“Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys” (Proverbs 18:9, ESV). A child who is lazy will end up misplacing items, wasting resources, using up unnecessary time (his and others’), and losing the trust of others. A parent who is lazy in his responsibilities to train his children will also have a destructive influence on their lives! Teach your children the truth of Proverbs 18:9 when their […]
Read More →Becoming Like Jesus
I reread Mere Christianity this summer, and I as I was tearing through, I could barely believe I’d heard this stuff before, even though other people besides C. S. Lewis have been trying to smash these ideas into my concrete noggin. I recently got over my qualms about writing in books, which means my copy is now crowded with underlines, exclamation marks, smiley faces, lopsided stars, scribbled margin notes and […]
Read More →Interview: Biblical Child Training in Your Homeschool
My “Homeschool Heroes” interview airs today at 4 PM Eastern time. I hope you’ll be encouraged by this conversation on biblical child training in your homeschool, including: Scripture memory Bible study Encouraging godly character Being consistent in disciplining our children To listen to the interview, just go to my page on Homeschool Heroes at 4 PM. Between 4 and 6 PM (Eastern time), you should see a play bar about […]
Read More →Why God’s Word Is Essential in Child-Rearing
We can’t change hearts. Our words can’t change hearts and our actions can’t change hearts. We can’t change our children’s hearts, and we can’t change our own hearts. We might be able to affect our children’s behavior. We might be able to make them to do the right thing. But we can’t change their hearts. Only God can transform a sinful heart into one that loves Him and longs to obey Him. […]
Read More →Homeschool Superheroes
When Kerry Beck asked if she and her daughters could include me in their Homeschool Superheroes interviews, I was quite certain that I do not qualify as a “super-hero,” (and I certainly don’t look like the superhero ladies in her graphics!) But I agreed to join in on the interviews because I do serve a God who is stronger than any superhero, and His love and grace are the reasons […]
Read More →Learning Early to Budget
We chose to pay our children for some of the work they did in our home. With our family business and 7-1/2 acres of land, we had plenty of extra work to do. Paying children to do some of it gave us the opportunity to teach them about money. First, we wanted them to understand that God had blessed them and that they were to be good stewards of His […]
Read More →For the Joy That Is Set Before Us
Praise God! A new little man-child has joined the family! Little James Sterling is the first child of our second-born son and his wife, and he actually isn’t so little. He weighed in at 9-1/2 pounds! His birth was painful. It was hard work. Jesus’ words from the gospel of John kept going through my head as I watched our precious daughter-in-law (and our son) labor to bring their firstborn […]
Read More →Memorizing Scripture through Song
Not long ago, I was washing dishes with fiddle music playing in the background, when I overheard a small voice start singing in the other room. I listened, and my three-year-old was singing another song that I’d played a few times earlier that week. As I listened, I was surprised to discover that she knew the whole song! What a wake-up call. I realized if she could memorize things that […]
Read More →Raising Real Men – Review and Giveaway
I’m glad to have discovered Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young, especially now that Katelyn and I have our own little man to raise. This book is a treasure-trove of biblical wisdom, seasoned advice, and good-natured humor. The Youngs (parents of six boys) aren’t sharing theories; this is advice from the trenches. The best thing about Raising Real Men is that it helps clarify the difference between outright […]
Read More →More on Paying Children
Parents have different opinions about paying children for work in the home. Some are comfortable paying for at least some of the work their children do, while others are not. Some believe that any work done in the home is simply part of being a member of the family. Others believe it is appropriate and even beneficial to pay for some work done in the home. Both approaches have their […]
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