Between chapters four and five of this ancient book of Esther, there’s a break in time. It’s a space of suspense when we don’t know what is happening. Nothing is recorded for us to read.
Read MoreCategory Archives: Parenting
Cultivating Character
Now, before you frown and entertain thoughts of self-righteousness, thinking that you would never have responded like that, remember, you’re surrounded by friends in a safe and unthreatened environment.
Read MorePreschoolers and Theology
We parents should not allow our preschool-aged children to engage in certain activities until they’re a little older. For instance, full-contact football or diamond-cutting should probably wait until their motor skills have improved. And learning calculus might be more beneficial once your child has a foundational understanding of basic mathematics. A bunch of stuff should […]
Read MoreBe Tolerant (Or I’ll Smack You Upside the Head)
I want a religion. You want one too? Let’s go religion shopping! It’ll be fun. Let’s imagine a shopping mall for religions. Here we’ll find the big religions as well as the little, boutique faiths. Some religions claim to be the “only way,” and others allow for many ways. Some believe that God is in […]
Read MoreNo Island of Second Chance
We cannot change the past . . . and that includes the way we reared our children. All of us—yes, every parent I have ever met—would love to step into the time tunnel and return to the Island of Second Chance. We would give anything to relive those years and correct the failures and mistakes […]
Read MoreTake It Easy
Maybe it’s because I’ve seen so many birthdays. Maybe it’s because I’m a granddad several times over. Or maybe it’s because of a struggling young seminarian I met recently who wishes he had been higher on his parents’ priority list than, say, fifth or sixth. He was hurried and ignored through childhood, then tolerated and misunderstood through adolescence, and finally expected to “be a man” without having been taught how.
Read MoreToo Fast, Too Soon
Too good. That’s the only way to describe my early childhood. Lots of friends in the neighborhood. Sandlot football down at the end of Quince Street in East Houston or shooting hoops against the garage backboard. There were family reunions at my granddaddy’s little bay cabin, plus fishing, floundering, crabbing, swimming, and eating.
Read MoreSecond-Generation Fallout
A curious phenomenon has plagued families for as long as there have been families. It’s that age-old problem of second-generation fallout that breaks the hearts of godly moms and dads.
Read MoreIntimate Communication
You who are parents need to think it over . . . to come to terms with this business of communicating openly, tactfully, and intelligently with your children in the areas of intimacy. lt’s a parental task that must be handled with great care and wisdom—but it must be handled. Obviously, it is not to be directed only toward the girls, but to boys as well. Nor should it be communicated only by mothers, but by both parents. God’s beautiful plan regarding conception and birth needs to be shared from a balanced perspective.
Read MoreIt’s Time to Take Time
Years ago my older son, then a teenager, and I dropped by the local Hallmark shop to find Cynthia a card for Mother’s Day. Somewhat bored with the process, Curt wandered back to the posters and soon called me to come look at one he liked. It was a picture of a boat on a very still lake at dawn.
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