Spirit Fire Ch. III, Pull My Finger

“As a parent, I can’t think of anything more important than the privilege and responsibility of training my children in the way of God. The way my wife and I have chosen to do this is by having what we call Spirit Fire.”

Tonight’s Spirit Fire began with a question: What does God laugh at? I felt lead to start with that thought because I recently added a new voice to storytelling that makes all three of my kids laugh from the gut, and that is gold to me. I was also getting the feeling that God wanted us to mess around tonight, so we did. I figure God’s got the best sense of humor if we can relax enough to see it. I mean, a platypus?

After we thought about it, all five in my family answered differently.

Jack: when we tell jokes and laugh

So I asked him what kind of joke makes God laugh. Jack sat there thinking while he ate his night snack of lime chips, and he said, “What if a chip was a mountain?” And he laughed and laughed, no doubt thinking of the best snack time ever. One mountain lime chip please…

Gwen: funny faces

I asked her to demonstrate a face that would make God laugh. She made the face when you put your pointer fingers in your mouth and pull the corners apart. She then smiled and stuck her tongue out, perfect.

Caleb: tickling

We talked for a little about what it would be like to tickle God. I asked Caleb how he would do it, thinking maybe he would go for his favorite, the armpit. However, he reached right for my belly and said, “Like this!”

Betsy: when we do klutzy things

No demonstration necessary for that one.

Me: farts

My kids loved that one. Again, no demonstration necessary.

When we are working to garden the minds of our children, let us not forget fun. It needs to be fun, at least some of the time. Many preachers begin their craft breaking through countless barriers with a good joke. It can open doors and break up the soil so that you can plant some seed. Much of life is hard, and if we’re not careful we can become as hard as stones.

-Brian Carter

Spirit Fire Ch. II, The Next Book

“As a parent, I can’t think of anything more important than the privilege and responsibility of training my children in the way of God. The way my wife and I have chosen to do this is by having what we call Spirit Fire.”

(A-Team type music in the background)

For our family time with God we had to incorporate a new book. We made it through the book of Acts to help my family become familiar with the power we’ve been given. No we didn’t consult any commentaries, or read any background books first. We just entered in specifically to hear what we can do through Christ. We traveled with Peter, heard about the spreading of the Gospel to the Gentiles, saw Paul’s transformation and commission and all the signs and wonders that followed.

Because of the new crowd I’m in at church among the Assembly of God, I feel I should add that though I’m now part of a community that sees the miraculous on a regular basis, they emphasize that we shouldn’t seek the power itself, but the Holy Spirit. That being said, it was important to me that my children hear what we, as members of His Kingdom, have been given for the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now that my kids could recognize the difference between God’s power and The Avengers’, it was time to move further in. We are still in the book of Proverbs, moving slowly verse by verse, and we incorporated some details to keep the books separate:

Me: The book of Proverbs was written by…

Kids: King Solomon!

Me: To train…

Kids: Kings and Queens!

Me: Now there is something in the book of Proverbs that’s worth more than all the treasure in the world. Do you know what it is?

Kids: Wisdom!

Me: Now in Wisdom, it talks about two houses. What are they called?

Kids: Wisdom’s and Folly’s!

Me: Who lives at Wisdom’s?

Kids: The righteous!

Me: Who lives at Folly’s?

Kids: The wicked, the dead!

My daughter started adding “the dead” in her cute little 4 year old voice after we’d already gone through a couple chapters. Yes it was creepy and hilarious at the same time. And for the book of Acts we started with an intro as well:

Me: The book of Acts was written by…

Kids: Luke the disciple!

Me: He wrote it to tell us about…

Kids: The Kingdom!

Me: And to tell us that we have…

Kids: Power!

I had bought some toy weapons a while back and at “Power!” we would raise swords, axes, fists, whatever we could if it hadn’t already gotten lost.

And now we just started in on our new book, Revelation. I wanted and felt lead to teach my kids about what will come to pass. I told them that though I have had many classes on this book and have read many thoughts about it, I still had little clue to understanding the details, except one- Jesus is coming and when He does, we will have the final victory. And this became our intro:

Me: The book of Revelation was written by…

Kids: John the Apostle! (There are always disagreements about whatever. We weren’t debating authorship, we were keeping it separate from the other books for my kids.)

Me: To tell us about…

Kids: The Future!

Me: And to tell us that we have…

Kids: Victory!

So far, we’ve just finished chapter 1, and we talked about some awesome things about God- Alpha and Omega stuff, and we got into John’s first vision.

