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18. You Are Grace Harbor - Thursday Evening · Family Prayer Podcast

• 0:00
  Good evening, Grace Harbor, it’s Dan!
• 0:03
  I hope you had a great Thursday, and now that we are all back together,
• 0:07
  maybe you feel like a ship coming into the harbor for the night.
• 0:11
  It’s been really fun sharing with you some of our town history this week.
• 0:14
  And as I mentioned this morning, it hit me that there’s
• 0:17
  a pretty important part of Grace Harbor that I haven’t told you about yet.
• 0:22
  I’ve told you about our harbor - the body of water that our town sits on.
• 0:27
  And I’ve told you that it’s super safe because of the cliffs
• 0:30
  that offer natural protection from storms and rough seas.
• 0:34
  And maybe you’ve been able to picture that in your mind.
• 0:37
  But that picture is missing something - our lighthouse!
• 0:41
  I’m sure you’ve all seen pictures of a lighthouse before.
• 0:45
  Maybe you’ve even gone to visit one on vacation or if you live near the
• 0:49
  the coast.
• 0:50
  They’re tall towers with a really powerful light at the top.
• 0:54
  Do you know what a lighthouse’s job is?
• 0:57
  I’ll give you a hint: they’re usually built out on the end of the coast,
• 1:01
  and in Grace Harbor, ours sits near the edge of the cliffs.
• 1:06
  A lighthouse’s job
• 1:08
  is to keep ships safe by showing them where the coast is.
• 1:12
  Sometimes the light warns ‘stay away from these rocks,’
• 1:16
  and sometimes it signals ‘come this way for safety.’
• 1:20
  The Grace Harbor Lighthouse kind of means both!
• 1:24
  It sits on the cliffs, which you do not want to run into.
• 1:27
  But just beyond the lighthouse is the entrance to the harbor
• 1:32
  where you’ll find shelter and rest - and our cool little town.
• 1:37
  We talked this morning about being a harbor for each other
• 1:39
  in our family, and that’s a really great first step.
• 1:43
  But one of the things we here in Grace Harbor talk about a lot,
• 1:46
  especially at our church, is how we can be a harbor for others.
• 1:51
  You might join a classmate who sits alone at lunch,
• 1:54
  you might make a card for a neighbor who’s been sick,
• 1:58
  or there are things your family can do to support other kids
• 2:01
  and families that need help - especially at Christmastime.
• 2:05
  When we become a safe place for others, it’s
• 2:09
  a way of making good things happen, and that means we’re being peacemakers.
• 2:15
  In one of his most famous teachings in the Bible,
• 2:18
  Jesus said, “blessed are the peacemakers.”
• 2:22
  It was Jesus’ way of saying, “if you’re making good things
• 2:25
  happen, you’re doing exactly what you were designed to do!”
• 2:29
  You may have noticed that I start most of our podcasts with “good
• 2:33
  morning, Grace Harbor” or “good evening, Grace Harbor.”
• 2:38
  I’m calling your family Grace Harbor!
• 2:41
  You see, even though you don’t live here, I hope that your family
• 2:46
  will become a little Grace Harbor wherever you do live.
• 2:50
  You all can be a place of peace, safety,
• 2:54
  and rest for each other, your friends, and your neighbors.
• 2:59
  What I would love for you
• 3:00
  to think about as a family tonight is this:
• 3:03
  who could we be a safe harbor for?
• 3:06
  Do you know of any friends or neighbors or people in your community
• 3:11
  that would be encouraged knowing that you’re there for them?
• 3:14
  If you need more time, you can pause the podcast, and I’ll
• 3:17
  be right here when you get back.
• 3:49
  Do you have a name or two?
• 3:51
  If you want to keep talking,
• 3:52
  I have a follow-up question for you that you can pause the podcast to answer.
• 3:56
  But if you’re ready to turn in, tuck this question away for another day.
• 4:01
  We said earlier that it’s really helpful when harbors have lighthouses
• 4:05
  because it sends a signal out that this is a place of safety.
• 4:09
  The question is, what can you do or say
• 4:13
  that sends the signal to others that your family is a safe harbor?
• 4:18
  Ok, let’s wrap up for tonight with prayer.
• 4:21
  I’m going to leave a space in the prayer where you can say those names
• 4:25
  you thought of earlier.
• 4:27
  By praying for them, you’re becoming a Grace Harbor for them,
• 4:31
  even though they don’t even know you’re doing it!
• 4:34
  Dear God, we thank you for this day and for all of your blessings.
• 4:39
  We thank you for the people who are safe harbors for us, and we’re
• 4:43
  grateful that we can be safe harbors for others too.
• 4:47
  At this time, we say the names of some of the people we’re
• 4:51
  thinking about tonight.
• 4:59
  We pray that you would make good things
• 5:01
  happen in their lives, and please show us how we can help.
• 5:06
  We ask all of this in your name.
• 5:08
  Amen.
• 5:10
  Ok, Grace Harbor.
• 5:11
  Get some sleep, and I’ll talk to you in the morning.