The Secret
Sometimes I suspect my cat Heathcliff suffers from a bad case of FOMO (fear of missing out). When I come home with groceries, Heathcliff rushes over to inspect the contents. When I’m chopping vegetables, he stands up on his back paws peering at the produce and begging me to share. But when I actually give Heathcliff whatever’s caught his fancy, he quickly loses interest, walking away with an air of bored resentment.
But it’d be hypocritical for me to be hard on my little buddy. In comical caricature, he reflects a bit of my own insatiable hunger for more, my assumption…
The Faith to Endure
Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922) led an unsuccessful expedition to cross Antarctica in 1914. When his ship, aptly named Endurance, became trapped in heavy ice in the Weddell Sea, it became an endurance race just to survive. With no means of communicating with the rest of the world, Shackleton and his crew used lifeboats to make the journey to the nearest shore—Elephant Island. While most of the crew stayed behind on the island, Shackleton and five crewmen spent two weeks traveling 800 miles across the ocean to South Georgia to get help for those left behind. The “failed” expedition became a victorious entry…
Looking For Teachable Moments
In the Old Testament, God taught His people to build rock piles so that their children would one day ask…
Growing Like Grapes On A Vine
The secret of the fruit is in the branch and root. Good parenting is the fruit of good character that…
Accepting The Role Of A Priest
The Old Testament priest Eli raised a child who was not his own (1 Sam. 1:24–2:21). For several years, Eli…
Unexpected Change
In January 1943, warm Chinook winds hit Spearfish, South Dakota, raising the temperatures from –4° to 45°F (–20° to 7° C) over a two-minute span. That drastic weather change—a swing of 49 degrees—took place in just two minutes. The widest temperature change recorded in the USA over a 24-hour period is an incredible 103°F (57°C). On January 15, 1972, Loma, Montana, saw the temperature jump from −54° to 49°F (–48° to 9°C).
Sudden change, however, is not simply a weather phenomenon. It is sometimes the very nature of life. James reminds us, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we…
Working Like A Farmer
Parenting is more like farming than cooking. Good meals can be prepared in a couple of hours. And by following…
Bringing Our Children To Tears
We live in a day of rampant child abuse. So we have been rightly sensitized to the dangers of hitting…
Living By A Contract
Wise parents try not to make their children behave. They realize that they cannot force their children to be good any…
Learning From The Family Pet
Before resenting the comparison, think about it. What does it take to teach a dog to sit up and beg?…
Going Back To School
Just about the time we think we have our education behind us, along comes a strong-willed, 25-pounds-and-growing toddler who quickly…
Learning How To Play The Game
Tennis can be played two ways. It can be played with the kind of sportsmanship that is gracious in winning…
Accepting A Limited Guarantee
Good parenting doesn’t guarantee good children. It only assures that our children will have the tremendous advantage of having had…
A Wonderful But Difficult Challenge
Looking back, few grandparents will say that being a parent was easy. Many, however, will say that parenting has been…
Thoughts of Joy
In What We Keep, a collection of interviews by Bill Shapiro, each person tells of a single item that holds such importance and joy that he or she would never part with it.
This caused me to reflect on the possessions that mean the most to me and bring me joy. One is a simple forty-year-old recipe card in my mom’s handwriting. Another is one of my grandma’s pink teacups. Other people may value treasured memories—a compliment that encouraged them, a grandchild’s giggle, or a special insight they gleaned from Scripture.
What we often keep stashed away in our hearts, though, are…
