Gaining a heart of wisdom
God is at work around the world. North America and Western Europe are no longer the hotbeds of Christian thought and culture—although the growth of the "nones" has plateaued as Gen Z starts looking for answers outside themselves. In the global South, Christianity is growing at an unprecedented rate. With 67% of all Christians living… Continue reading How Can We Raise Kids Who Are World Christians?
A tall platform at the Colorado Springs Zoo gives patrons a once-in-a-lifetime, eyeball-to-eyeball experience with giraffes, the gentle giants of the animal kingdom. Not quite two years old, my little grandson fed lettuce leaves to his new, tame, and very attentive friends. “Look at those big brown eyes!” I crowed. “Big, beautiful eyes like yours!” “Long purple… Continue reading Hey, We Don’t Talk That Way In Our House
Tim Keller and the Ministry of Competence My teacher husband is beginning the process of retirement after 33 years in an elementary school classroom. Believe it or not, it's more complicated and requires more thought and paperwork to STOP teaching than it does to accept a new job. Nonetheless, he's encouraged by the realization that… Continue reading Your Work Matters to the World
Since I became a grandmother, I've become curious about the lives of my own grandmothers. One I was able to observe up-close-and-personal because we barged into her life when I was a toddler and lived in her house for my entire childhood. I know that she loved to read Harlequin Romances, that she was blind… Continue reading The Wise and Generous Ways of the Grandmothering Life
Fleming Rutledge wisely labeled the days we're living in as "the time between the times." We're a little bit like our Exodus ancestors, set free from slavery in Egypt, but not yet living in the Promised Land—having already received the benefits of a great salvation, but awaiting full redemption from sin's effects and consequences on… Continue reading Living as Family in the Time Between the Times
It goes without saying that my kids are raising my grandkids in a very different world than the world in which they were raised. Cultural pressures have dulled the sharp edge of conviction, leaving many parents unable to distinguish a safe path for their families. Furthermore, cultural change is so rapid that what "worked" for… Continue reading If You Don’t Teach Your Children, the World Will
When you’re five years old, baking cookies with your Sunday school teacher at her house on a Saturday morning is just about the best thing in the world. The moment I arrived to pick up my son, I could tell by his beaming face that he had enjoyed every minute of the baking, the snacking,… Continue reading Little People with Big Feelings: 5 Strategies For Emotionally Healthy Kids
We propped the lopsided flannel board against the back of the couch, and my grandkids organized the slightly dogeared images, arguing for a minute about who would get to "do the snake." Apparently, Moses wore a bright pink striped robe in his encounter with the burning bush and didn't have time to change before his… Continue reading Bring the Kids You Love Heart to Heart with the Bible
For a family with four sons, close in age like little stairsteps, it seems impossible to fly under the radar. In restaurants, other customers would approach our table with compliments about boys who ate salad or boys who managed themselves politely. We may have heard more than our share of admonitions to "enjoy this stage… Continue reading How Your Imperfect Family Can Make an Eternal Impact
One of the great gifts of living past middle age has been the opportunity for meaningful connections with younger women. Through conversations about faith, parenting, or the challenges of ministry, I hear their hopes for stronger marriages and sympathize with their sleep-deprived discouragement over whatever discipline challenges their kids are dishing out. I’m thankful when… Continue reading How to Put an End to the Mommy Wars
Living Our Days 