With so many school-aged children at home these days due to the China virus, I’m hoping many parents will consider continuing to home school their precious sons and daughters after the health risks of the virus have receded. That’s my goal with this post. Melissa and I home schooled our children for seven years. We… Continue reading Keep on Home Schooling
(This is Part II of teaching children responsibility through consequences. This post will make more sense if you first read Part I entitled, “Dogs Can’t Talk”) At the end of our last episode, we left our hero standing on his suburban front lawn, waiting for “the shoe to drop”. Actually, there was no hero —… Continue reading Stewing in Juice
(Part one of a two-part article on responsibility and consequences) A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:7b When I was eleven, I accidentally set fire to my parent’s house. Mum and dad had left for work, and I had an hour to kill before school. Normally that wasn’t a big deal, but on this… Continue reading Dogs Can’t Talk
Most families treasure their traditions. Some even pass them down from generation to generation. At our house, one of our traditions is designed to create tension and suspense in my wife, Melissa. Maybe even some anxiety. Whenever Melissa travels out of town, my son and daughters and I conspire to do something that Melissa would… Continue reading Coming Home
At one time, I thought I’d written the book on romance. I packed picnic baskets, composed poetry, cooked meals extracted from Food & Wine magazine, spent hours in greeting card shops, arranged flowers, lit fires, collected bronzes and vintage wines, preferred "chick-flicks" to “blow-‘em-ups", and I knew all the best city vantage points and restaurants.… Continue reading As Time Goes By
The more that you read, the more things that you’ll know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.Dr. Seuss My eldest daughter unintentionally inspired me to read a book-a-week this year. Of course, she’s a well-practiced, voracious reader. For me, it’s more of a stretch. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t read… Continue reading Cover to Cover
Call me crazy, but one of the ways I like to express my thankfulness to God is to write and speak gender-specifically. Not all “gender-inclusive” style books published within the past twenty years agree with my zeal for gender specificity, but that doesn’t dampen my resolve. I prefer words that celebrate the layers of differences… Continue reading Bigger Than Pronouns
An interesting piece, written by a young single woman living in NYC, recently grabbed my attention. One of her friends dropped a bomb that a bunch of guys were wanting to ask her out, but her “lifestyle choices” were getting in the way. He was referring to her Christian faith. The author confessed she felt… Continue reading Three Game Changers for Singles
As a result of our Advent devotions this year, I’m rethinking my response to the Christmas story, and making some vertical adjustments. By the Christmas story, of course, I mean the now familiar account of a tender, vulnerable baby boy born in the humblest of Judean settings. Granted, there’s nothing unusual about a baby’s birth… Continue reading Every Knee Should Bend
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 107:1 In the autumn of 2002, my three-year-old son, Andrew, and I visited his sister, Elizabeth, while she slept peacefully in her cozy incubator in the neo-natal intensive care unit of Boston's New England Medical Center. As Andrew and… Continue reading Growing in Gratitude
When I founded a marriage and family organisation while still at seminary, I struggled with what to name it. Many of the cool biblical phrases were already taken. A colleague with Family Life suggested a variation on a wedding vow, “Til death do us Partington”. That didn’t fly. Around that same time I discovered the… Continue reading Building Your Dream Home
(This article was originally published in April 2013. I’m hoping a whole new crop of fathers will find it helpful.) I have a thirteen-year-old son who plays competitive tennis. That makes me a "tennis dad". Lately, I don't think I'm doing so well in that role. I recall hearing a statistic that more than 90%… Continue reading Sporting Fathers
I met my wife, Melissa, on a cycling trip on the Oregon coast. I obviously caught her by surprise on our group’s last night together at a Portland restaurant, when I asked for her number. I used some line that made her smile. Before the evening was out, she shared her info, and so we… Continue reading Sustainable Marriage
Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing." Benjamin Franklin Welcome! For me, this blog is flinging back the curtain for “Act Two”, after a six year intermission. Thanks to kind encouragement and generous help from friends, I am thrilled to be writing again. Six years later A lot happens in six years. … Continue reading The Road Ahead
Peace in the Home 