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Lessons From a Father That Was Always There (Part 1) - Crawford LorittsLessons From a Father That Was Always There (Part 2) - Crawford Loritts

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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Modeling Integrity

Guest: Crawford Loritts

From the series: Lessons from a Father Who Was Always There (Day 1 of 2)

Bob: Dr. Crawford Loritts is profoundly aware of how his life was marked and shaped by a father who was there.

Crawford: My dad used to say to me as I was growing up—and particularly as I was facing difficult times and, maybe, I didn’t want to follow through on something; and I said I was going to do something—boy, he would pull me aside and say: “Son, all you have at the end of the day is what you say. That’s all you have. That’s all you have, and you better be good by what comes out of your mouth—integrity. If you say you are this, then it needs to be reflected in how you act.”

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Monday, March 12th. Our host is Dennis Rainey, and I’m Bob Lepine. A lot of what Crawford Loritts understood about parenting came from watching a father who did the job well. We’ll hear more from him today. Stay with us.

1:00

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us on the Monday edition. You know, we’ve often said that behind every great man, there’s a great woman or that we stand on the shoulders of others. I don’t know how often it’s been reflected on that behind great men and women are often faithful moms and dads, who did their job well and created a foundation for their sons and daughters to grow up in where those sons and daughters thrived.

Dennis: You know, as you talk about that, I can’t help but think about our guest on the program today, who gave a message at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s Parenting Conference, back last August. I sat in the audience as I listened to my friend, Crawford Loritts, speak about his heritage that Crawford was given by his great grandfather, Peter, whom he described as a praying, singing slave.

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Bob: Yes.

Dennis: And he passed on a living faith that, now, resides in Crawford’s life and in, also, Crawford’s four children; and I think, soon, his ten grandchildren as well.

Bob: Yes; Crawford is a friend of ours. He and his wife Karen have spoken at Weekend to Remember® marriage getaways for years. Crawford is also the pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Georgia, suburban Atlanta. He’s spoken around the world on a variety of issues, including marriage and family. His message, at the parenting conference you were attending, was a riveting message. In fact, we thought, “This is one our listeners need to hear.” So, today, we’re going to hear Part One of Crawford Loritts talking about lessons he learned on integrity from a father who lived it.

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[Recorded Message]

Crawford: About 20 years ago, I wrote a book entitled Never Walk Away: Lessons on Integrity from a Father Who Lived It; obviously, it was about my dad’s incredible impact on my heart and life. In fact, next to Jesus Christ, my father has had the most important, strategic, wonderful influence on my life. Who I am today—so much of what I think, and how I feel, and how I act, and, particularly, my approach to my marriage and our family—has Pop’s signature all over me.

You know, Dan Fogelberg wrote a song a number of years ago—a ballad. Part of the refrain of that song goes something like this: “The leader of the band is tired; his eyes are growing cold. His blood is in my instrument, and his song is my soul. My life is just a poor attempt to imitate the man.

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“I’m just the living legacy to leader of the band.”

My father was a grandson of a slave. He was born in 1914—February 13, 1914. He was the youngest boy of 14 children. So, his grandfather Peter / my great grandfather was a slave. Peter, they say—my dad remembers him: “Peter lived to be an old man. Peter was a singing and praying man,” he said. Some of my father’s most vivid memories were seeing his grandfather rock back and forth on the old homestead there in Catawba County, North Carolina, a place called Newton Conover, where he would just sing and pray.

Peter was an illit...

Lessons From a Father That Was Always There (Part 1) - Crawford LorittsLessons From a Father That Was Always There (Part 2) - Crawford Loritts

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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The Most Important Things

Guest: Crawford Loritts

From the series: Lessons from a Father Who Was Always There (Day 2 of 2)

Bob: What’s the right balance, as a parent, between protecting your children and letting them experience enough of life that they wind up with a few scars? Here’s

Dr. Crawford Loritts.

Crawford: I understand the need to protect them from the evils, and the sin, and the hellishness that’s in our culture; but I have to tell you—protection is not development. I’m terribly concerned about this movement among some of us that wants to hover over our kids—and pull them back and sanitize and sterilize their environments—in such a way that they don’t interact with the evil world/a dark world, in which they were born to redeem, and impact, and be salt and light in!