Parents, it has become apparent to me how important it is for us to pass things on to our kids. Not hatred, not evil, but what they will need to equip themselves in their relationship with God for the coming age and their roles in it. We’ve been given a privilege, an honor, that the powers of this world would love to own- to be farmers of our children’s minds and hearts. Don’t fool yourself, it is a war out there.

-Brian Carter

An Idea, A Story, A Treasure Hunt

Sometimes we parents get stuck and start looking for ideas. Something that makes life more fun- anything more than movies and video games (which we use, I just get a little jealous). Because of such a quest, an idea struck my mind. The roots of it are probably from the TV show Psych, where the dad plays all these games to sharpen his kid’s mind.

Anyway, I thought to make a treasure hunt-type thing, only it wasn’t treasure, the goal was a toy they already knew they had. But the toy had a story, maybe it lost something or it was in trouble. It needed help, and that’s where the adventure begins. By writing hints on rolled up pieces of paper that I would hide throughout the house, my kids would follow them to solve the mystery.

Here’s one I made for my kids today. It kind of rhymes, but kind of doesn’t. It started to take me too long so some of the hints got very short.

1. “Once upon a time there was a princess who lost her magical wand. (the treasure, which was an actual toy wand) So she asked 3 heroes to help her even though it was too big for her hand. (see, kind of rhymes- wand, hand)
When they asked her which place to look first would be best, she said, “Maybe in Batman’s treasure chest!”

2. When they opened it what did they find? A pink little bunny who said, “Do you mind?” When they asked her about a wand that was magical, she said she might have seen it by a wookie and a pink whistle. (magical, whistle eh whatever. Its your game, make your own rules)

3. They found the wookie whose cape was blue, (this was a picture of a wookie my son made) and when they asked him what next they should do. He said he knew of a wise old butterfly who lives on a shelf, “I’ll bet she’ll know” he said, “Or I’m a fuzzy elf!”

4. At last they found her, that wise old butterfly. And when they asked her, they said, “Please don’t lie.” She said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be true. I know where you’ll find your next clue. Look first in what your Dad puts on his feet. And there a friend you will meet.”

5. They found their next clue in their daddy’s shoe. And very close by sat a laughing blue fuzzy guy. They said, “Laugh it up fuzz ball.” (my kids watched Star Wars this weekend, and they loved that line) “Oh, but that’s not all!” it said, “He knows, he knows! Who is he you say? He lives in the water down by the bay. He’s the one to whom you say, ‘See you later…'” (Ya I know, rhyming say with say, o well, time was short)

6. The alligator was tricky, and also quite picky with one thing he said, “Look in the cave, but you better be brave or else you’ll end up dead!” (its a bit dark I know, but it was an easy rhyme and if you use a silly voice it makes it ok…)

7. Deep in the cave a clue it gave to look on the princess’s bed. 8 legs it has or arms it has and is the color red. (a toy red octopus)

8. The octopus sang a song about the princess’s magical wand. And how 4 turtles knew what next they should do. If only they could find them, then he sang, “Look up, the 4 turtles can be found on a cup.” (TMNT cups my kids use)

9. Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo knew where they should go. “Go ask the fox, who’s by your dad’s socks, if you really want to know.”

10. The fox sure did tell them where they should go. He said a panda has it who’s name is Po. Now why did he take it? He didn’t know. Maybe he thought the princess was purdy and he wanted her to come to his party! (yep, purdy/party was the big finish) I had the wand hidden under the Kung Fu Panda DVD. I stuck some other DVDs by it to make it a party. It worked.

The only problem with it is, I’ve been doing this with my kids for over 4 years and they are too quick. What takes me hours to think up they figure out in minutes. But listening to them get excited and watching them figure it out is totally worth it. Hopefully this is an idea you can use.

-Brian Carter

Spirit Fire Ch. I

As a parent, I can’t think of anything more important than the privilege and responsibility of training my children in the way of God. The way my wife and I have chosen to do this is by having what we call Spirit Fire.

3x’s a week we gather together before bed time, turn everything off, and seek God. We invite Him to be with us and to surround us with His presence. We pray over our eyes, to see as He sees. We pray over our ears, to eagerly listen to His voice and to lead us to obedience. We pray over our mouths that they would speak His words. And we pray that the Spirit would surround our minds with His fire. All thoughts have to pass through the flame, if they are from Him they grow and bless us. If they are not, they burn up, turn to ash, and the wind blows them away. No trace of them is left behind.

