Like many, I am a sucker for all the sentiment surrounding Christmas, especially when it feels more like a Christmastide in rural England than a tinsel-laden trip to the mall. Give me “The Holly and the Ivy” over “Jingle Bell Rock” any day. But whatever your cultural preferences, for most of us, the carols, the kids coming home, the decorations, and yes, even the presents given in love, do make...
Let me bring you into some of my holiday challenges. Thanksgiving is close at hand, but we haven’t yet heard back from any of my extended family we invited to join us this year. I’m sure they are busy with their own holiday challenges and have not yet realized Thanksgiving is next week. So, we don’t know how many we’ll have. It could be eleven or twenty-four. While not everyone comes over for...
Despite its relative brevity and historical narrative structure, the biblical book of Ruth contains an abundance of gracious treasure gleaming under the radiance of the glorious Christ. While some of these gems may be hard to find at first glance, they reward the diligent reader interested in the book not just for its poetic beauty and humble romance, but for what it ultimately tells us about the...
Have you ever made dinner for your kids, and all you heard were complaints such as, “I don’t like it!”? What about the post-Christmas crash where kids wonder why they didn’t get more? Or exactly what their friends got? How do we teach our children to be thankful? With six kids from teenagers to toddlers, we are still learning. Here are some things that have helped and are helping us in our...
What do you think is the best part of being a grandparent? What’s that well-worn quip? “The best thing about being a grandparent is that you can spoil the grandkids, then send them home to their parents!” Really? That’s it? That’s the best thing about being a grandparent? Hmmm . . . I hope not! Who wants spoiled children running around? There’s got to be something better. So, what is the best...
