Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
August 13, 2021
I know that this is such an often used phrase that is almost a cliché, but it is still true. And we saw a great picture of this during Paideia. We had one of our best training conferences ever And this was thanks to the work of many, many people doing a wide range of things! We ... Read more
Set Apart Kids
July 26, 2021
Often our children would question, “Why can’t we do what other kids get to do?” “Why isn’t our family like other families? They let their kids watch ________ or go to ______, etc.” And this was before parents were getting their 11 year olds SmartPhones and Facebook and Twitter accounts. I can’t imagine what pressure ... Read more
Give Them Tools, not Just Rules
July 20, 2021
Back when our church had a summer day camp with 150 children a day from K-8th grade with children from all kinds of homes, rule breaking was rampant. How can we get these kids under control? We resolved to do better the next week. We started each of the remaining camp weeks with a review ... Read more
What Do You Preach to Yourself?
May 10, 2021
One might deny it, not wanting to look like one is losing one’s mind wandering about talking to one’s self. But we all do it all the time. The question is not, do you talk to yourself? The real question is, do you preach positively or negatively, do you rationalize and propagandize or do you ... Read more
Living for the Line and Not the Dot
May 3, 2021
Often when meeting with a student, I draw different diagrams to explain ideas. One of my favorites is a long horizontal line upon which I draw a small dot. I ask, “If that is a timeline, what do you think the dot represents?” Almost immediately the student says, that is my life in comparison to ... Read more
It’s Your Own Dumb Fault
April 26, 2021
It’s Your Own Dumb Fault …would often be our parents’ response when kids back in my day would come home crying or complaining about something, whether it be from climbing too high in a tree and a branch would break off, or we would get punished for talking back to a teacher, or beat up ... Read more
Character Counts
April 26, 2021
Man, that hurts! I was thinking after a person blasted my reputation by sending out letters to every person in her current and former Bible studies. This lady’s Bible study leader and I had come to an impasse on a doctrinal/practical living disagreement. She was sorely disappointed that I did not take her side in ... Read more
The Fallacy of a Neutral Zone
April 6, 2021
Is there a middle ground between being all in for Jesus and being in rebellion against Him? Is there a place for someone to be just a good, decent believer but not a zealot? Can’t I just be going around my daily life seeking to do good without having to make Jesus Lord over every ... Read more
Staying Chill When Things Are Tense
April 1, 2021
Kids take their cues from us to a large extent. Something happens and they look to us on how to react. Think of a child falling down and getting a little scrape. He or she is rattled, but looks up to Mom or Dad to find out — is this a big deal? Is this ... Read more
