I'm sure you are anxious to know how God has met our need. You knew He would! I called the well company and they came out and were able to get the old pump going again. It had two broken parts. However, it is very, very old and only pumps 1/2 the water we need for this big of a house. But, praise the Lord, we have water again for now.
I got a call from a friend who may have a new pump to give us that only needs a little repair to be used and it is big enough for our need. So, we will see where God takes this.
The well guys also talked to me about the need for a better, bigger water softener. I know God will provide that too.
Thank you for your prayers!! God bless you, Pastor Paul
Thursday, October 7, 2010
October 2010 Reconciliation Retreat menu
Seven more reasons to attend the October 2010 retreat! It'll be delicious in more ways than one!
Thursday Dinner:
Fruit/Veggie tray
Quesadillas
Southwestern Nachos
Mexican Deviled eggs
Bean dip
DESSERT: pumpkin chip cookies
Friday Breakfast:
Pancakes
Sausage
applesauce
Friday Lunch:
BBQ sandwiches
Veggie tray
Chips
Friday Dinner:
Spaghetti
French bread
Garden salad
DESSERT: campfire s'mores (if it's too cold we'll have an alternate dessert)
Saturday Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Fruit
Muffins
Saturday Lunch:
Potato soup
Squash soup
Spinach/lentil soup
Sandwiches
Saturday Dinner:
Grilled chicken fettuccini casserole
French bread
Garden salad
DESSERT: Birthday Cake (to celebrate all the October birthdays)
Thursday Dinner:
Fruit/Veggie tray
Quesadillas
Southwestern Nachos
Mexican Deviled eggs
Bean dip
DESSERT: pumpkin chip cookies
Friday Breakfast:
Pancakes
Sausage
applesauce
Friday Lunch:
BBQ sandwiches
Veggie tray
Chips
Friday Dinner:
Spaghetti
French bread
Garden salad
DESSERT: campfire s'mores (if it's too cold we'll have an alternate dessert)
Saturday Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Fruit
Muffins
Saturday Lunch:
Potato soup
Squash soup
Spinach/lentil soup
Sandwiches
Saturday Dinner:
Grilled chicken fettuccini casserole
French bread
Garden salad
DESSERT: Birthday Cake (to celebrate all the October birthdays)
Emergency Prayer Alert!
Dear Friends,
This is an emergency prayer alert! This morning, while I was rinsing off in the shower, I heard the Lord say to me, "Call the well company today and order a larger well pump because your current pump is not large enough to handle the amount of water you are using much less what you need." To me, it was a clear word from the Lord. Two minutes later, the well pump broke and siphoned the water right out of the house pipes and our water was gone.
For those of us who have lived by faith for years, these things are exciting because we know that we are getting ready to see a miracle!! Naturally, we do not have money sitting around to pay for the old pump to be craned up from 380 feet down and a new one to be lowered. But God always meets out needs. So, a miracle is about to happen!!
I want to ask you to get involved in this miracle by being one of the prayer warriors who is praying the prayer of faith with us that God is going to get us a new, larger pump and additional storage tanks that are necessary to handle the huge amount of water that is needed to keep Teen Harvest in water. Don't forget that our next Family Reconciliation Retreat begins one week from today!!! ...and we have the largest crowed yet scheduled to be here. People are coming from Kansas, Georgia, New York, Missouri and Tennessee.
Praise the LORD!!
~Pastor Paul
This is an emergency prayer alert! This morning, while I was rinsing off in the shower, I heard the Lord say to me, "Call the well company today and order a larger well pump because your current pump is not large enough to handle the amount of water you are using much less what you need." To me, it was a clear word from the Lord. Two minutes later, the well pump broke and siphoned the water right out of the house pipes and our water was gone.
For those of us who have lived by faith for years, these things are exciting because we know that we are getting ready to see a miracle!! Naturally, we do not have money sitting around to pay for the old pump to be craned up from 380 feet down and a new one to be lowered. But God always meets out needs. So, a miracle is about to happen!!
