Do you remember the story in 2Kings 4 about Elisha telling the widow to fill jars with oil? He didn’t tell her how many jars to collect. He said, Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. He meant a lot! She was wise to collect as many as she could, because God used every single one of them.

What if she collected twice that many? What if she got the idea to use really big containers, barrels? Would God pour into them like the jars she used? I think so. Our God is a God of abundance and generosity. He will never skimp when it comes to blessing us. But He will bless us according to our faith in being blessed.

Can you dream big? I mean really big? God would probably have even bigger plans for you if you’d let Him. Do you think you deserve tremendous blessing? Many people do not. That’s the lie of the enemy to make us feel unworthy of God’s grace.

Once we’ve been redeemed, we are a royal family with a kind and loving Father. When your heart beats with His heartbeat, you want what He wants, and He wants so much more for you than you know. When He says collect as many vessels as you can, think tanker trucks and ocean liners, because there is no limit to God’s grace.

Why are young people leaving the church? It’s not an easy question to answer, but I have my ideas. As parents, we teach our children from the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to bed at night. Everything we do trains them in some way. They watch and listen and understand our reactions without being told. Children can see the difference between a confession of faith on Sunday and what is expressed at home.

Faith that comes from knowledge instead of relationship is not faith at all. Jesus said, My sheep know my voice. If the voice of God is not heard in the home, there is nothing to follow. Children can be entertained anywhere, but what they want is the real thing, just like everyone else. If what they see at home is not the Emmanuel, God with us, they will look for something else to fill that deep need to know Him.

We are called to live in intimacy with God, not worship Him from a distance. He needs to be active in our lives when the washing machine breaks down, when the dog is hit by a car, when bills are past due. Turning to God for help when you need it is what Jesus meant when He said, Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. (Mat 6:25) He knows what you need, but you won’t see His help until you start to trust Him.

Let your children watch you trust God in the hard times. Let them see you put your family in His hands. Then let them see you rejoice in gratitude when the answers come. Show them the reality of God and His amazing love. Once they understand that He is real and active, there’s no reason to leave.

Do you ever think about regrets you have about your life? Everyone one has them, especially parents. Everyone thinks back on decisions that were made and wonders what things would be like if that decision didn’t happen. That’s because we’re human. We’re not made to be perfect or robotic. We are designed to make mistakes. And mistakes aren’t always the end of the world.

God loves us beyond measure. He loves us completely, warts and all. He sees our past and our future and loves us unconditionally. And the destiny that He made for each of us was made with all our mistakes in mind. We haven’t ruined anything. God can redeem our worst decisions.

That should be a very comforting thought. It means that we should not hold onto regrets, because God does not. We need to give them to God and let Him fix what we cannot. If regret still nags you, then confess it to God. Let Him heal that wound and bless you with what He wants to give you. Being human is not a sin. How we respond to our humanity can be. Fear not — that’s a command. Let go of regret. Let go of fear and let God bless and guide you. He loves you enough to see past your mistakes.