Salting Our Conversations with Grace
February 7, 2022
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4:6 One Sunday night I dutifully posted the lesson plans for my Composition class online. I uploaded a worksheet and everything. On Wednesday, I got an email from a parent asking me where the ... Read more
Prayer that Works
January 24, 2022
When my 9-year-old granddaughter Ainsleigh heard that Aunt Kathy was not expected to live, she came to her mother Hope and asked, “I want to talk to you, but not as my mother. I want to talk to you as a Christian. I have a serious question.” Hope held her breath and encouraged her to ... Read more
Wisdom from Mayberry
January 10, 2022
Over a long break, it is interesting what one might run across on TV. My wife told me this part from the Andy Griffiths Show: When a hobo told Andy he should just let Opie “decide for himself” how he wanted to live… He had these words of Mayberry wisdom. “No, I’m afraid it don’t ... Read more
A Picture of a Vision Casting Dad
November 29, 2021
Every now and then I stumble across a movie that resonates with me and makes me see some issues in a new light. One such movie is King Richard, the true story of Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena, the all-time top-ranked women singles tennis players. One of the things that impressed me ... Read more
Staying Off the Rollercoaster
November 15, 2021
Staying Off the Rollercoaster — Have you ever felt that trying to keep up with your child’s moods and behaviors is like riding on a rollercoaster? I remember the old-time rollercoaster. Slowly the car would climb to the top of the first peak. Even though it was slow, we knew the inevitable plunge was coming, that ... Read more
What Are The Underlying Needs?
October 25, 2021
When I attended a Trauma Informed Care workshop on Friday, I discovered that I did something very right by accident just the day before. In the morning Virtue Lauds, I was so happy to see the 5th & 6th graders after Fall Break and no lauds on Tuesday due to Picture Day, I just looked ... Read more
Creatures of Habit: The Good News and the Bad News
October 4, 2021
Like with so much of life, the fact that human beings are creatures of habit is a double-edged sword. My wish to weigh less is outweighed by my habit to munch on the same things at the same times everyday. If I am not thinking, I have a precise order in which I grab a ... Read more
Becoming Is a Journey*
September 20, 2021
In numerous places in the New Testament, it is stated that we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29 for example). This transformation is from one degree of glory to the next into His likeness (1 Cor. 3:18). This becoming is God’s work in us by the working of His ... Read more
That Wasn’t So Bad…
September 6, 2021
I think this statement after my first home visit was meant as a compliment. The Mom quickly added that she had no idea what to expect and wasn’t sure why I wanted to come by to visit. The second Mom admitted that when she saw my earlier note and saw I would be in her ... Read more
Dads: The Men, the Myths, the Legends
August 23, 2021
Dads: The Men, the Myths, the Legends — This idea comes from my sweatshirt with that saying for Grandpas. It is usually good for a laugh, but I think it is also worthy of some serious consideration. We need to sift through the various myths, legends and stereotypes about being a Dad and get down ... Read more
