Parenting

Jerry Clower Made My Childhood Better

Recently on the way to school, Wyatt asked about a CD in my truck so I introduced him to Jerry Clower. Jerry Clower is long dead, but he was the best kind of comedian. He was a master story teller who did not need to resort to filthy language or crude jokes for an easy laugh. …

Read more

Crowdsource Parenting

Crowdsourcing, according to Merriam-Webster, is “the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers.” It is a relatively new phenomenon and one that has great merit in certain situations. One of my favorite …

Read more

Making the Best of a School Morning

School mornings in our home can be an absolute nightmare. Our local elementary school begins the day at 7:30 (yes, in the morning) which means getting the kids up before 6:30 and out the door no later than 7:15 (so at least we live close). I take our kids to school most days; it is …

Read more

Aubrey’s First Deer and My Life Lesson

I took Aubrey hunting on Saturday. Wyatt went the week before, and I have even been so brave as to take them both at the same time. Last year Wyatt and I shot two does in one evening and he learned how to track a wounded deer, load it, and properly care for it.  Saturday, …

Read more

8 Steps for Defending Your Faith In The Classroom

I got a call early this morning informing me about one of our middle school students who was told in class yesterday that the Bible is not a trustworthy source because of the Gilgamesh Epic. I do not have the time or space to go into Gilgamesh today, but you can find some information here. Rather …

Read more

The Daily Docket (9/3/14)

When Childhood Has Become A Race— Every parent needs to read this. Could it not be that our ambitions for our children’s success, however we define it, busy our children out of opportunities for their real formation? In my own family, what’s most important seem to be the insignificant events: meals together around the table, Saturday …

Read more

What My Wife Taught Me About Forgiveness

Recently, after my children had a disagreement and one apologized to the other, the response to the apology came as, “Don’t worry about it, its OK.”  Angela quickly responded, “No, its not OK.  We should forgive others, but forgiveness does not mean that its OK to do wrong things.” Yes, thats one reason why I …

Read more

Keeping Your College Students

Much is made about the prevalence of young adults leaving the church after they finish high school.  We have a right to be concerned, but more than concerned, we have a responsibility to fight the trend.  Certainly much of the fight needs to take place long before graduation.  Some research over the years has suggested …

Read more

When Our Fears Seem Louder Than God’s Promises

Recently, my son had a bad dream.  It was a really bad dream, the kind that he talked about the next day and that had him scared to go to sleep the next night.  I knelt by his bed with him as he recounted the details.  There was a witch, a creepy forest, scary kids, …

Read more

Loving The Pastor’s Family

I’ve read several blog posts and articles recently discussing ways that church members can love their pastor, or their pastor’s wife, or their pastor’s family.  There is certainly a place for these encouragements.  The pastor’s family is no different from other families in the church in that they need to be loved and cared for …

Read more