Here’s my thesis: Christmas lists take the magic and fun and surprise out of Christmas and reduce it to a transactional holiday morning. Once lists enter the equation, Christmas effectively becomes a baby shower or wedding reception with lights. There are times and places for pre-determined buying decisions, but Christmas isn’t one of them. A […]
Time for a confession. My wife knows this, my daughter knows this, pretty much everyone in my family knows this, so it’s probably appropriate to tell you – the tens of followers of this blog – so you can know it too (and perhaps decide if you want to continue following). I’m not a loveyoubye […]
I am wholly the product of Christian education. I started in preschool at Heritage Christian School on the northeast side of Indianapolis in 1968 when I was four years old. I graduated from the same school 14 years later in 1982. I then attended Cedarville College (now ‘University’ since they put on airs), a Christian […]
Refines our faith – I Pet 1:6-7 Produces endurance and perseverance – Jas 1:3-4; Rom 5:3-4 Broadens our understanding of God’s sovereignty – Job 42:2-6 Forces us to depend on God’s strength – II Cor 12:7-10 Drives us to God’s word – Ps 119:105-120 Incites us to pray – Jas 1:5; Matt 14:30 Enables us […]
I thought I’d pass along something I started doing last year that I’ve really liked. It’s nothing all that new in that people have been praying through Paul’s prayers for generations, but I took it a step further for my own use and thought you might find it helpful. I took three prayers of Paul […]
I received an email from the local library today with a subject line of “Tis the Season of Gratitude.” The body of the email reads as follows: The spotlight is on gratitude this season. Gratitude is defined as a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation. Experts tell us that practicing gratitude can improve mental health, strengthen […]
When I was in college, I had a job one summer pouring basement walls for large houses. I was one of only two ‘college boys’ working on the crew (while everyone else had been on the crew for about 300 years each) and the crew chief liked to poke at us a bit. One of […]
Everything is political now, isn’t it? Nothing is benign. The choices we make every day aren’t just choices; they’re political statements. Things that used to be matters of convenience or preference have political overtones. Use a straw at Starbucks; drive a Prius; drive a pickup truck; eat at Chick-fil-A; watch the NBA; believe the virus […]
It’s a scary and amazing time, isn’t it? It seems like everything is being shaken. Have you ever lived through so much change in such a short period? Is anything the same as it was just three or four months ago? I saw a poll recently that said 80% of Americans think society is out […]
A little over a month ago, my daughter Lucy – 17 years old, junior in high school – had a big decision to make. The decision wasn’t life-altering, but it was big at this point in her life. And like many decisions, the way forward wasn’t clear at all. It wasn’t a moral choice where […]
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