Log Eye Lessons

Last night, our family devotion was titled Log Eye.  The devotion was about judging others, and the title came from Jesus’ comments about removing the plank in our eye before we call out the speck in the eye of someone else.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  Matthew 7:1-5

As we sat around the dinner table, we talked about what this means and how it applies to each of us.

The night before, I had snapped at Hannah for picking on and nagging her brother.  Hannah was scolding Isaac for putting too much hot sauce in his soup.  So I scolded Hannah telling her that she wasn’t the parent and that she didn’t need to get on Isaac’s case for how much hot sauce he wanted to use.

Hannah quickly stopped, and the conversation was over.  But it still went on in my head.  I felt awful for jumping down Hannah’s throat.  As I thought more about it, I remembered having similar interactions with my brother.  As the oldest brother, I always believed that I knew best.  Throughout the day, I pondered how much Hannah and I are really alike, and I realized that this can sometimes create friction between the two of us.

I see some of my faults in Hannah, and I cringe when I see my attitudes echoed by my daughter.  I cringe because it reminds me of me.

The whole Log Eye discussion gave me a great opportunity to apologize to Hannah.  I couldn’t see clearly with the log in my eye!  I’m blessed to have a wonderful daughter who keeps me humble and a loving Father who is full of mercy.

Do you struggle with judging others? 

How has God used your kids to teach you?

Introducing A New Group For Parents of Middle School Students

Leanne and I have been involved in many different small groups.  We’ve been involved in parents of elementary children groups, couples groups, marriage groups, men’s groups, women’s groups, Texas Hold ‘Em groups, service groups, and mixed groups.  Small groups have played a key role in each stage of our lives and our marriage.

Early last fall, we were perusing the groups catalog that our church had published for the Fall Roll-out of groups, and we realized that there weren’t any groups available for parents like us – parents with middle school students.  With two middle school students of our own, this gap was obvious as we were looking to plug into a group of people in this similar place in life.

When we reached out to our groups pastor and our middle school pastor, we soon learned that they had been praying about this area and opportunity.  We also learned that there was another couple who was also interested in establishing and leading a group for parents like us.  And so…last week, we kicked off our new group for parents of middle school students!

There were five of us there for the first meeting, but I’m confident it will grow as more parents in our area and at our church learn of this offering.  We talked about some of our parenting challenges.  We shared about our inconsistencies and imperfections.  If you live in the Perkiomen Valley/Spring-Ford Area and you’re a parent of a middle school student you should consider joining our group.  We meet twice a month – the 2nd and 4th Wednesday nights of the month.  We’re using a book called Candid Confessions of and Imperfect Parent to help our discussion.

If you’re interested in checking it out, drop me a comment, or check-out the on-line groups catalog for directions on how to connect on-line.

Are you in a small group?  What type of group is it?  What are you studying, discussing, and/or doing with your group?  If you’re not in a small group, why not?