Late afternoon, on “Black Friday” my daughter Carly was dropping off Stacey and Amy in front of a Scottsdale mall. Each had armloads of gifts and boxes to retrieve. Stacey couldn’t get out of the car until Amy had gathered all her packages. This did not go over well with the couple in the car [...]
Bill often says something like this: My primary motive cannot be to please God because only my trust in him pleases him. Wow! This flips some of my theology on it’s head. I have spent 33 of my 38 years on this earth trying to please God. After all I want God to be happy. [...]
Last night I was doing what I had been intending to do for the last week—I affirmed each member of our family as we sat around the dinner table. And it was hilarious! I don’t suppose that’s how I thought it would be but it turned out to be a thing that cracked us up. [...]
I think about the kids I know of various ages that have been told (by friends and influencers) that one aspect of their person is infinitely more important than another so they latch on to that one thing, draw their identity from it and give short shrift to the rest of who they are [...]
On Saturday my 10-year old daughter Audrey got up before I did. Apparently she turned on the coffee pot and when I came down the stairs she was sitting in a chair in the family room drinking a cup of that coffee. The way that she was sitting and the fact that she [...]
I went to Carly’s “Meet the Teachers” deal last night. It’s a fine Christian school. Carly loves it. But I gotta tell you, the messages plastered around almost every classroom, gym wall and introductory remark gave me the willies. Stuff like-
“Do your best.”
“Character counts, keep at it.”
“Work hard.”
“Keep yourself disciplined.”
“Be excellent.”
“Every thought you entertain [...]
My kids are going back to school today. For them the summer was a time to take a break from learning–they can relax and rejuvenate before they go back to an intense and focused time of discovery. But for me the summer was just the opposite. It has been a time for [...]
So, my son Caleb is getting married this Saturday… to his childhood sweetheart-Kali. Ten years of dating for committed believers is no small deal. I’m pretty sure if it were me in those shoes we would have eloped to Vegas and been married by an Elvis impersonator by the time I was 18…I’m just saying.
I [...]
An interesting thing happened for Joanne and I when we were at the Taste of Bo’s Cafe event in Seattle a couple of weeks ago. We were both struck by how the principles that were taught have to do with parenting. Yes, it was a marriage retreat, but for some reason, we [...]
So far being a new mom has been the most exhilarating, thrilling, tiring, joyful, humbling ride I’ve ever been on. I never thought it would be possible to function on two hours of sleep, but not only through God’s grace can you function, but you can also have some really fun, albeit delirious, [...]