“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Are you teaching your children the Ten Commandments? Those ten concise commandments encompass every sin we or our children could ever think of committing. The same commandments also make it quite clear that we will never please […]
Read More →Category: Positive character building
Reaching Out
“She stretcheth out her hand to the poor,; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.” (Proverbs 31:20) Some of my fondest memories of my mother are of times when she was serving others. She quietly loved, cared for, and encouraged the elderly in our church, taking them shopping, helping them clean, and just sitting down to visit with them. I remember dear, white-haired Mr. Misner. He loved my […]
Read More →Sticking Power
We live in a manufactured home — the kind that comes with built-in wallpaper — ugly wallpaper. We’ve lived in this house for 17 years now, and it was the day before Thanksgiving (What a day to decide to paint the kitchen! What was I thinking?) four years ago before I finally got brave enough to paint over that ugly wallpaper. I had visions of the paint sliding right off the […]
Read More →The Dog Who Returns to His Vomit. Yuck.
Our elderly cat recently gave me another opportunity to contemplate life. This time I was encamped on the sofa, snuggled under a blanket, enjoying a phone call from our oldest daughter. I heard it — the dreaded retching sound that always precedes the deposit of a yucky pile of half-digested food in a most-likely-to-be-stepped-in part of the house. The retching concluded with an unpleasant liquidy sound, and the cat soon […]
Read More →A Goal-for-the-Day
Goals are good. They help us make progress. We’re much more likely to accomplish the things that are important when we set goals. Last January I published a post about helping children with long-term goals. You can read that post here. At the beginning of this new year, let’s think about short-term goals — goals we can help our children set for just one day. These will be simple goals that […]
Read More →A Gift the Children Can Give
It’s almost Christmas Day! Here’s a little something for your children, if they need some help coming up with simple gifts to give. Help them give of themselves during this season when we celebrate the great gift of God’s Son to the world. Print out these coupons, cut them out, and help your children think of acts of service and love that they can give to others — to siblings, […]
Read More →It Will Hurt, but It Will Heal
I’ve been being hammered by teaching on all sides on the topic of forgiveness and confession. I’m not sure I fully understand God’s forgiveness. It’s something God is still gently teaching me. How we see God’s forgiveness certainly will show in how we apologize to and forgive others. Most of us can see another’s glaring sin, but we seem to think if we simply plunge ahead and try really hard […]
Read More →Fuel for Obedience
“Being wanted is the fuel for obedience.” That sentence — in the sermon Bethany and I were listening to as we drove down the freeway – provided an answer to a question I have often puzzled over. What was it my parents did that made me want to obey them? I especially wanted to please my father. Disobeying him just didn’t seem like an option. I loved him too much […]
Read More →Excuses and Honesty
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Pr. 28:13). It is important for our children to “put off” lying and to “put on” honesty. Honesty and humility go hand in hand. The humble person is willing to honestly acknowledge his sin. The proud person covers it. God blesses the humble; He resists the proud. The proud man lies to himself […]
Read More →Raising Super-Hero Peacemakers
“It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel” (Proverbs 20:3, NKJV). It doesn’t take any special talent or strength to start a quarrel. Any fool can do it; it comes naturally. Any mother can attest to that fact. In contrast, Proverbs 16:32 says, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he […]
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