Quite Frankly

Monday. One of my favorite days of the week. One of the reasons why is how I get to start my day. On top of starting off with my normal daily routine of bible reading and prayer, I set aside two hours to read about the attributes of God. This leads to more prayer and worship. It really puts my life and the upcoming week into perspective.  Here is my typical Monday morning.  Read the Matthew Henry prayer email, look at my schedule for the day, pray through my schedule, and then read through my news emails.  Reference hear for what those emails are . Read morning Psalms in The New Coverdale Psalter . Tonight after dinner, I will read the evening Psalms. Spend 45-60 reading through The Pentateuch in my ESV Reader's Bible . I read a daily portion of Proverbs: Daily Wisdom and then I journal the passage I just read into my Proverbs Journible .  Work through Beginning Greek (book, video, and worksheets) Spend two hours reading a chapter of God Is: A Devotional Guide to ...

It is that time of year again, when we as Christians, look to tackle another bible reading plan. Everybody has different schedules and are all in a different season of life. So don’t get discouraged by my plan, just choose something that will work for you.  Bible Reading The ESV Reader's Bible, Six-Volume Set has been a game-changer for me. Every morning I sit quietly in my chair before the Lord and just read His Word. There are no chapter breaks, verse numbers, references, or study notes in this edition. Just Scripture. My eyes do not get fatigued by the ink that floods the rest of my bibles. I get lost in the story and have to set a timer or else I will keep reading.  To make the more enjoyable I read a different volume (section) each day of the week. For instance, on Monday I read Volume one - The Pentateuch, Tuesday is volume two - The Historical Books, Wednesday is Poetry, Thursday I venture into The Prophets, Friday I walk with the Apostles through the Gospel and Acts, ...

I think my wife is a Superhero! I know what you are thinking. A superhero? Right. Frank, you done lost your mind. But hear me out… This weekend my wife was in Texas on a business trip. I was home with my five teenage/adult children along with a three-week old infant, a ten-month old toddler, and a five-year old boy. In order to keep the house clean, kids feed and supervised it took all of us. It was like a well choreographed, tornado-tag wrestling match. (Tornado-tag matches were originally known as Texas Tornado tag matches). All three kids were matched up on one side dishing out their wants and needs while the rest of us adults and teenagers were meeting the needs and filtering the wants. It was quite a slobberknocker. (Please note: no teenagers, toddlers, or babies were harmed or neglected in the real-life living of this story). But, I am pretty sure that most moms with multiple children could relate to this story: multiple kids waking up in the middle of the night, num...

Why don't people want to operate in a life of continued improvement?  I see people falling into these categories:  They see no need for improvement. They are fine just the way they are. They are insecure and don't want people to think that they need to improve. They are prideful and don't want people to know they don't know as much as they put off. Which category do you fall into? Or do you see more categories? I am sure there are more. I think I regularly fall into the first one at first and then slip into second one once there is no way around avoiding number one. Meaning, it is too obvious to everybody else that I need to improve in this area (the elephant in the room).  The reassuring thing about being a Christian is knowing that once God starts a work in you, he will finish the work (unlike my many attempted home improvements). And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Ph...

Always Be ready to teach and preach. Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2 ESV) Study the Word before you teach and preach. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 ESV) Growing in Christlike virtues give me increasing confidence that I am saved. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. (2 Peter 1:10 ESV) I need to love my wife and be constantly reminded of it. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Ephesians 5:25 ESV) Loving God and teaching my children to love God and His Word are important to me. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul a...