Then we step into His presence with a request of some sort- asking for a word, or a vision. Sometimes we just spend time with Him giving thanks. Other times we give Him praise by celebrating highlights of the day. Whatever we choose to do, we do it to spend time with Him.

All this sounds very formal, and for a lot of people it may be, but I’ve tried to do what I can to engage my kids into desiring His presence. I usually wear a fancy robe that I got in Hong Kong, and I bought us all crowns to wear. And with antique keys that my wife got me years ago, I gave us all necklaces too.

Along with that time with Him, for the last couple years we have been going through the book of Proverbs. It was written to train kings and queens, hence the crowns. And to fill our treasuries with the blessings of wisdom, worth more than all the gold in the world, hence the keys. The robe? Just fun, kingly fun.

Back in February we started to add the book of Acts, the book of power. We switch between the two because I want my kids to know what we have been given in His kingdom. Wisdom and power. I then read a passage from either book, and then we talk about it.

After the talking, and trying to answer what questions I and my wife can, I close in prayer and then we get ready for bed. This is not an exhaustive description of what we do, but its a short quick sample. All together it takes us about 1/2 an hour. Just to add, the other nights we have a night show time which is usually whatever the kids want to see like Gummy Bears, Tom and Jerry, or Donald Duck.

I want to encourage parents to engage their family’s story with His in a fun way. Make it your own, make it awesome. The seeds cast from such a time will bring a harvest not just for your kids, but also for future generations.

-Brian Carter

A Tool for Power

I didn’t grow up in this. No school or church I’ve ever gone to even touches on this, save the one I’m currently attending. I’ve been called mentally ill, I’ve been told I worship a false god, demons even. All these loving titles, again given to me by faithful Christians who would rather the Bible not talk about this. I wonder why. Even the great Paul the apostle said he did this more than any of the disciples in the Corinthian church. I am not interested in some biblical debate, I am interested in the power given to us by the Holy Spirit. This post is for those who want more power in their lives, more control over their thoughts, more peace during times when they are alone, more focus in their prayers.

Glossolalia- the gift of speaking in tongues

How do you get this gift? Pray for it. What do you do then? For me, I just did it. Do I know if I have the “real” ancient biblical gift Paul spoke of? No. But what I do know is I used to have thoughts that came to my mind unbidden. Destructive thoughts, thoughts that brought no blessing with them. Thoughts that in no way brought me closer to Jesus. I’ve prayed them away but they’d always come back. Once I began to use the gift of tongues, it was like a jamming signal to my brain. All thoughts were gone, even the darkest ones had no place. My focus returned and my mind was cleansed, every time. So you see, even if I’m doing it wrong somehow, it still kicks the stuffing out of every thought I don’t want to have, seriously every time.

I began to pray over my street everyday I’d drive on it. I prayed for peace and safety, but then I wanted more. It developed to praying for freedom for every household, every family. Drugs, regret, sickness, it didn’t matter, I prayed over all of it. Then I began to visualize people coming out of their houses giving praise to God for His great love. I wanted more, more for my neighbors than just their houses not getting robbed. I began to pray for revival. Then in the midst of praying for more of an outbreak of heaven, I began to use this so powerful tool to utter mysteries over each of us. What did I say? I don’t know, but what I do know is it stepped things up within me.

In all my posts, I try to enlarge the experience of the Kingdom. I try to be vulnerable in hopes to meet someone there as they are reading, as they are looking. For those who want more power, I would invite you to be open to the Spirit’s leading in the use of this tool of power. For those who already have enough, peace be with you.

I’ve got a feeling there’s a reason this is such a complicated subject for so many. If I was Satan, I wouldn’t want people getting a hold of this. I would want them to believe it is evil. But I’ll tell you, I have never had an evil destructive thought when I use this gift. They all leave, every time. May it be so for you.

If you think I’m crazy, that’s ok. I’ve been called worse.

-Brian Carter

What’s in a Name?

I have been called many names throughout my life. As a kid, I grew up being called “Stupid Moron”, or “Stupid Idiot”. “Pharisee”, “Hypocrite”, “False Prophet”, along with ones I won’t mention here were given to me during my time working at a religious college, they always find a way to bring your faith into their insults.

Oddly enough, among the non-religious, I received names and titles like Faithful, Encourager, Christian. A recovering alcoholic once called me his Guardian Angel.

Now I attend a church that says stuff like, “you are anointed”, “you are a child of God” and “God is proud of you”. Looking back on things I wish I knew these people a lot sooner. They are so kind, their words don’t burden me with the weight of their own bitterness because they are actually filled with joy and peace.

