Sometimes we are in hard place and just the thought of being thankful is too overwhelming. Sometimes we are in a hard place and we are overflowing with thankfulness. What makes the difference? I don’t think it has so much to do with the hard place as where we are in our relationship with God in that hard place. […]
Since August 18th, I have slept in 6 different beds in 5 different states. Our family is in transition and will continue this pattern until the end of September. This is our life. We love it. We hate it. We love connecting with family and friends we haven’t seen in at least two years. We have laughed until we cried. […]
In the morning, the kids and I have been reading through The Story. Last week we read the chapter about how Moses and Aaron were not allowed into the Promised Land because they did not honor God as God. The story takes place in Numbers 20 as the Israelites were wandering their extra 40 years in the wilderness due to […]
(from www.strangecosmos.com) The absence of hope, I see it in the eyes of the beggar children tugging on my sleeve desperate for me to give them something. I hear it in the comment of a student who has lost family when he says, “what if we die by then…” I feel it in the desperation of a father’s question as […]
(From Pental.com) Teaching brings out the best and worst in me. Some days I feel like I have hit a home run. My students are engaged and understanding what we are learning. Other days I feel like I strike out. I do everything I can to explain a concept and I get no where. Or the students decide […]
Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem after being away and finds the people have slid back into some of their old habits and even added a few new things to the mix. Nehemiah discovers that one of his enemies has a storage room in the temple. The Levites and singers have gone back to their towns since they haven’t been getting paid. […]
Nehemiah 11 tells us how some people volunteered and some people were chosen by lot to live in Jerusalem and help build it up. Their names are listed. It is interesting to note that we don’t know which ones volunteered and which were chosen but that they were obedient to do what was asked. Chapter 11 and part of 12 […]
I looked at my watch and saw that the teachers should be here any second to collect their students from lunch. The students were all ready and lined up to go. At least I thought they were, until I saw a first grade boy using his water bottle to spray students in the other line. I headed in his direction, […]
I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. Ps 119:30 The wall is finished. The people assemble and ask Ezra to read to them from the Law. Ezra complies. As the people stand, Ezra reads from daybreak to noon. The people worship. The Levites help interpret and explain the law. The people […]
James 1 and Teenagers
My teenagers are a gift from God. I know that. I love that. I love my teenagers to the moon and back. It is also a gift that I have the challenge of communicating well with my teenagers. This challenge includes using the right tone of voice at the right time, listening before assuming, and keeping them talking even […]