Statistically, there are more heart attacks on Monday morning than any other time in the week.

I’m sure you don’t have to hear that statistic to know the truth behind it; we’ve all tasted it. Monday morning can be a  treacherous outcropping with merciless waves of overwhelming responsibility, pressure and stress crashing in hard;

According to Thom Rainer's book, The Unchurched Next Door, 82% of our friends and family that don’t attend church are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited. There is more. Seven out of ten unchurched people have never been invited to church in their whole lives. I say we ought to do something about that.

“God, where are you? Why haven’t you done ____________ for me yet?”

Have you ever asked a question like that before? I know I have.

I thought that following God and being a Christian would lead to a life that was kind of easy, filled only with joy, free from pain and sorrow.  Silly me.  

I’m not even sure where I got that idea but when I ask around, I find that most of the Christians I know have believed (or still believe) some version of that.  After all, it sounds good, doesn’t it?  It’s so appealing, this thought that if you are a true believer you are spared suffering.

It is also completely contrary to what the scriptures teach.

Every parent wants influence, and while a parent is the greatest influence in a child’s life, that influence can wax and wane with the seasons.  In fact, a lot of parents I know feel like they’re losing influence.

So, how exactly does influence work?  It works like this: