Did you know that nearly half of all children with a single mother — 47.6 percent — live in poverty according to the U.S. census report? This number is staggering to me. A friend recently told me that she heard a report that nearly 90% of single parent families end up homeless at some point. Granted, this includes families that move in with other family members,…
Discouragement. We all have those times in our lives. Our kids do the opposite of what we’d like. We get a failing grade. We are passed over for a job. Sometimes life just doesn’t go the way we had hoped. During those times, God wants us to trust in his sovereignty. The Bible tells us that his ways are not our ways (boy, do I…
This week in class, there has been a lot of talk about the value of mentoring. It has caused me to pause and reflect on my own life. My campus minister always encouraged us that we should have someone pouring into us, and that we should always be shepherding someone else. I’ve tried to take that to heart over the years. In seminary, I was…
My heart grew heavy as I read about the double suicide of the radio hosts in New York City last night. So many people were shocked – especially because the woman was a former psychotherapist. We tend to think that certain “types” of people are immune to suicidal ideation – counselors, ministers, teachers – but the truth is, there are times when we are all…
Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the cell phone dilemma. My internet has been down for a week, so I apologize for taking so long to respond. While we haven’t made any definitive decisions yet, many of you gave convincing arguments on both sides. I was impressed to see that many parents have created cell phone contracts with their kids prior to giving them…
This morning, Jeff and I sat down to a “slide” presentation of why our eleven/almost twelve year old needs a phone. She shared with us a plethora of information (she did her research) about why it is time for her to have a phone. Most of her friends have a cell phone, and she uses the classic argument, “But my friends all have one,” to…