I have found that what is in a name is the essence of what the name caller has within them. The worst names I’ve been called have been from the mouths of “faithful” people. These names are meant with a purpose (such a mix), to hurt, to destroy, to disable you because they, the name callers, want to matter. They strive for power and influence and the easiest way to do that is to insult. I’ve heard something like: one needs to say 10 positive things about someone to equal the impact of one negative thing.

It’s pretty amazing that no matter how strong we think we are, words actually do hurt us. What’s even more amazing to me is I’ve found that we are collectively either making or unmaking those around us with our words. With the names we call others we are chiseling, trimming, shaping who they are becoming.

Now it’s true, at least for me, that the people I let have a greater influence on me have a greater shaping power with their words and the ones with opinions I don’t value have little to no power to shape me. It is this fact that makes the ones with little to no power especially vicious. But the wise recognize that their words also have a power over them. The book of James, chapter 3 verse 4 says our words actually have the power to steer us in whatever direction we want to go. Follow that with Proverbs chapter 18 verse 21 and you can see the roadmap, “The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

When we worship the LORD, as a friend of mine once said, “We are putting the right words in the right place.” We are as John the Baptist declared in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1 verse 3, preparing “the way for the Lord” and making “straight paths for Him”. And when we do this, we travel with Him in His direction to His location.

So what’s truly in a name? It could very well be your destiny.

For there is a Name that is above every name, and by His Name, the dead are raised, the lame is healed, the oppressed are delivered, and the sinner is sanctified. By the Name of Jesus Christ, the power of heaven touches the earth.

No matter what name you have been called by a family member, a religious authority, a friend, or an enemy, if you are in Christ, God calls you His child, Galatians chapter 3 verse 26. And it is there that I wish to stay, grow, and be shaped.

-Brian Carter

Fear is the Ocean

My wife and I were traveling late one moonless night. We were far away from any lights or civilization. The road we were on was totally empty of any other traffic. It was dark. The kind of dark that almost devours light making a car’s headlights seem dim. We were traveling slowly because of the low visibility when suddenly a shape and a face flashed before us.

A friend of mine was in the hospital facing a grim diagnosis. Though it was something she could have fought, her mind was so clouded with conspiracies she didn’t have any ground to stand on. I visited her on one of her dark days. She was striking out against the doctors and even against her husband for she thought they were all trying to kill her. With eyes wide, she was pleading for anyone to take her side.

In the mountains of Tennessee, I climbed down into a dark crevice that opened up in the side of a 300 foot drop off. There were no guard rails, no stairs, and the bottom of the crevice angled toward the drop. A woman came down behind me and within moments froze. Her arms and legs locked which lifted her off of the safe seating she had. Her breathing became panicked with short gasps and unintelligible words came from her mouth.

We pulled off the road to figure out what just happened. I knew I didn’t hit anything but with the form and face came a cry. I stepped out of the car telling my wife to lock the doors and get into the driver’s seat. I walked back to find that the shape turned out to be an African lady who had been trapped on that road with a flat tire for who knows how long. She was beyond reasoning so I told her I was going to get my wife to help her.

I tried to reason with my friend, telling her that God is with her. And we have confidence in His goodwill toward us. That her disease was nothing compared to His power. I tried to slowly give her ground that was more solid than the shadowy conspiracies filling her mind.

I pulled myself back up to the woman behind me and stood in front of her face blocking any view of the opening and the drop and told her to breathe.

My wife gave her a hug while I put on the spare. She told her what I was doing and what the plan was which slowly calmed her down. My wife gained a little bit of her trust, but not enough to exchange phone numbers. As soon as the spare was on, she was off without even a goodbye.

I saw a break in the wave of hysteria when I began to talk to her about Jesus. I didn’t ask any questions, I didn’t want to hear her speak. I saw in her eyes a glimmer of determination. It was enough.

The woman began to breathe more normally and she sat back down for a moment before I guided her to turn around and head back out.

Each of these moments revealed to me the truth of how love drives out fear. Love got the lady with the flat moving again. Love dispelled the shadows attacking my friend. Love turned the woman around who was facing the drop. We are loved in the most perfect way through Jesus. 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love.” And we are always in His love.

These days, our society seems saturated with fear. Laws are written because of it, airports have to sift through it, even our cars are being made with the technology to fight against it. It is in these days that Christians stand out, and it’s not because of hate that they do. It is because of love and the lack of fear that dominates everyone else’s lives.

Walk in the power that is yours followers of Jesus. Fear is the ocean. Let us show this world who is the Lord as we follow Him on top of the waves.

-Brian Carter