The 5th Covenant Ring

Many years ago, starting with Katie, I began a very serious tradition with my children, Covenant rings.

On their 13th birthday, I have a date with my child at a fancy restaurant. We talk about purity and what it really means in detail. I then ask them if they will make a covenant with me. That they will accept a ring from me and wear it until the night before their wedding symbolizing that they have been sexually pure. Then that night they give the ring back to me. If they mess up sexually they are to give the ring back to me because they have broken the covenant.

These rings have become very important to my girls especially. I will never forget when Margaret lost hers in the locker room before a basketball game. It was lost for about a week. HEr good friend Cate Dahl knew how much it meant to Margaret and look and relooked in the locker room until she fount it. It was a real day of rejoicing!

The rings look like wedding bands so many people ask the kids about them. It is an opportunity to tell what a covenant ring means. I hope every boy asks my girls what they mean!

What does the "Covenant" consist? I promise to pray, provide and protect as much as I can. To allow them to use me as their excuse to say no to any guy. They promise to be sexually pure - not just technically - but really pure until they are married. Why? I want their marriages to be the best possible and as a pastor I have seen first hand how pre-marital sex has so adversely affected so many marriages. Th

e author of the Proverbs says it is like putting hot coals in you lap - it burns and leaves a lasting reminder of sin that affects the future.

Last week, I have my last "Covenant Ring" discussion and date with  my last 13 year old, Rebekah. She has been asking if I had the ring, if I had forgotten ... so I let her see the box and then said she could not open it till out date 2 days later - mean huh. Notice the lip!

Finally, last Monday was our date and we got dressed up and went on the town. Long conversations, great questions and answers, great food, it was a wonderful date! Even though it looks like it in the picture - the dogs did not go with us!

Great Christmas PARTY

Just catching my breathe from the last week - here are a few pictures to make you smile!

If you were invited and did not come - you missed it! Maybe sometime soon - I did plan it on a difficult day for many people.

You have gotta read this.

A very interesting blog post that explains a lot!

Preaching next Sunday

Many have asked when I will be preaching again - well next Sunday I will be preaching at Westminster Presbyterian in Albemarle.

Rev. Lee A. Shellnutt & his family will be in Georgia on vacation.
1804 Badin Rd
PO Box 447
Albemarle NC 28002

Call if you need better instructions!

Is Evangelism out of style?

It seems to me there is less emphasis on evangelism (sharing your Christian faith) today and more on on simply good works. I am in favor of both but it is my experience that you must encourage evangelism first and good works/discipleship ... second. Why? Well, I am a Presbyterian and we are known for training people in theology - good theology - no, great theology. We love that stuff. But, in reality, we will train people to death and they never get around to sharing their faith.
Those of you who know me - know I love to be around questioning, seekers, young christians and believers that are listening to what God wants in their lives. The hear sermons differently that Christians that fell that have all that is required in this lifetime. You h

ave heard that it is easier to steer a moving ship that one dead in the water - same thing with a growing Christian. Point them in the right direction with the right attitude (Faith) and they will please God.

Listen to this from an atheist about a recent experience when a man cared enough to share his faith.

This video

More Random items of Interest to ME!

• How to encourage a missionary  - 13 ways! (John Piper)
  
• Crystal Cathedral is looking for a new senior pastor - it happens in a lot of places!
• Facebook 'pokes' can be used for court notification
  
• Stock prices, which rallied in anticipation of a more modest rate cut, shot up across the board after the Fed’s announcement that it would “employ all available tools” to right the economy.
  
• Auburn seems to getting the wrong kind of print coverage!  Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com, said: "Two week s ago when Tommy Tuberville was forced to resign and Turner Gill's name came up as a candidate at Auburn, I had two coaches in the SEC tell me Turner Gill will never get that job," Schlabach said. "And I said 'why?' They said, 'he's married to a white woman.'"
• Today in 1973, when I was a junior in High School O J Simpson set the make of 2000 yards in a single season. He is in jail now as a 63 year old man.
• You have heard about the show throwing at  President Bush but did you know his spokeswoman, Dana Perino, received a black eye in the melee that ensued?

• My last little child will become a teenager on Saturday - time for the Covenant Ring Dinner!

• The Atlanta Braves need their old shortstop back! But the news has changed 3 times in 2 days!

• The Alabama Football team puts 3 men on the first team All American team. Add up the weight of the 3 and it is over 1,000 lbs.!
  

The Gospel in a Song

By Shane and Shane - Oliver showed me this very powerful song - be sure to watch the whole thing!