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Tuesday, March 13th. Our host is Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. Where does protection fit into our priorities, as parents; and how much freedom should we give our children? We’ll hear from Crawford Loritts on that today. Stay with us.

1:00

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us on the Tuesday edition. When I was in high school, our choir sang a song that was based on the final instructions that King David gave to his son as David was dying and as Solomon was taking over. I don’t know if choirs are allowed to sing songs that biblical in our day, but our high school choir sang this when I was growing up. It’s stuck with me all these years—David’s counsel to his son—from a father, who’s dying. He had wise words to share with his son.

In fact, we’re going to hear today from Crawford Loritts about how important and how powerful it is for a father to instruct, and coach, and model for his son what really matters.

Dennis: Crawford is the pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Georgia.

2:00

He is the father of four children / he’s the husband of Karen, and they have ten grandchildren. As you listen to Crawford share this story from the Scriptures, I want you to think about what you’re charging your kids with today. Are you challenging them with a high enough standard? Are you challenging them with the right goal? Are you challenging them with an eternal goal?

I think, Bob, we need to be putting before our children a biblical standard for how they should live throughout their lives; and I think we ought to allow a story like this, from

1 Kings, Chapter 2, to be like the song that you said you remembered all the way back to your childhood—just that it might stick in our hearts and we carry the burden of realizing we need to shape and direct the next generation.

Bob: I think we’ll get some good coaching from Crawford, as moms and dads, to know: “What are the important things we should be focusing on as we pass on a legacy to our sons and our daughters?”

3:00

Here’s Part Two of a message from Dr. Crawford Loritts on “Lessons on Integrity from a Father Who Lived It.”

[Recorded Message]

Crawford: In 1 Kings, Chapter 2, verses 1-4, David is dying / David is leaving—the legendary David. As he’s dying, he calls his son, Solomon, in to make a grand handoff. David was consciously aware of the fact that legacies are not guaranteed—they are not guaranteed. And yet, Solomon was being tapped as next in line. David was about to go be in the very presence of God. It’s almost as if, as you read the text, the emotional context is really compelling. It’s as if David is reaching out and grabbing his son, Solomon, by the lapels and pulling him close. [Emotion in voice]

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In these four verses, it’s almost as if David is saying: “Son, this is what I’ve lived for. These are the footprints in the sand, and I need you to embrace what you were born for.”

And parenthetically, as we raise our children—from the time they’re little somethings / from the time they’re tiny—we need to be whispering in their ears that they were born for the glory of God and for the plan and the purposes of God: “This is what you were born for, and everything ...

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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Life Aboard the Space Station

Guest: Barry Wilmore

From the series: Life Aboard the Space Station (Day 1 of 1)

Bob: And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us on the Friday edition. This could get a little tricky today. I’m not sure—

Houston: Hello, this is Houston Comm Tech.

Dennis: This is Dennis Rainey with FamilyLife Today.

Bob: And Bob Lepine. Houston, can you hear us?

Houston: I hear you very low.

Bob: Low? Not loud and clear?

Houston: Okay, you’re coming in a little bit louder. Please standby.
Bob: Do I need to say, “Over”?

Houston: Okay, this is Comm Tech with a second voice-take on private three; now copy.

Bob: Hi, Comm Tech. How’s the sound now? Better?

Houston: Sounds better. Please stand by for a moment.

Bob: Okay.

Dennis: Alright.

Bob: I’m getting the sense that you don’t make jokes with Houston Comm Tech or anybody else in Houston.

Dennis: Well, we’re speaking to NASA.

Bob: They are a little focused on the mission.

Dennis: And folks, this is not a joke. That really is—

Bob: Yes.

Dennis: —Houston NASA Control Center.

Bob: And here is the thing. Some of our listeners recognize that, back last fall, we had the opportunity to have a conversation with Captain Barry Wilmore and his wife Deanna just before Barry blasted off from a launch pad in Russia—

1:00

Dennis: A Soyuz rocket.

Bob: —going up to take command of the International Space Station, which is where he is today.

Dennis: And we also recorded, without Deanna knowing, a 20th Anniversary greeting.
Bob: Yes, Barry called us from the space station, back in early December—December 3rd was their anniversary—

Dennis: Right.

Bob: —their 20th Anniversary. We had him, at the end of the program, sharing anniversary greetings.

