I am basking in the joy of our church’s annual family camp this week. This is the 25th year we have attended camp with this group of fellow-believers! Some of our babies weren’t even born when we started coming to this camp. Now most of them are married, and some are chasing their own little ones around the campground! In between the great singing and eating, learning and sharing, and […]
Read More →Category: Encouragement
Growth is Gradual
In his recent post on 5 Ways we Grow, Tim Challies gave me a good picture of the patience that is required when we’re looking for growth (in our own lives, or in the lives of our children). We are an impatient people accustomed to instant gratification. But fruit grows slowly. A fruit tree grows gradually and over many years of careful and deliberate cultivation. If you purchase a sapling […]
Read More →What I Would Do Differently, Part 4
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1, ESV) Isn’t it amazing that God entrusts newborn babies to people who have absolutely no experience raising children? I remember the panic mixed with joy that I felt when we finally brought our firstborn home from his weeklong stay in NICU. How could they possibly let me take this child home with me? Don’t they […]
Read More →We’re Just a Part of Their Stories
The topic of courtship has been on my mind a lot lately. One reason is this: Our “baby” is getting married! And we praise God for the man who will be her husband! God continues to write stories that we could never think up on our own. (More on that in another post. 🙂 ) So if posts are a bit more sporadic over the next two or three months, […]
Read More →A Perfect Father Whose Children Rebelled
God is the perfect Father. But His children still rebel. They rebelled in a perfect environment while they had perfect fellowship with Him. They rebelled in the wilderness, even after He opened up the Red Sea for them to walk through. Even after He gave them water out of the rock. Even after He gave them food every day. Even after He demolished city walls and conquered nations before them. […]
Read More →Whose kids?
See if this changes your perspective: Print this poster out. Post it in a prominent place where you will see it often throughout the day. Start your day by thanking God for the privilege of being His representative in the lives of your children. Thank Him for entrusting His children into your care. Pray for His wisdom and strength. If your children are really God’s children, what does He want you […]
Read More →Previews of Heaven
We’re talking about moving . . . Almost eighteen years we’ve lived in this place. It was a miracle when we came here. We’d been stuffed into a tiny little house that was overflowing with children and business. God put us on this perfect piece of property with a warehouse-type structure already attached to the house. We just had to finish it. (The original owners had started adding that part […]
Read More →What Imperfect Parents Can Do About Imperfect Grandparents
I do realize how blessed we are. Daniel’s post last week was a sweet reminder of the blessings of those exhausting-but-worth-it Thursdays with Grandpa and Grandy. I am so thankful for those last rich years with them. While I thank God for those years, I know that many families are not blessed with godly grandparents. Your parents may not even want to be involved in the lives of the grandchildren, […]
Read More →A No-Fail Formula
Every time I post a “here’s-one-way-to-approach-this-problem” sort of post, I cringe. I know my own tendency to look for a formula, a step-by-step answer, a guaranteed outcome sort of solution to my current assortment of challenges. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one with this problem. When I suggest a verse to talk about with your children, or list a number of ideas for ways to instruct and direct […]
Read More →A Change of Plans
I (Daniel) am posting today because my dad, mom, and sisters are taking the week off for a vacation at the beach 🙂 I want to tell you a quick story about something my mama did about 10 years ago that had a huge impact on my life. This was back when she was in the thick of homeschooling. There were six of us, from Susannah (age 9) to me, […]
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