I want to ask you to get involved in this miracle by being one of the prayer warriors who is praying the prayer of faith with us that God is going to get us a new, larger pump and additional storage tanks that are necessary to handle the huge amount of water that is needed to keep Teen Harvest in water. Don't forget that our next Family Reconciliation Retreat begins one week from today!!! ...and we have the largest crowed yet scheduled to be here. People are coming from Kansas, Georgia, New York, Missouri and Tennessee.
Praise the LORD!!
~Pastor Paul
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
OH! NO! School's out!!!
If you're like hundreds of parents, you are about to face one of the scariest things. All summer with no idea what you are going to do with all their energy and mischief.
Then again, you may be one of those perfect moms who is so organized that you have left no time for them to get into trouble!! If so, I'd like to read your book when it comes out and find out how that's workin' for ya.
For the rest of you, I'd like to suggest that you take a few days with your spouse and discuss your family values and identity. Make a list and write down what your expectations are for your family. Be sure to pray hard and get the help in doing this. Beneath each item, write down the Scripture from the Bible that supports or teaches you to do them. Then find biblical rewards for following these "expectations" (don't call them rules). Be sure to include the Scripture reference where you found the rewards.
Then, make a third column in which you write down the biblical consequences for violating the expectations. Of course, you will want to write that reference below each item as well.
Make sure that you blog me if you are having trouble understanding what I am talking about and I will help you with it. I'm sure other readers will want to know as well.
What this does, is takes the "fight" out of parenting. It shows your kids that you did not just grab an idea from insanity. It actually makes kids proud to know that their parents care enough about parenting to search out Bible reasons for their parenting choices.
Now summer can be a joy. When kids know what is expected and why ...they know the rewards and consequences of their choices... when they know how to please you, they are more likely to be obedient children you can afford to give them more freedom.
Now I know that it is not as simple as it sounds at first blush. But it does work and is worth the work. I have helped many families to work through the issues and establish peace in their homes. So, do not hesitate to call me and seek my help. I will not charge you. You can make an offering if you like, but that will be up to you.
Please register for our next Family Reconciliation Retreat at www.teenharvestretreat.kk5.org. There, you can work through family issues in a community setting and find the help you need.
God bless you, Pastor Paul
Then again, you may be one of those perfect moms who is so organized that you have left no time for them to get into trouble!! If so, I'd like to read your book when it comes out and find out how that's workin' for ya.
For the rest of you, I'd like to suggest that you take a few days with your spouse and discuss your family values and identity. Make a list and write down what your expectations are for your family. Be sure to pray hard and get the help in doing this. Beneath each item, write down the Scripture from the Bible that supports or teaches you to do them. Then find biblical rewards for following these "expectations" (don't call them rules). Be sure to include the Scripture reference where you found the rewards.
Then, make a third column in which you write down the biblical consequences for violating the expectations. Of course, you will want to write that reference below each item as well.
Make sure that you blog me if you are having trouble understanding what I am talking about and I will help you with it. I'm sure other readers will want to know as well.
What this does, is takes the "fight" out of parenting. It shows your kids that you did not just grab an idea from insanity. It actually makes kids proud to know that their parents care enough about parenting to search out Bible reasons for their parenting choices.
Now summer can be a joy. When kids know what is expected and why ...they know the rewards and consequences of their choices... when they know how to please you, they are more likely to be obedient children you can afford to give them more freedom.
Now I know that it is not as simple as it sounds at first blush. But it does work and is worth the work. I have helped many families to work through the issues and establish peace in their homes. So, do not hesitate to call me and seek my help. I will not charge you. You can make an offering if you like, but that will be up to you.
Please register for our next Family Reconciliation Retreat at www.teenharvestretreat.kk5.org. There, you can work through family issues in a community setting and find the help you need.
God bless you, Pastor Paul
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
"Normal Teenage Problems"
....You say what?? "Normal teenage problems?" Yes, indeed, we hear this phrase often. A parent will call to inquire about Teen Harvest or the Family Reconciliation Retreat and tell us that their son or daughter just has "normal teen problems," or words to that effect.
Hhhmmmmmm. I tell you the truth. After 39 years of being a teenager myself ...uh! Well, I never got over it since I have always worked with teens since I was 16. The truth of the matter is there are two kinds of kids. The ones that make their parents happy and cause no trouble and the ones that worry their parents or even make them really mad.
