Category: FAMILY
Improving March Madness
Men’s college basketball provides one of the most entertaining tournaments of the year. Sixty-four teams (or sixty-five, if you count the “play-in” game) make the “Big Dance,” a single-elimination tournament that culminates in a national championship. Sometimes bigger schools are defeated by smaller schools that weren’t...
Scoffer, Slacker, Seeker, or Saint? – A Spiritual Census for Teens
Every ten years in America a survey called a census is taken to determine the current number of U.S. residents. Other information is also obtained and used to paint an up-to-date economic, political, and religious portrait of our society. What if a census were taken in...
Sin, the Christian, and The Field-Goal Principle
For those not familiar with American football, the game is played on a 100-yard field. A team can score in two primary ways, either by carrying the ball into the other team’s end-zone and scoring a touchdown (6 points), or by kicking the ball from a...
The Woman Who Wouldn’t Heil Hitler
The first time young Kurt Ziefle said “Heil Hitler” to his mother, he wished he hadn’t. Maria Ziefle calmly and firmly laid down the rule of the household. “We do not salute man in place of God,” she said. “In this house we will continue to...
The Child of So Many Tears
For years, Monica’s second son was a source of staggering grief to his mother. Her oldest son was exemplary and her daughter was devout. But her second son, Augustine, the most gifted of her children, was also the biggest disappointment. At 16, he stole fruit from...
Isaac Watts – Rejected Suitor
Isaac had butterflies in his stomach as he paced nervously around the room. Today was the day he would meet Elizabeth Singer for the first time. Several months ago Elizabeth, a noted poet in her own right, wrote to tell Isaac how moved she was by...
The Reluctant Mother: Amy Carmichael
We can’t always identify life-changing moments as they occur. When a little Indian girl named Preena crawled into Amy Carmichael’s lap and called her “Amma” (or “mother” in Tamil) for the first time, neither of them could have known that this simple act would change both...
When Ball Becomes Baal
It’s rare to see kids playing sports in the neighborhood anymore. We’re now organized and “professionalized”—including uniforms, state-of-the-art facilities, endless trips to the field, competitive coaches, equally competitive parents, and the after-season tournaments designed to give parents “bleacher bottom.” In addition, you’ve got to pay to...
When a Child Dies: Responses From Church History
What follows are the honest and courageous words of four well-known Christians from the past regarding the loss of a child—a much more common occurrence in previous centuries, but still a reality today. Ann Judson (missionary Adoniram Judson’s first wife), after the death of their second...
Who is Writing Your Child’s Story?
Would you like to write the script for your child’s future? Of course you would. Let’s face it, parents are concerned about their kids whether they’re 9 or 39. And they should be . . . in a certain way, and up to a certain point....
