Dear Friends,

Hello to each of you! We are so thankful that the Lord has added a new member to our family! Each new season has new lessons. We hope that this article encourages you not to become weary in parenting—whether you have physical children or spiritual ones.

 

We are encouraged that many registrations have already come in for the next online Strong in the Lord conference. Scroll down for more information, and please note that the early registration ends in about 2 weeks.

 

Grace’s Baby is Born (By Harold Mally)

“Here, this gift is for both of you,” Grace said as she handed it to me and Rebekah on Christmas morning last year. I had not the slightest expectation of what it might be. In it we found two children’s books and a tie. The tie said “Grandpa 2020” and the books were titled God Gave Me Grandma and God Gave Me Grandpa.

 

We didn’t know that Grace and Josiah were recording us on their phone to capture the surprise as Rebekah leaped from the chair to rush over and hug Grace and as I sat there stunned. :-)

 

On August 27th, at 1:02 am, after a long hard labor, Hosanna Joyce Moffitt came into the world. Hosanna means “Deliver Us.” When Josiah and Grace announced her name, they mentioned that they appreciate how her name points us to the return of the Lord Jesus. We all think it is a very fitting name for these troublesome times, and we have welcomed Hosanna into our family with much excitement and joy!

 

In the weeks since Hosanna was born, both Grace and Josiah have continued to have hard labor every day. They expected this of course. Everyone knows that babies take lots of time and delicate care and allow little sleep for weeks. Raising children is frontloaded. It requires full time investment upfront, but it pays off. Baby knows she is loved. She doesn’t understand that yet, but she learns by experience that she is cared for. That’s actually the first thing she learns, maybe unconsciously, but she knows that there are two people that meet all her needs and she always wants to be with them. A most important foundation is being established.

 

Having a newborn baby in the family is a constant reminder of how labor intensive, but also how wonderful, spiritual children are. Newborn Christians require the same kind of care as infants as they need to be constantly fed the basic milk of the Word, and as they are lovingly guided, protected, and encouraged until they are established in the faith. Discipleship is tiring, difficult, burdensome work, and yet nothing compares to the joy it brings. And just like with a newborn baby, much of the fruit may not be seen for years to come.

 

Some of you may be exhausted and worn out from parenting right now; others may be exhausted from spiritual parenting. Be encouraged that the work you are doing is of eternal importance. It is a full time investment with unbelievable returns. 

 

“... Feed my sheep.”  John 21:17

 

“... when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, ... for now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.”   I Thessalonians 3:5,8

 

“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby”  I Peter 2:2

 

 

 

Seeing God Use Covid (By Harold Mally)

Recently I have felt led to pray for a certain church in our town. I have been praying that they would preach the gospel and make it bold and clear. Over the past few years quite a few people have commented to me that this is the church they go to, but some of them didn’t seem to be believers. It is a larger church where it is easy to get lost in the crowd.

 

This past weekend I happened to be talking to a lady about Covid and I mentioned that there have actually been a lot of good things that have resulted from this plague (bars shut down, dads working at home, many new home schoolers, to name a few). 

 

The lady said, “There’s another good result. We have seen a lot of people saved at our church recently because many people who are too uncomfortable to go to church are willing to go to church online. As a result, people are hearing the gospel and getting saved.” 

 

I said, “That’s great!  Where do you go to church?”  

 

She named the very church I had been praying for. :-)

 

God’s plan and program are not defeated by disease or natural disasters or by man’s politics.  But His plan and program are greatly advanced when Christians pray.

 

Strong in the Lord Online Conference

For mothers and daughters ages 8-14+

November 13-14th, 2020 – online only

 

We are excited that we have scheduled a second online Strong in the Lord conference. We received very encouraging feedback from our first online conference in July and are so excited about how the Lord worked in girls’ lives. Since we ran out of materials last time, we wanted to make the conference available again as soon as we could get more materials printed!

 

To see pictures and read a report of the last conference, click here.

 

For information about the upcoming conference or to register click here.

 

Please note: Because shipping has been taking longer recently, the early registration deadline is October 12th. After this date, we will send the materials via priority shipping.

 

Online Resources of the Month:

Ready to Give an Answer—A course in Christian evidences  $7.00 (30% off)

Discovering Bible Study —A course in personal Bible study $7.00  (30% off)

 

We have found the Emmaus Correspondence School Bible Study courses to be very useful resources. They are doctrinally sound, well written, concise, and practical to daily life. They also come with an optional test which can be sent in and graded for free. This month we are offering two of our favorite courses at 30% off.

 

Ready to Give an Answer will help you defend your faith, and answer the questions of others in a way that demonstrates that our faith is reasonable, logical and credible.

 

Discovering Bible Study walks you through a simple and helpful way to deepen your personal Bible study using “The 7 Question Method.”

 

They are good for all ages, but we recommend them especially for high school students. At checkout use ECS20. Offer good through October 31st.

 

Upcoming Schedule

November 13-14  – Online Strong in the Lord Conference

December (tentative, dates TBA) – Online Radiant Purity Conference

 

May God richly bless you and your families!

The Mally Family, Moffitt Family, Hancock Family, and Bright Lights Staff