Dates and places are critical elements of our stories. I am glad to be a child of the 60s and a North Carolinian by birth, education (‘72 UNC), and music. I grew up loving, and playing, “beach music”—my most formative soundtrack. Beach music must not be confused with West Coast surfing music like the incredible melodies and images captured in the songs of The Beach Boys. Beach music is a sonic...
The American church suffers (among other maladies) from a severe case of chronological snobbery—the idea that we know better than the ancients that precede us. Because we feel we have become more advanced in our perceptions of the world around us, we tend to think we have outgrown the teaching, prayers, and examples of those who came before us. What we sometimes fail to understand, however, is...
Going to bed and turning out the lights can be a hard time for many children. It’s scary when you can’t see what is around you and your mom and dad leave the room. To help parents comfort and encourage their little ones at bedtime, award-winning author Champ Thornton has written Why Do We Say Good Night? Beautifully designed and illustrated by Rommel Ruiz, Why Do We Say Good Night? tells the...
“How can I be sure that God is real?” Kyle asked me. “And if he is, why does he let so many horrible things happen every day?” “Yeah, and aren’t there a ton of errors in the Bible?” Ben cut in, before my mouth even opened to answer Kyle. “How can we trust that it’s actually the Word of God?” Ben and Kyle were two college students I worked with who were battling some serious doubts about God. A...
We hate to see our children sad, but we also know there are many griefs to come, so now is a rich opportunity to help our children grow in the midst of sorrow. Many of us wish we had the same opportunity when we were younger to learn about how Jesus helps us in our sadness. It’s especially hard for children when they experience their first loss. The loss could be a pet, friendship, a friend, a...
