Fourteen-year-old Aria had a fight with her mother. Frustrated and angry, she packed a backpack and walked to the nearest train station under the cover of darkness. While there, she encountered a couple of men who tricked her and took her to the red-light district–predator over prey. Once her phone and ID were taken and […]
Inspirational
Close Calls: The Fragile Life
A few days ago I was tending to our family garden, weeding and watering, and I noticed two things. The new shoots of plant life–the kind that actually produce fruit for the body–were easily destroyed. And yet,
Yes, Fathers Matter
I grew up during the era of dumb-father shows: Step by Step, Home Improvement, and later, Everybody Loves Raymond. Although other shows like Full House featured a motherless home, it took three quirky men to take the place of raising the daughters. Most of the time, the dads were seen as ignorant and lost–hopeless cavemen. […]
Hi, I’m Kimberly and I’m black
Kathleen Kelly mocks: “Hi, my name’s Joe. As if you were one of the stupid 22-year-old girls with no last name. ‘Hi, I’m Kimberly.’ ‘Hi, I’m Janice.’ Don’t they know you’re supposed to have a last name. It’s like they’re an entire generation of cocktail waitresses.”Joe Fox: Look. I am not a 22-year-old cocktail waitress.Kathleen: […]
The Danger of Propaganda and Dismissing Free Speech/Press
If you had told me twelve months ago that our current president of the United States would be banned from all social platforms, unable to communicate with the American people, barely covered by the “news” sources, and so publicly hated by the Congress mob, I would have scoffed. Not in America, surely. We value our […]
The Shape of Leadership:A Soft Heart with a Strong Spine
Aaron was reading a section out of a John MacArthur book on the strengths of the apostle Peter. His impulsive, go-for-it attitude endears him to me, and I feel a keen sense of hope knowing that Jesus chose him despite his rash run-and-then-trip responses. Yes, he sunk under the waves, but he did get out […]
The Purpose of Silence
For the last four years, our homeschool family has gathered with other families to teach, learn, and grow together. Each mom takes time weaving in her personal touches to the lesson, whether it’s history, science, art, music, or Latin. My friend Dinah teaches the music portion, explaining the notes and beats of a musical composition. […]
More Fall Reads
Heather Morris’ depiction follows Slovakian Jew Lale Sokolov, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz in 1942, and shows how he fell in love with a girl he was tattooing at the concentration camp. Based on his true story, this novel takes the reader from three years of brutality before his eventual escape. Morris is discreet with […]
5 Aspects of American Culture that Have No Place in the Heart of a Christian
ENTITLEMENT & FOMO: If I was forced to peg a transitional date, I’d say 8-10 years ago was when I started noticing the entitlement attitude bleed into generations normally responsible and others-focused. In the academic world, I’ve dealt with the millennial crutch of “you owe it to me” for as long as I’ve been teaching. […]
Should I be Making my Life Easier?
I was listening to a Christian radio station recently where the DJ host of the show said that we as people often over-complicate our lives. “Sure, I’m with you so far,” I thought. Fill out a legal form to see how ridiculously complicated we’ve made things. Or look at a normal 10-year-old’s schedule and wonder […]