Dear Friends,

Gorgeous flower beds; straight rows of vegetables; orchard row after row already bending under the weight. All that is wonderful. Then you look under the leaves or lean over for a closer look and there are the weeds. If the foliage with its growth and promise is like our families, then the weeds are like our sin: we hope to pull them out quick before anyone sees. What if someone passing by notices a family weed, like kids pushing each other or getting angry or crawling under the fence into the neighbor's place? So, we run around pulling up weeds as fast as possible, "Do not hit your sister again!" "You better not let me catch you doing that again!" or a really useless one, "You act like a bunch of heathens!" Some weeds go down farther and spread wider than others. That means there are no easy, one-time-only applications guaranteed to always work. We need so much wisdom and grace for parenting. That has a double intention, because we need them from God AND from each other. Ask our Father, it is His delight to give us the kingdom, and ask each other. Read the Bible about sin, grace and forgiveness to allow God to teach you, then pray for wisdom to learn the application, then be gentle with others who are also in the weeding business.

That is all fine and good, but the bigger deal right now is that, over summer break, many families are dealing with the really big issues of which school, whether to home school, how to provide the best environment for their children. God will help you with your family's growth and training, so go ahead and watch out for each other, too. Pray for the families around you and around Washington who are trying to make these big decisions, even while they struggle daily with the ongoing weeds like we all face. During summer, many other big decisions come up concerning housing needs, searching for better jobs, community activity, and so on. Interceding for your friends and neighbors facing such decisions will be such a valuable help to them. Teach your children to pray for others and to demonstrate grace this season.

Our state and federal law makers come home in the summer, establishing local offices. Pray for them, but also that God will make a way for you to meet them and to associate a name with a face. Ask our Father to make connections for them with you and with other wise counselors during break time. Look at Romans chapter 13 to find ways to pray for them, that we might have peace and they might have a blessing.

As we on the Board of WATCH and other volunteers complete preparations for the August conference, please pray God's blessing for the speakers and vendors; for the Eastside Four Square church who meet weekly at the location we will be using; for God's directing us in planning and implementing the great event He has in store. Pray for the parents and students whom you know need to attend to have the oportunity; to have the finances and the time available; to have the hope that real encouragement and instruction will be waiting for them.