This week someone showed me an article that I forwarded to Brock with the note: "THIS is what I never want us to write..." The article was discussing how to get ADHD children to get on the band wagon and complete their chores and homework. There was not ONE concrete solution offered. Instead, there was what I will call "drivel". I'm paraphrasing, lest you take it upon yourself to Google..."Sit your children down and talk about the situation. Tell them that when they finish their work quickly and efficiently, the family will be happier and can spend more time together." Doesn't that … [Read more...]

Sometimes, we get so caught up in life that we forget how little effort it takes to have fun. The other day I was taking our youngest son Ash back to school from an orthodontist appointment. We had stopped at a stoplight, when I thought my son was going to explode. "LOOOOK! A Viper!" For those of you who don't know, a Viper is a car. My son's favorite. And he'd never seen one live and in person. The Viper driver was pumping gas, and my son just about crawled out of the window. I immediately thought about pulling into the station to give my son a closer look. But I would have had to go … [Read more...]

I've often thought that in 6 million years, archaeologists will marvel at the devotion the 21st century Earthlings had to their household gods. Excavation will show these deities in virtually every home, obviously objects of devotion, the focal point in a room. The gods were believed without question. Families emulated them, discussed them, and scheduled their lives around them. The parent was secondary in influence to the various versions of these boxes with a glass screen that captivated an entire civilization. Despite the title of this article, I do not really think that we are all … [Read more...]

The day after I wrote the previous post, Mike was in a sermon competition. (Am I the only one who thinks that a sermon competition sounds rather odd?!) To put it kindly, he bombed. He hadn't practiced enough, he forgot what he was supposed to say, he was ill at ease. He knew he hadn't done well, yet people kept complimenting him on the good job he did. Their insincerity made him wonder about the compliments he had been given in the past. Were they true or not? My heart hurt for him. I knew I better have some really wise words to say, especially after reading the aforementioned … [Read more...]