Sure, some are worse than others. But I have learned that when parents say, "My son just has normal teenage problems" ...the whole time they are calling a boarding school for boys... what they mean is, "My kid is driving me crazy! I'm worried about him and I don't know what to do. Of course, he is not nearly as bad and some kids I see. In fact, I see many kids who act just like my 'Johnny'!"
The Bible tells us (in Proverbs 22:15) "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him." So then, it is normal for kids to be foolish ...these parents are correct on that account! But it also tells us that proper discipline will drive it far from him.!
I have known dozens of families, mine included, that have never had to deal with "troubled teens". ...what was that you said? ...that is because you never had a strong-willed child? Well, I guess you never met my boys! At least two of them had very strong wills. However, with proper discipline and training, they never did rebel, or vandalize anyone's property, or steal a bicycle or... well, you got the picture.
You see, children want to please their parents. They want their parents to be proud of them. But most of all, they want their parents to discipline them!!!! Kids instinctively know that they are loved when they are given godly, reasonable discipline and they feel UN-loved if they don't get it. When they don't get the discipline they crave, they will "act out" to see if they can inure the love they feel that they are missing.
Make no mistake about it. Kids who are discipline problems are crying out to be rightfully and lovingly disciplined. If you have a child who is doing drugs, it may be because they feel more love from the drug crowd than they do from you, of it may just be that they are trying to see if you love them enough that they can provoke a corrective response from you.
Oh, I know that it is usually more complicated than that, but ...in a nutshell... this is the lesson for today. Is it any wonder that kids know without being taught what the Bible says in Proverbs 13:24 "He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly." Uuhhh! The rod? Well, yes. In the original language the word means "ROD". But that doesn't mean that you have to break off a tree limb and take out after your kid. It does mean that the child needs and wants an immediate response to their foolishness.
The best lesson for me came from one of my foster sons who shocked me, one night, with the comment, "Dad!" he said, "Do you now why I love you and mom so much?" I said, "Tell me." His reply, "No one ever told me 'NO!' before. When you tell me I cannot do what I want to do, I know that it is because you think it will be bad for me and that means you love me enough to say, 'NO!" He went on, "My real mom and all of my foster parents never told me 'no' or said why I couldn't do something because they didn't care, but you do care ...and I love you for it!!"
Please join us at one of our Family Reconciliation Retreats this summer, or call for special times. Visit our FRR web page at: www.teenharvestretreat.kk5.org. for more discussion of how to raise happy teens!!
Enjoy the blessings of the LORD!
Sincerely, Paul
Hhhmmmmmm. I tell you the truth. After 39 years of being a teenager myself ...uh! Well, I never got over it since I have always worked with teens since I was 16. The truth of the matter is there are two kinds of kids. The ones that make their parents happy and cause no trouble and the ones that worry their parents or even make them really mad.
Sure, some are worse than others. But I have learned that when parents say, "My son just has normal teenage problems" ...the whole time they are calling a boarding school for boys... what they mean is, "My kid is driving me crazy! I'm worried about him and I don't know what to do. Of course, he is not nearly as bad and some kids I see. In fact, I see many kids who act just like my 'Johnny'!"
The Bible tells us (in Proverbs 22:15) "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him." So then, it is normal for kids to be foolish ...these parents are correct on that account! But it also tells us that proper discipline will drive it far from him.!
I have known dozens of families, mine included, that have never had to deal with "troubled teens". ...what was that you said? ...that is because you never had a strong-willed child? Well, I guess you never met my boys! At least two of them had very strong wills. However, with proper discipline and training, they never did rebel, or vandalize anyone's property, or steal a bicycle or... well, you got the picture.
You see, children want to please their parents. They want their parents to be proud of them. But most of all, they want their parents to discipline them!!!! Kids instinctively know that they are loved when they are given godly, reasonable discipline and they feel UN-loved if they don't get it. When they don't get the discipline they crave, they will "act out" to see if they can inure the love they feel that they are missing.