Dennis: And he sent me an email, after that happened, and said: “Dennis, thank you for allowing me to do that. My daughter actually took a video.” I don’t know how they do this, Bob—but they showed the video back to him on the space station. He is in the International Space Station, right now. He had a conversation—and he said, “My daughter showed my wife weeping—

Bob: As she listened?

Dennis: —“as she listened to my 20th Anniversary greetings.”

Bob: And we’re trying to work things out now. I think this is going to work, where Houston is setting us up so that we can talk to Captain Wilmore—

2:00

Dennis: —on the International Space Station.

Bob: Right.

Dennis: He—

Barry: FamilyLife Today, hello. Hello, from the International Space Station. You guys out there?

Bob: Unbelievable! Is it really you?

Barry: Hi, Bob! Hi, Dennis!

Bob: And how many bars do you have on your phone right now? [Laughter]

Barry: Hopefully, enough!

Dennis: Amazing!

Bob: It is amazing that we’re talking to you!

Barry: Well, thank you all for your program—it’s fabulous.

Dennis: Would you mind looking out your window and telling us what you’re seeing right now?

Barry: If I’m not mistaken—I didn’t look at a map—but if I’m not mistaken, based on what I’ve seen, I believe that’s Australia going by below me.

Bob: Wow! [Laughter]

Dennis: Well, Butch, you’re looking at the earth as few men or women ever get a chance to see it. What’s a unique perspective you’ve had, just from outer space? This is your second time to be in orbit. Any thoughts come to your mind as you glance at the globe of six billion people?

Barry: Very interesting question. You know, when I was here before—when I flew five years ago—

3:00

—it was a shuttle mission. Shuttle missions were fast and furious—it was 11 days. I think the most time I ever had to stick my nose in the w...

Reading to Children (Part 1) - Sally Lloyd-JonesReading to Children (Part 2) - Sally Lloyd-Jones

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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Reading to Children

Guest: Sally Lloyd-Jones

From the series: Telling Stories to Children (Day 2 of 2)

Bob: Do you read stories to your children? Do you read Bible stories to them? Sally Lloyd-Jones has a caution for you.

Sally: Whenever we read a story and then we say, “Well, what that story’s about...”—whatever we put on the other side of “about”—that becomes the only thing that story’s about. The minute we do that—it’s terrible / it’s the worst thing you could ever say. I’m passionate about that because of what that does—is, basically, you’ve decided what that story is about / you’ve decided what God might want to say to that child—but what if God wants to say something completely different?

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Friday, December 8th. Our host is Dennis Rainey; I'm Bob Lepine. There is great power in telling good stories. We’ll hear from a great story-teller today, Sally Lloyd-Jones. Stay with us.

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us on the Friday edition. We’re having a delightful time this week with a delightful friend.

1:00

Before we introduce her again, we’re in the final weeks of the year. This is a pretty important, pretty strategic time for us as a ministry.

Dennis: It is! I’ll tell you something that delights me—I love hearing from listeners. I heard, recently, from a single mom who said our broadcast gives her hope every day to keep on keeping on. Here’s one from somebody who struggled through the heartbreak of a divorce and a broken family—she said: “It helped me grow in Christ immensely.” And then one other: “Our marriage was falling apart. I started listening, daily, to FamilyLife Today. The information I received gave me the strength to fight for my marriage.”

We have a lot of folks, Bob, who are finding help and hope for their marriage and family. But in order for us to do that, we need listeners to step up and say: “I want to stand with you guys as you guys proclaim the biblical blueprints for a marriage and a family. You’re ministering to marriages and families and leaving legacies, all across the nation and all around the globe.”

2:00

Would you stand with us right now?

Bob: It’s easy to make a yearend contribution. You can do it, online, at FamilyLifeToday.com; or you can call to donate at 1-800-FL-TODAY. There’s a matching-gift opportunity that’s in effect so, when you give your donation, it’s going to be doubled—the impact of your giving will be doubled. You’ll help us reach more people in 2018 and that’s our goal—is to reach more people with practical biblical help and hope. Again, you can donate, online, at FamilyLifeToday.com; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY.

Now, back to our conversation with our guest, Sally Lloyd-Jones. We’ve been talking about holidays; we’ve been talking about family, and fun, and about food. In fact, you don’t think there can be good Christmas food in Great Britain. When you were over there, you thought all the food was horrible; right?

