HAPPY NEW YEAR

Welcome to 2016 a year that portends greater things than 2015. Obviously for many economies, 2015 was a year of recession and slow business growth but 2016 seem to be looking like a year of recovery. My prayer is that you will recover all that you lost in the year 2015 a hundred fold.

Having said this, it is pertinent to remind you that this is the time to begin to plan for the year if you have not already done so. In fact for those of us who have not yet planned for the year we are behind schedule but it is not too late to sit down and plan for the year.

On the family level what are the things we need to plan for?

1. Our spiritual life
2. Our finances
3. Our health
4. Our children's education
5. Our recreation (holidays etc)
6. Kingdom investment.

The Bible admonishes that the starting point for all serious planning is to put God first. (Matthew 6:33). God must be on top of every plan we will conceive this year.

Spiritual Planning:
"And you shall serve the Lord your God and He shall bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from your midst." Exodus 23:25.

1. Your first plan or goal if you like is to serve God better this year. Serving God better may involve greater sacrifice on your part in terms of your time and resources but you must do better this year. Such a plan must involve the whole family.
2. Personal development through prayers and reading of the Bible as well as other Christian materials that will help you become a better Christian. If you were spending say 1 hour in prayers last year, you can plan to spend 2 hours this year. Also plan to read the Bible through this year. There are many yearly Bible Reading Plans you can adopt as you do not need to reinvent the wheel as it were. |Also make sure you carry the family along and encourage them to read the Bible.
3. Sharing your faith: This is one area many of us fail as disciples of Christ. You can plan to share your faith with at least one person per month which will give you a target of 12 people throughout the year.

More next time!

Once again Happy New Year

Femiimevbore@gmail.com
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www.lifebuilder.ecwid.com 
www.elshaddaicovenantchurch.org  

PLANNING FOR YOUR CHILDREN 1

"And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other and the older shall serve the younger" Genesis 25:23

"But did he not make them one, having a remnant of the spirit? And why one? he seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth" Malachi 2:15

One of the greatest rewards for marrying is to bear kids. It is not the primary reason but when children come there are supposed to be a blessing. I have deliberately used the words supposed because at the end of the day not all children turn out right.

It is clear to me from the Bible that the mind of God is that we are to raise godly children. It is also clear to me that while we see children as blessings from God, God sees them as nations. This has profound meaning and it imposes a great responsibility of the parents.

Children are not just the product of our intimacy with our spouses, they like the Psalmist says arrows in the hand of God. They have a mandate to fulfill here on earth and we as parents as the agents or if you like the catalysts that will help them fulfill God's mandate for their lives.

The first responsibility that I see in bringing up children is the responsibility of planning. You cannot take on an enormous project without careful planning or else the chances of failure will be enhanced. So it is with the rearing of children. It ought to involve careful and serious reflections and planning on our part as parents if we are to do the right job and to do it right.

If you are just starting out, then you can start right be agreeing prayerfully with your spouse how many children you should have. This may involve you seeing an expert in family planning to help you space your kids.

If kids are very important in God's scheme of things then you cannot afford to let them come by chance. Planning is key.

More next time.

God bless you.

Femiimevbore@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/officialecc?ref=hl
www.lifebuilder.ecwid.com 
www.elshaddaicovenantchurch.org