One very memorable moment happened after one of my first driving escapades. Waiting three years to be free of seizures traumatized my social life, or at least that is what I thought. That particular evening I was able to drive instead of being chauffeured to bible study. What independence! Wearing that cloak of pride felt very exhilarating, until […]
There was this mom… and like many moms, she was tired. O so tired: tired of breaking up the fights, tired of “connecting” like the good parenting advice says to do, tired of tucking in and saying goodnight, tired of getting the food on the table. Very tired, tired of being mom. Day after day […]
Parenting an inflexible-explosive child can be very frustrating and exhausting. Consider the following example. The family consists of three elementary age children with both parents. The children are doing their own thing in play when Mother calls them for supper. Two of the children leave their activities and go to wash hands; one does it […]
Years ago, my wife, son and I went on a train ride from Harrisburg, PA to New York City, so we could see the devastation that happened on 9/11. I discussed this trip in an earlier blog, but what I didn’t tell you about is the interesting man we met. It was at the end […]
Watching the Olympics has been exhilarating. Each participating athlete made a conscious decision to work towards an Olympic medal. That choice meant sacrificing of themselves; time with friends and family, not being able to do other things, having to juggle school work and practices, etc. In order to accomplish their goal, they had to make […]
At the 20 week anatomy scan of our third child, the sonographer saw a blood clot. Not a huge issue, but it could become bigger, which could be harmful for baby or harmful for me. So we prayed. We prayed for God to heal; for him to resolve whatever issue caused the blood clot and to […]
Our children need to see the effects of sin and evil, and what happens when it consumes a person’s heart. As we come closer to the Presidential election, there is much discussion about our national security and protecting ourselves from terrorists. That makes me think back on our trip to New York city, about a year […]
Parents have the responsibility and privilege of teaching children how to make wise choices and express feelings constructively. For compliant children, this process may be relatively easy and rewarding. However, for the inflexible and oppositional child, it is very challenging and often frustrating. Unfortunately, these children get labeled as “bad,” and parents may feel like […]
Teach Your Children That All Lives Matter This wasn’t what I had planned to blog about this week, but it seemed appropriate with the assassinations of Dallas policemen. If you have paid any attention to the media or been on social media the past two days, you know about the shootings of Dallas police officers. For those […]
In 1776 on July 2nd, the Continental Congress of the 13 colonies voted in favor of independence from Great Britain. There was almost a unanimous vote. Two days later, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by its delegates. This historic document reminds us of why we celebrate July 4th today. This patriotic day became more […]