Parenting
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The First Letter of Immodesty
Well, it’s immodesty season. As the weather warms and schools let out, all you have to do is scroll social media if you want to see immodesty. People are taking off shirts, putting on thigh-high shorts, going out in bikinis, and not ashamed to spread it to the world. (And many parents don’t mind sharing these pictures of their own children with the entire internet, either.) It’s sad. But there is another layer that is even more tragic. If someone says something–maybe in a Bible class or small group setting–the comments are so telling: If they don’t want to see it, they shouldn’t look. I just want to be comfortable.…
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She Has Done Well
Forgive me for being very personal today, but the Bible teaches that we are to give honor to whom it is due, and that honor is certainly due to Leah. In just a couple of days, she will no longer be “homeschooling mom Leah.” With Turner graduating on Friday, Leah has now finished that chapter of her life and, as the title of this post says, she has done well. Now, she doesn’t believe she has done well. She sees the things she didn’t do. She sees where our kids still fall short at times. She sees holes in their education or blunders they have made and she takes that…
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A Candidate for the World’s Most Clueless Husband (and a Rebuttal)
As Mothers Day approaches, I am reminded of a conversation I had with a lady during which she mentioned her late father-in-law. Somehow the subject of retirement came up. During that part of the conversation, she related to me something he had told his wife when he retired. The following may not be a word-for-word quote, but it is pretty close: Now, I’ll get to do what you’ve been doing all these years I’ve been working – absolutely nothing. My first reaction (which I think I might have actually said aloud) was that surely no man could be that clueless. Actually “clueless” might be the polite version of what I…
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Thank You Lads to Leaders
Other than when Covid canceled the Lads to Leaders convention in 2020, I have attended every convention since 2001. The one that will occur this weekend, though, will be different in a way. It’s my last time to attend as a parent. Now, I went before we had kids. Leah and I helped the group from 9th Avenue before Mary Carol was even born. But since the kids were old enough to do anything, they’ve been there (Mary Carol even got one award before she could read!). We’ve watched our kids grow and mature. We’ve dealt with losing a tooth just minutes before speech time. We’ve had the kid getting…
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“Martha, Martha”…and Parenting
Recently at Central, I have used the account of Martha and Mary in a couple of sermons. The imagery of that text is so relatable. Mary is sitting and listening to Jesus, while Martha is just all over the place, but doing something good. Martha is (at least) frustrated with her sister and even demands that Jesus make her do her part. Jesus, though, begins his response with “Martha, Martha.” He further tells her that she is distracted, basically because her mind is here and there. Then our Lord adds that Mary chose what was good, the “one thing” that “is necessary.” With that, Jesus added this eternal insight: “which…
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The Red Lemon (#2)
During the recent lectureship at Freed-Hardeman University, our family carved out a little time between sessions to celebrate the twenty-fourth birthday of our oldest grandson. I was totally unaware of the significance of the location of our little party until a friend and brother in Christ mentioned it in a comment on the picture I posted on Facebook. When he saw the background of the picture, it reminded him of one of our family’s “inside jokes” which we have shared with others. What follows below is a version of something that I wrote for A Legacy of Faith on our grandson’s seventeenth birthday. This version has been edited quite a bit,…
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18 (or, “On Raising Adults”)
My post this week just happens to coincide with a special day in the life of a special young man. Today, my son turns 18. That means that both of our kids are now legally adults. I guess that empty nest really is drawing near. Turner is a delight. Is he perfect? No. We still have things to work on. But it has been nothing short of impressive to watch him mature and to work on some of his shortcomings himself. He has a heart for doing what is right, and that is all I can ask for. When Mary Carol turned 18 something struck me, and it has struck…
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He Gave Me a Song
Our family moved to Cookeville, Tennessee from Lawrenceburg when I was young, and while I have few clear memories of our life before that transition, those that remain are special to me. My first friends in elementary school, my first watchthrough of the original Star Wars trilogy (a core memory), the building where I first remember attending church, and many others standout in my mind. However, there is one memory that I hope I will have for the rest of my life. Actually, the image in my head is a composite of many similar days throughout the years. It always includes the swing-set in our backyard, with the woods behind…
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You Can’t Do It for Them
Donna sometimes tells about an incident that dates back to the days very early in our marriage when both of us taught in a public high school. She had given her class an assignment and had refused to accept what one boy turned in. The reason for the rejection (and the failing grade) was that the boy had submitted something that was very inappropriate. When the boy’s mother learned about this, she called Donna and let her know (in no uncertain terms), “I’ll have you know, that I did that assignment.” I suppose that she thought this would give some sort of legitimacy to her son’s project, could “bully” Donna…
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Bible School Excuses
A few weeks ago at Central, I preached a sermon on parenting. In part of the sermon, I mentioned that parents miss out on a powerful blessing when they do not “take the help” that Bible school provides. After all, parents who are striving to instill God’s Word into the hearts of their children should be utterly grateful for those kind and good teachers who provide instruction to their children. After mentioning that, I gave some excuses that I have heard over the years as to why parents do not bring their kids to class. I mentioned four in the sermon, but I want to list five commonly-heard ones here.…