spiritual pygmies.

The rest of the devotion can be found here.

Titus 2:1-5

¹But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. ²Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. ³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

I highly suggest you read the whole chapter, it's filled with interesting things from God. :)

Looking first at scripture, what is God telling us here?

"Teach what accords with sound doctrine"....in other words...teach good doctrine, not what you think or what you feel or what seems right to you or what is the rage of the moment....teach what is sound, what holds to God's word.

Older men have things they are to do, as well as older women...and they to teach the younger women the same, young men, slaves etc....all have things they need to be aware of and work towards.

Now what does Nancy draw out of this passage? As she says

If we are not grounded in sound doctrine, we’re going to be susceptible to false doctrine. We’ll be easily swayed, easily influenced, easily deceived by things that may look good or seem good or feel good and may be very popular but aren’t true.

It's an important thing for us to think about. So often we don't put doctrine first, we put other things, like programs, outreach, visiting, etc on the agenda as ways to reach out and touch our world for Christ. People so much want to be relevant. it was in issue in the first generation church, and it's an issue now.

Paul was concerned about how the church could be a light in the fog of that generation. That question—about how the church can have the kind of impact it needs to have in a dark and difficult culture—that’s the question a lot of Christian leaders are asking today.

One of the big questions is, “How can it be relevant?” Now, I hope what they mean by that question is, “How can we effectively communicate the gospel and the doctrine of Jesus Christ to a generation that doesn’t value those things?”

The answer is....teach sound doctrine. Seriously.

Paul says what you do is preach to the believers the sound doctrine which will impact and change their lives; and then in their homes, their workplaces, their communities, they will live lives that are in accordance with sound doctrine. And that will make the gospel believable to those unbelievers around them.

If believers in the Lord God know what they are supposed to believe, then their lives will be changed. As their lives are changed, people in their spheres of influence will see this and THEY will be changed and impacted for God as well. Just think about it folks....if we truly live for God it has to impact the world around us. God made this world, so it has to be impacted by the things of him! (at least that's what makes sense to me).

Be grounded in the truth of God's word. Know his word as best you can...then go out and live it. If people ask you why the change....be prepared to answer them. Let others know that Christ is central in your life and the reason for why you live as you do.

Doctrine is always connected, in the Scripture, to duty. It’s connected to life. It’s not just some vague abstract stuff up there. It’s real-life applications connected to doctrine.

• Sound doctrine requires us to live lives that are pleasing to the Lord.
• Sound doctrine motivates us to live lives that are pleasing to the Lord.
• Sound doctrine enables us to do that which we want to do, and that is to live lives that are pleasing to the Lord.

In Titus 1:9, Paul says that the elders, the leaders of the church, are to “give instruction in sound doctrine.” Doctrine is the biblical, theological foundation for the Christian life. You can’t build a house without a foundation.

It's our foundation as believers. :) Sound doctrine overflows into our lives as good works. Sound doctrine overflows into our lives as changes in how we live, act and think.

Don't underestimate this effect.....God's word changes lives...even through you.