Family
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Burger King and the Church Youth Group
It really is remarkable that the fast food chain Burger King has kept its slogan for so long that I could have written this same article 10 or even 20 years ago and it would have made sense. Whether you like Burger King or not (I used to be a fan, but not so much anymore), that is quite an achievement of marketing and consistency. What is the slogan? “Have it your way.” In recent years, they have added the little tagline, “You rule” to the end, but the slogan has remained all this time. And a lot of people love BK for that. They love the idea that, whatever…
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Not Quite 23
When this post is published, Adam and Leah will have celebrated 25 years of marriage the day before. Adam wrote a beautiful tribute to both Leah and God’s institution of marriage. No one could be happier for them or respect that success more than I. I am blessed to be surrounded by many examples of faithful Christian marriages. On the other hand, I was asked to speak recently for our congregation’s newly-formed widows and single ladies group. [Side note: we are looking for a much cooler name!] As someone who fits into the second of those categories because of divorce, I am choosing to share some of what I said to…
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25 Years
On the day this post is being released, Leah and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary. Fittingly, we are going to wait until tomorrow to do anything to celebrate, because we are helping Central finish out this year’s VBS tonight. I say that’s “fitting” because, I pray, that’s the way people think of us: together and serving the Lord. We are nowhere near perfect, but we see our marriage as a reflection of God’s glory in the world, and we pray that all we do through our marriage honors Him. But, today, I want to share some thoughts about the godly woman whom the Lord has let me be…
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When Life Comes to an End
I have spent the last several weeks at the hospital sitting with my only living aunt on my dad’s side of the family while her husband was slowly dying. To say it was difficult would be an understatement. You see, any time you sit at a hospital for extended periods of time is very hard. It was hard to watch him losing his battle with illness, and it was hard to watch my aunt losing her husband of 64 years. They never had any children and were totally devoted to one another. As we watched his life slipping away day after day we began to talk about what he had done in…
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A Mother’s Memory
As part of my birthday joy, my oldest son let me preview his bulletin article that will be printed this coming Sunday. In it, he shares some memories he has of interactions in our backyard. This was precious to me as it let me know I did some things right as a young mother … definitely not everything, but some things. As special as his memories were to read, I couldn’t help but think of Mary and the verses in Luke 2, one of which reads, “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart..” (v.19) That little boy, now a young man, has no idea how…
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The Last Day
On the day this post is being released, it will be the end of the academic year for our homeschool in 2023-2024. This one, though, is one we have seen coming from the beginning, because this is Mary Carol’s final last day of high school. (It is also her last day of homeschool…there’s no way Leah is going to homeschool her through college!) I don’t write this post to be overly sentimental. I write it as a reminder to us all: when you are around people, remember that they all have things on their minds–things that are affecting them–that you may not know. I have noticed that, as this day…
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Episode 169: Central Diggers Introduction [Podcast]
https://media.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/content.blubrry.com/faughnfamily/Central_Diggers_Introduction_A_Legacy_of_Faith.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS (Player not displaying or working? Click here to listen.) A discussion with Adam and Mary Carol about Central Diggers, which was a program designed to teach children apologetics. This is the first of a two-part series on this great work.
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A Reminder from Pictures
When you have a senior, you have to look through pictures. Over the last few weeks, we have had two different “end of school” celebrations for Mary Carol. First, our homeschool co-op did a nice ceremony for the students who are graduating this year. Then, Central put together a very beautiful reception honoring our seniors. We appreciate both of these. Both of the ceremonies asked for pictures, so they could have a short slide show of each graduate. So, Leah and I scrolled through hundreds–okay, thousands–of pictures from the last 18 years. Many brought laughs. A few brought tears. But it was enjoyable to just take some time to go…
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A Tribute to Homeschooling Moms
It’s National Teacher Week, I’m told. (By the way, can anyone keep up with all these national days and weeks anymore? I feel like we’ve had about 4 national sibling days just in the last couple of months!) A lot of teachers will be receiving cards or little gifts. They might be getting awards at a school assembly. They might even get their name on the radio or in some print and/or online article. All of those things are well-deserved, and it is great to give honor to whom it is due. But there is another group of teachers who, most likely, won’t get any of that, and they are…
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Thank You, Danleys!
A few weeks ago, Mary Carol and Turner got to enjoy a wonderful event in East Tennessee. It provided them–and one of their friends, Annie–with a great evening and a lot of fun, but also it helped to show that Christians can do certain “rites of passage” without the influence of the world. Joel and Hannah Danley deserve so much credit for this great evening, which was a formal banquet for high school juniors and seniors. It is meant to be an alternative to the PROM, which, over the years ,has become not only a rite of passage, but an increasingly worldly event. I am so grateful that I grew…
