Oct 27

Oct 1

Aug 8

  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Imagine The End
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2009/07/imagine-the-end/
    This is one of the more recited passages in all the annuals of time. It’s frequently recited, because remembering that the LORD is God helps us to gain perspective. Isn’t it true that we naturally have a predisposition to lose focus because of our limited human perspective? I know that as a parent I can get bogged down in the day-to-day of raising my kids and I rarely take the time to imagine what the outcome of all this parenting work could bring. Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Fight For The Heart
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2009/07/fight-for-the-heart/
    The only thing that separates a living faith from a ritualistic orthodoxy is one word, one idea, and one compelling force: LOVE. I know this is true, but I also know that it’s not as easily demonstrated. I have often enough put my frustration, disappointment, anger, and inadequacy on full display for my kids to see. My tendency is to always want to explain the “Why?” behind the rules, instead pointing my kids toward a loving God that seeks to protect them. The problem with reasons for the “W… Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Make It Personal
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2009/07/make-it-personal/
    These commandments have to be in my heart, before I can hand them off to my children. It has to be in me, before it can be in them. Consider this free wisdom from someone that has worked with kids for years: You must never try to impress your kids with who you want them to think you are. You can only fool them for so long. And when they find out that you’re a fraud, they’ll only resent you for it. Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Create a Rhythm
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2009/07/create-a-rhythm/
    As parents we need to be more conscious, more deliberate, and more innovative with our children. I can’t drag them to occasional church services, pop in the random Veggie Tales video, and expect them to grow up to be spiritual champions. It doesn’t work that way. We know that, but we struggle to live it out. Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Widen the Circle
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2009/07/widen-the-circle/
    Let’s back up to Deuteronomy 6:4, for a second. Have you ever noticed this? Moses isn’t talking to just one family. He’s talking to an entire nation of people. He’s talking to families! Read more »

May 5

  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Countercultural Giving
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2008/10/countercultural-giving/
    The word Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a group that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day. Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Best of My Time
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2008/11/best-of-my-time/
    As a kid time was my slow torturing enemy. The slowness of time kept me from what I really wanted. The time between Christmas mornings seemed like a decade, the time between when school started until when it ended felt like weeks, and being asked to sit still for an hour felt more like sitting still for an entire day! It's funny looking back now, because sometime in my 20's time begin to pick up steam. In fact, it moves at such a rapid pace now that I feel I can hardly keep up. I gradu… Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Mary Ordinary
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2008/11/mary-ordinary/
    May I learn to let God use my ordinary self in extraordinary ways (and trust me, I'm as ordinary as they come!) Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Check, Check, Check, Check
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2008/12/check-check-check-check/
    I love my checklists. I live my life mostly attached to my Treo, which runs the Remember the Milk application that links to my Google Calendar account, which displays on my Gmail start page, which is also linked to my Exchange server so that I can see it at work. Is it weird to wake up at 3am, reach for your phone and add something to your to-do list so that in the morning you won't forget? OK, writing that out makes me realize that yes... it is weird. I also carry around a black leather mo… Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution In Spite of Myself
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2009/01/in-spite-of-myself/
    I know what I'm good at. For the sake of appearing humble, I won't give you a run down; but I am usually a fairly confident person. I have even been confidently wrong on a few things. If I'm in a job interview, I could easily name a handful of things that I feel comfortable doing and feel that I do quite well. But knowing what I'm good at still doesn't keep me from concentrating on what I'm bad at. I can do 9 out of 10 things well, but that one thing I'm not go… Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Complete in Him
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2009/02/complete-in-him/
    Here’s where the power of Colossians 2:9-10 comes in. If I assume that the parents, children, and families that I work with are “complete in Him”, then they already have the solutions within them to solve whatever is keeping them from experiencing God’s very best. Then the burden is only on me to help them discover what’s already within them. It’s liberating to me that I don’t have to present the “right and perfect way” for them, but that I only have to help them discover the passions, values… Read more »
  • jcliff
    jcliff added a link contribution Power of Imitation
    http://www.jonathancliff.com/2009/05/the-power-of-imitation/
    When I give I am simply imitating the one that gave that great and wonderful gift. My gifts of service, money, or time don’t in any way compare to the great gift of God’s only son, Jesus; but they should be a reflection of His heart when He gave. God gave to us because he loved us. In our desire to imitate our father in heaven, we give because we love those around us, we give because we love God, and we give because he first loved us. Giving in it’s very essence is much like my daughter spin… Read more »

Apr 16

Dec 27

  • jcliff
    jcliff added a text contribution Three Kinds of Givers
    Three Kinds of Givers: 1. Legal Giver –gives just enough to get by 2. Emotional Giver –gives out of impulse 3. Biblical Giver –gives cheerfully towards the work of the Lord. When I’m a Biblical Giver I give to the work of the Lord. I choose to give with joy and always remember that God is the greatest giver of all, for he gives us all things freely. Read more »

Jun 18

Jun 17