Dennis: “I was trying to find out a way to get across the English Channel to get to France.” [Laughter]

Bob: Have you watched The Great British Bake Off? Have you watched that show?

Dennis: I have not, Bob.

Bob: Have you watched it?

Sally: Yes; everyone’s obsessed!

3:00

Bob: I know, it’s amazing; isn’t it?

Dennis: Bob, I’m concerned about you—you’re watching The British Bake Off!

Bob: The Great British Bake Off is a great reality show. Barbara, you would love The Great British Bake Off.

Barbara: I would? Okay.

Bob: So, make Dennis watch it.

Dennis: No; she wouldn’t; she does not like to cook! [Laughter]

Barbara: I enjoy watching other people cook.

Bob: That’s exactly the point.

Sally: That’s perfectly fine with me!

Dennis: I do want to welcome Sally Lloyd-Jones back to the broadcast. Welcome back.

Sally: Tha...

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FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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Out of the Depths

Day 2 of 4

Guest: Ed Harrell

From the Series: Mercy at Sea

________________________________________________________________

Bob: Sixty years ago this week, Ed Harrell was afloat in the Pacific. His ship, the cruiser USS Indianapolis, had been sunk by Japanese torpedoes. Many of the crew members had not escaped. Those who had, found themselves battling for their lives on the open seas with no help in sight. What was in sight were sharks.

Ed: You can't imagine, and I can't explain, you know, the feeling that you have. You know that at any moment that the shark could get you, and you wonder, you know, am I going to be next? You know, you pray and you pray more, and you pour your heart out to the Lord, and just hope and pray that somehow, some way, that He will be faithful to the promise that you feel that He's made to you and that you'll be able to endure.

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Tuesday, August 2nd. Our host is the president of FamilyLife, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. We'll hear a powerful story today of courage and faith as we speak with one of the survivors of the USS Indianapolis.

And welcome to FamilyLife Today, thanks for joining us. I somehow missed this in my study of U.S. history. I don't know that I ever was aware that on the night of July 30, 1945, just weeks before the end of World War II, a Japanese submarine, I-58, launched a spread of torpedoes at the USS Indianapolis in the Pacific Theater. Two of those torpedoes found their mark and, in less than 15 minutes, this cruiser sank in the Marianas, and there were almost 1,200 men on board the ship. More than 800 of those men did not survive the attack or the days that followed that attack. And I don't know, Dennis, that I'd ever heard about that battle or about the sinking of the ship, but it's truly a compelling story, especially when you consider that some 300 men were rescued days later.

Dennis: Yes, and we have one of those men who was rescued back with us. Ed Harrell joins us again on FamilyLife Today. Ed, welcome back.

Ed: Thank you.

Dennis: I want to express my appreciation for you, as a veteran, just for serving our nation and also for coming here on our broadcast and telling the story, a dramatic story, of what has to be one of the most phenomenal survival stories, really, Bob, in all of the World War II and maybe in the history of the United States. I mean, what you had to endure and go through. But we'll get to that in just a moment.

Ed is a businessman, was on the board of trustees of Moody Bible for a number of years. He and his wife Ola [ph] have a couple of children and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and he is a survivor of the USS Indianapolis. Ed, I want you to take our listeners back, because you shared earlier the story of standing on the deck of this boat – this great, massive boat, over 600 feet long, at midnight as it's sinking in less than 15 minutes. What were you hearing at that moment? It's pitch black, there's a little bit of light from the fires that are burning midship, but what was the sound like? Was it of screams of people? Were there explosions?

Ed: There were still explosions going on for a good while. In fact, when the ship actually went under there were still explosions that were taking place below deck. I don't know that I'm waiting to listen to see what might be taking place. I am eager to get off, and I make my way, then, to the port side and hung onto that rail and said my prayer before I entered into the water, and I knew, beyond any shadow of doubt, that the Lord had, through the Spirit, was bearing witness with my spirit that He was with me and that I would make it, somehow, some way.

I know, later on, when I was interviewed, they asked me, "What were you thinking out there? Did you think that you were going to make it?" And I said, "I thought of the 30-day leave that I would get for being a survivor and be able to go home," because I hadn't been home for a good while, and I was thinking about going home, frankly.

Bob: You had one what you've described as a kapok jacket, a life preserver, is that what that was...