I feel a pressing need to repost an updated version of an article first published in February of 2022. Attacks on the family, especially those against the bodies and minds of our precious and vulnerable children, have escalated in ways few would have ever imagined, even two years ago. The immoral left has no limits… Continue reading Everyman’s Guide to Woke Terminology II
How do you spice up your marriage? Years and years ago, I had an older friend, Harry, who became a bit of a mentor. We’d met through our respective consulting businesses. He’d been around the block more times than I had, and he possessed something I lacked -- wisdom. Harry had a way of distilling… Continue reading The Thursday Jar
I met Judy Shields in the autumn of 1964. It was at a church youth group dance. They called it “Young Peoples” in those days. At one point in the evening, full of life and sparkling with energy, Judy approached me, chattering on as if she’d known me for years. Not yet aware of how… Continue reading Girl-Crazy #2
No other success can compensate for failure in the home." J. E. McCulloch After discovering I work with distressed couples, people sometimes ask me what I consider the leading cause of marital breakdown. Great question. I’m sure every counsellor or therapist has an opinion on this. Get ten of us in a room, and you’ll… Continue reading Who’s Orbiting Who?
Be sure and check out a recent blog post by Cindy Dawson of Real Christian Women entitled, "This Is A Baby". Hoping it will touch your heart as it did mine … https://realchristianwomen.blog/2023/11/04/this-is-a-baby Blessings on your home,robert P.S: I am deeply grateful this article was brought to my attention by Lisa Lynn, author of the… Continue reading This is a Baby
Contemporary churches need to hear again what the spirit says to the churches in the Book of Revelation." Edmund P. Clowney I think a lot about the Church of Jesus Christ — this gathering of sinful and broken believers He established, who recognise their need of a saviour, and who are charged with doing His… Continue reading When Jesus Rocks the House
When I was a single guy, I gave little attention to someday becoming a father. Parenting wasn't among my top ten future aspirations. Of course, that all changed in the delivery room when our first arrived. My marriage is surely my highest family priority, but I love the privilege of being a father. So, here… Continue reading Fatherhood: 12 Thoughts
My fashion philosophy is, if you’re not covered in dog hair, your life is empty.” Elayne Boosler Who doesn’t love their dog? When Melissa and I first married, we didn’t have a dog, even though we were both dog lovers. Before adopting our first, we used to drive around with a large plush Pongo (from… Continue reading The Family Dog
When our youngest daughter was eight, she wanted a mouse. A white mouse. We already had a pretty good dog, but Leah wanted a mouse. My wife, Melissa, has an aversion to rodents, so you can probably guess who Leah approached to maximise her probability of success. As a management consultant in one of my… Continue reading I Can’t Talk!
I've been thinking about Christmas and worship, so sharing some seasonal thoughts, hoping something here might resonate with you ... The Lord of all creation may be worshipped Anywhere. On a cross, in a stable,On a hilltop, under gable;In the heart of your own town square. Any where. God's way was a smart incarnationFor rescuing… Continue reading Christmas Then and Now
What do you remember about your first kiss? I’d speculate it wasn’t as traumatic as mine. The Hurley sisters lived right across Winston Road from our house. I vaguely remember them as twins or at least close in age, and a year or two older than my seven years. Adele Hurley and her sister had… Continue reading First Kiss
How emotionally connected are you to your husband or wife? To help answer this important question, I’m reposting a popular article from 2019, hoping it will be beneficial today for your marriage. Sometimes timing is everything. Enjoy. + + + + + + + I met my wife, Melissa, on a cycling trip on the… Continue reading Sustainable Marriage
I'm noticing a growing trend of wives "throwing in the towel", leaving passive husbands. Initially, I was shocked by what I thought I was seeing: women, married* to nice, easy-going guys, were bailing on their marriages. Believers and non-believers alike. At first, it didn’t make sense. But then it did. Every aspect of the family… Continue reading Up the Down Escalator
I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion is already born."Ronald Reagan American babies are leaping for joy in their mother’s wombs today, after the US Supreme Court brought to an abrupt end what the ADF calls "the disastrous and deadly Roe v. Wade" decision. (Jurisdiction for laws impacting abortion has been sent back to… Continue reading Jumping for Joy
June remains the most popular month of the year for weddings. To honour God’s amazing design for gender, marriage and healthy sexuality, I'm reposting an article from two and a half years ago, celebrating gender uniqueness. What better month to do that? Call me crazy, but one of the ways I like to express my… Continue reading Bigger Than Pronouns … Again
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 A week or so before our wedding, Melissa moved 700 miles south, giving up her cool Chicago apartment and a fun group of close friends. The day we wed at a small Moravian church in rural North… Continue reading What She Gave Up
There's no straight lines make up my life,All my roads have bends."from "Circle" by Harry Chapin When acquaintances ask about my backstory, I often laugh and say that I’ve taken a “scenic route” through life. “Scenic” denotes a leisurely drive along picturesque backroads, taking in breathtaking vistas or pastoral landscapes. But such a romantic picture… Continue reading No Straight Lines
The left thrives by keeping Americans divided, dependent and angry." Daily Signal For some of my more sensitive or battle-weary readers, this piece will seem like a bit of a rant. As I mentioned in my original blog article, "The Road Ahead", anything that affects the family is fair game and important. Sadly, many life… Continue reading Everyman’s Guide to Woke Terminology
A lie stands on one leg, the truth on two."Benjamin Franklin Melissa and I have been lying to our kids for over twenty years. We had three of our four babies when we were living in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Our house was a hundred and twenty-five-year-old late Victorian with a slate Mansard roof. An historic landmark… Continue reading The Disappearing Pool
(Every January I post an abridged text from one of my past sermons. Sermons are meant to be delivered for the ear, rather than for the eye. Still, but I hope you will find these messages edifying.) From God’s perspective, what do you think he would consider the most radical thing you’ve ever done? When… Continue reading Follow the Leader
Peace in the Home 