Make no mistake about it. Kids who are discipline problems are crying out to be rightfully and lovingly disciplined. If you have a child who is doing drugs, it may be because they feel more love from the drug crowd than they do from you, of it may just be that they are trying to see if you love them enough that they can provoke a corrective response from you.
Oh, I know that it is usually more complicated than that, but ...in a nutshell... this is the lesson for today. Is it any wonder that kids know without being taught what the Bible says in Proverbs 13:24 "He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly." Uuhhh! The rod? Well, yes. In the original language the word means "ROD". But that doesn't mean that you have to break off a tree limb and take out after your kid. It does mean that the child needs and wants an immediate response to their foolishness.
The best lesson for me came from one of my foster sons who shocked me, one night, with the comment, "Dad!" he said, "Do you now why I love you and mom so much?" I said, "Tell me." His reply, "No one ever told me 'NO!' before. When you tell me I cannot do what I want to do, I know that it is because you think it will be bad for me and that means you love me enough to say, 'NO!" He went on, "My real mom and all of my foster parents never told me 'no' or said why I couldn't do something because they didn't care, but you do care ...and I love you for it!!"
Please join us at one of our Family Reconciliation Retreats this summer, or call for special times. Visit our FRR web page at: www.teenharvestretreat.kk5.org. for more discussion of how to raise happy teens!!
Enjoy the blessings of the LORD!
Sincerely, Paul
Friday, February 5, 2010
Date set for Family Reconciliation Retreat!!
GOOD NEWS!! We have set the date for our next Family Reconciliation Retreat. It will be April 15 to 17, 2010.
I will once again be joined on the panel by Dr. Thomas DeVol of New York and the rest of the team in this interactive seminar where whole families participate. It is a time for great fun and laughter, hard work, discovery and deep healing. We cover everything from struggles in your marriage; to out of control teenagers; to health issues. We want you to go home changed!
There will be "FREE" Computerized Electro-Dermal health screening for those who want to take advantage of it. There will be singing. There will be family games.
These Family Reconciliation Retreats are all about healing families. Plan early to attend!! Even if you don't believe you have problems in your family, you will be very glad you came!! You will not regret it!! If you know another family who is struggling with troubled teens or just can't get along, show them you love them by bringing them along!!
Space is limited, so don't wait. Send me an email right away at: teenharvest@teenharvest.com.
Loving to serve, Pastor Paul Neighbour
I will once again be joined on the panel by Dr. Thomas DeVol of New York and the rest of the team in this interactive seminar where whole families participate. It is a time for great fun and laughter, hard work, discovery and deep healing. We cover everything from struggles in your marriage; to out of control teenagers; to health issues. We want you to go home changed!
There will be "FREE" Computerized Electro-Dermal health screening for those who want to take advantage of it. There will be singing. There will be family games.
These Family Reconciliation Retreats are all about healing families. Plan early to attend!! Even if you don't believe you have problems in your family, you will be very glad you came!! You will not regret it!! If you know another family who is struggling with troubled teens or just can't get along, show them you love them by bringing them along!!
Space is limited, so don't wait. Send me an email right away at: teenharvest@teenharvest.com.
Loving to serve, Pastor Paul Neighbour
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Attracting "Followers" to this Blog
I really believe in this project. I have a conviction and a calling to help restore families: husbands and wives to be in love with each other and God; Children to love and honor their parents; parents to feel satisfaction and pride in their children; and trust ...did I say TRUST???
This is the calling that we at Teen Harvest have from the Lord ...and it is a sure calling from the Holy Bible -2 Corinthians 5:16-21.
The reason I have not "blogged" here more often as planned, other than the fact that I am obviously very busy "raising" boys who could not get along at home, is because we have not attracted many followers as of yet! My time is valuable and I must use it in the most advantageous way.
SOOOOO.... Please help me get people to "follow" this blog and ...VERY IMPORTANT... request that I address topics of concern to them and their families! :) I will always answer a question as quickly as possible. I am also available by email at: teenharvest@teenharvest.com. If you need to talk to me by phone, I will give you that number when you write me with a request.
Have a blessed day, and get busy now!! :) :)
-Paul
This is the calling that we at Teen Harvest have from the Lord ...and it is a sure calling from the Holy Bible -2 Corinthians 5:16-21.
