I've been immersed in birthday plans this week. My son is turning seven very soon and has spent most of the month counting the days and weeks until he can have a party with his friends. I've got a piñata drying on my dining room table, cake ingredients on the counter, and a little boy… Continue reading A Different Kind of Birthday
Social Media Ground Rules For Your Children
We take so much care with driver’s training, yet so little care with technology training. Our electronic devices provide children access to one of the most powerful and dangerous tools of our age—the internet. Occasionally, we are lulled into a false belief that parental controls will prevent our children from being “one of those kids”—those who post inappropriate pictures, suffer from bullying, or get lured away by predators.
How to Get Started (or Re-started) With Personal Bible Study
Recently, I was having a nice chat with a friend of mine when she admitted to struggling with regular Bible study. She read her Bible daily but said she rarely sat down to dig deeper. She asked me, "How do you study and stick with it?" What an excellent question! Studying the scripture on our… Continue reading How to Get Started (or Re-started) With Personal Bible Study
How God Feels About Our Excuses
Several years ago B.K. (before kids) my spouse and I hosted a "Singing in the New Year" party. We invited people to enjoy food, games, and offering praise to God as the new year ushered in. Out of the forty people we invited, only half showed up. We had a fantastic time and the twenty that showed up suggested we do it again the following year. The other half that didn't come said the invitation had not been sent early enough and they already had plans. It seemed a plausible excuse, so the following year, we sent out the invites immediately after Thanksgiving, requested RSVPs, and sent out a reminder about a week before the party. We still had a great turn out, but the people who didn't come the first time still didn't RSVP until a few days before, saying, "oh, I already had plans." If they already had plans, why didn't they send their regrets when the invitation was sent a month before? Oh, the sting of weak excuses...
When Your Plans Are Constantly Interrupted
We never like to address the inconveniences of parenting. We don’t like to tell expecting moms and dads, “Sleep now, because you won’t be sleeping for the next few years.” Or, “Enjoy that pre-baby vacation because it’ll be awhile before vacations are relaxing.” It all sound so “glass-half-empty,” doesn’t it? Here’s the reality: Raising children is inconvenient, but it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. When the Lord blesses us with children through adoption or birth, He has entrusted a young soul into our care for teaching, training, and affection. Your plans are going to be interrupted, and at what seems like the worst moments! How do we react to these interruptions?
Book review: Secrets (Beauties from Ashes Trilogy, Volume 1)
"Every girl has a secret she hopes the light will never find---but the demons already have." - Secrets, by Beckie Lindsey Beckie Lindsey is one of my dear blogging sisters and a delightful writer with a desire to seek God and serve others. This month, Beckie released her first Young Adult fiction novel, Secrets (Beauties from Ashes, Volume 1). Secrets… Continue reading Book review: Secrets (Beauties from Ashes Trilogy, Volume 1)
Do You Have a Cell Phone? Does Your Child? Here’s a Film You Need to Watch.
If you don't have any major plans this evening (or Thursday), it would be worth your time to go out and see Kirk Cameron's new film "Connect.": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hiltak3hsZc This movie covers how the digital age is affecting our children and provides insight into how we can equip and protect them. Today's parents grew up with… Continue reading Do You Have a Cell Phone? Does Your Child? Here’s a Film You Need to Watch.
“I’m sorry, but…”
How many times have you apologized to someone for being short-tempered, irritable or forgetful? Nearly all of us have said something along these lines: "I'm sorry for being short with you, but I'm so stressed out." "I'm sorry I am late paying my bill, but I misplaced it." "I'm sorry I forgot your birthday, but… Continue reading “I’m sorry, but…”
Do you know how to love others well?
How often do I get so bogged down in my own struggle that I fail to really notice the struggle of the people next to me? I may glance their direction and see them in a moment of triumph only to miss the next moment when they fall flat. We have a tendency to walk as though in a tunnel, not seeing the wider world around us. We focus only on who or what is in front of us (usually through the small screens of our phones) while running the risk of ignoring—or even injuring—the souls beside us.
Oh rats! I can’t keep making excuses?!
Rats aren't really my thing. People may enjoy having them as pets, but after having trapped one in the garage of our first house and found a half-eaten one on the back porch of the aforementioned house... well, let's just say I've had enough of rats. C.S. Lewis, however, uses them in an effective illustration… Continue reading Oh rats! I can’t keep making excuses?!
Elihu's Corner 