Archives for September 2016

Two years ago I wrote a post called Asking “Why?” about my good friend who had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

Recently my friend went home to be with the Lord. Her death was sudden but not unexpected, since she’d been dealing with the cancer for two years. In human terms, she was too young to die. She had far too much ahead of her and far too much yet to give.

Even in all this, though, the Lord’s goodness still shines through.

Since her diagnosis, God gave her two more years to spend time with her adult children and her husband, giving them time to prepare for her departure. She was able to meet four more of her five grandchildren, including a set of twin boys, now two months old.

She didn’t always feel great and was more and more tired as her treatments went on, but she supported her friends and family with her thoughts and prayers.Continue Reading

In the spring I put together a talk and an article about four tools of character training: curricula, the Bible, real life stories, and our own example.

As I was seeking to explain how to use scripture as a tool of character training, I was very glad when I came across the book by Lou Priolo, Teach Them Diligently; How to Use the Scriptures in Child Training! Mr. Priolo does a great job explaining why scripture is so important to teach our children and giving ways to do that.

The verse that he uses as the foundation of his book is 2 Timothy 3:16. Years ago when I was memorizing this verse, I was impressed by the fact that there is a definite progression in which the list of purposes for scripture is written. It goes like this:Continue Reading

[This blog entry is re-posted from Sept. 8, 2014, because we need to never forget!]

Have you thought lately about how many people don’t really know about or remember the terrorist attack on the United States on 9/11/2001?

Sunday is Patriot Day and the 15th anniversary of 9/11, so anyone younger than 15 years old wasn’t even alive when it happened. Add to those youngsters the people who were so young that they either don’t remember it at all or very well, and you have quite a number of people. I think we can safely say that many people into their early 20s don’t have the memory and/or understanding of what happened on 9/11.

I recently listened to an audiobook, Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson and Susy Flory. It’s a true story of Michael Hingson’s experiences on that day. I think reading this book together with your children is a good way to teach them about this part of our history.

I hesitated to get the book when I first saw it, because, unlike those younger people, I remember all too well what happened that fateful day and I don’t handle graphic details about it very well. It still hurts too much.Continue Reading