The reason I have not "blogged" here more often as planned, other than the fact that I am obviously very busy "raising" boys who could not get along at home, is because we have not attracted many followers as of yet! My time is valuable and I must use it in the most advantageous way.
SOOOOO.... Please help me get people to "follow" this blog and ...VERY IMPORTANT... request that I address topics of concern to them and their families! :) I will always answer a question as quickly as possible. I am also available by email at: teenharvest@teenharvest.com. If you need to talk to me by phone, I will give you that number when you write me with a request.
Have a blessed day, and get busy now!! :) :)
-Paul
Monday, December 7, 2009
Parents are the example
The tip of the day for parents is: "Live like you want your children to live!" I cringe when I hear parents fondly telling stories of the dumb things they did as teens or young people in the hearing of their children. Your children not only feel free to do what you did too ("Dad/mom did it and he/she turned out OK, so will I!") but they want to do it "better".
One couple gleefully told how the wife had had an affair with a guy before they met and had a mutli-racial child as a result. They seemed proud that it showed that they were not predjudice ...and after all, they really loved him and he turned out pretty good. Much to the horror of the parents, their daughter took off with a strange man at a very young age and tried to get pregnant.
To contrast that story, I was talking to a woman recently who is in her 60's who told me how she decided to make a significant change in her life without saying one word to her married, adult children. Much to her surprise, all of her adult children made the same change in their lives without one word being spoken.
The Bible says, in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And [even*] when he is old he will not depart from it." In Deuteronomy 11 it says, "18 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth." (NKJV)
The Word of God teaches us that if we set the right example for our children they will walk the walk all their lives!! Now you know what to do. DO IT! :)
* the word "even" is implied in the original language.
One couple gleefully told how the wife had had an affair with a guy before they met and had a mutli-racial child as a result. They seemed proud that it showed that they were not predjudice ...and after all, they really loved him and he turned out pretty good. Much to the horror of the parents, their daughter took off with a strange man at a very young age and tried to get pregnant.
To contrast that story, I was talking to a woman recently who is in her 60's who told me how she decided to make a significant change in her life without saying one word to her married, adult children. Much to her surprise, all of her adult children made the same change in their lives without one word being spoken.
The Bible says, in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And [even*] when he is old he will not depart from it." In Deuteronomy 11 it says, "18 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth." (NKJV)
The Word of God teaches us that if we set the right example for our children they will walk the walk all their lives!! Now you know what to do. DO IT! :)
* the word "even" is implied in the original language.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Help With Troubled Teens
People ask me, “How did my son (or daughter) get so messed up?” They usually say something like, “I gave him everything I could, I taught him right from wrong, I took him to Sunday School and church, he has never gone hungry; what went wrong? Why did he become so rebellious and angry?”
By the time parents ask me these questions, most of them are ready to hear the answer. But they still do not like the answer when they here it. The parents who do listen and follow closely the advice I give will, likely, regain their child’s heart, love and respect.
What I’m going to do in the next few blogs is discuss some of the reasons why kids rebel and get into trouble. I’m also going to give you insights that you can use to bring your family back together. So, read often and write me with your questions. I will answer all your questions (eventually) and your questions will help me know what kinds of things you want to read here. If you need personal help, please feel free to email me and ask in private. Thanks!
By the time parents ask me these questions, most of them are ready to hear the answer. But they still do not like the answer when they here it. The parents who do listen and follow closely the advice I give will, likely, regain their child’s heart, love and respect.
What I’m going to do in the next few blogs is discuss some of the reasons why kids rebel and get into trouble. I’m also going to give you insights that you can use to bring your family back together. So, read often and write me with your questions. I will answer all your questions (eventually) and your questions will help me know what kinds of things you want to read here. If you need personal help, please feel free to email me and ask in private. Thanks!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Family Reconciliation Retreat
Wow; Did we have a great time in our first Family Reconciliation Retreat! This was a life-changing event for several people. If you missed it, you missed a real blessing! None of us will ever be the same again. There is no need for families to struggle with marraiges or children. There is peace and joy to be had. Ask us for information for the next Family Reconciliation Retreat right away!! God will bless you.
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