comes back around
As a youth pastor’s wife, I have plenty of opportunities to practice conflict resolution skills with those in our ministry. Especially in working with the girls. Gossip, however, is not limited to the female gender or to young adults (as my husband and I discovered at a dinner party a few weeks back). Recently, though, I had an opportunity to…
developing godly character
Romans 5:1-4: Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We…
before the eulogy
In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom, Huck Finn, and Joe Harper slinked off for a few days away without telling anyone. Back home, their distraught loved ones assumed they had drowned, so they held a funeral. The boys—being boys—sneaked back into town and watched the funeral from the rafters of the church. There they enjoyed hearing the good…
lost and found
Everyone has had the dreaded experience of losing something. Cell phones, keys, wallets, and money are all prime examples. The existence of Lost & Found departments in shopping malls tells me that people losing things is a common experience. Things are lost. Things are found. We’re mighty glad and relieved when lost things are returned to us!
Why would you…
good fruit
My 12-year-old son’s teacher asked his class what age they would like to be. Most of his friends shared that they preferred the freedom that came with being older, but my son said he wanted to be 9 again because his classmates were kinder then and swore less. I winced a little for his end of innocence, and I pondered…
tuition nation
According to a study conducted by a local newspaper in Singapore, 97 out of 100 students polled have private tutors or receive supplemental training at academic centers. So common are these practices that Singapore has been called the “tuition nation.”
Academic education is important, but I wonder, Is equal—if not greater—attention given to instructing our children to become men and…
lead on
Spending much of my childhood in the cool north of the US, I always thought of palm trees as something exotic. So when we traveled down to South Carolina to visit family every few years, I felt as if I was somewhere near Hawaii, even though I knew deep waters and many miles separated the two states. Now that I…
blameless
The word blameless has become such an anomaly today that we rarely hear it used. Well, at least not in the arenas of business, sports, or politics. You hear the words shrewd and skillful being spoken, but definitely not blameless. So when this word recently popped up during a casual conversation, it stirred my interest. Two questions came to mind: What…
beyond my reach
My husband and I are cautious when it comes to our kids. We diligently try to find the balance between having appropriate boundaries without being outright control freaks. Friends, media, and social events have become powerful means of helping our kids learn discernment and character. I noted, however, that my prayers for our 6th grader increased when she went away…
prepare for action
As a chaplain for athletes competing in the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, one night I stayed out particularly late serving at the figure skating venue. Cold and exhausted, I finally headed back to my room at 1:00 a.m. On the way, I was shocked when several members of the USA Men’s Hockey Team walked by—boasting about the partying they were…
character that counts
Rod Handley, director of the ministry Character That Counts, has devoted his life’s work to helping people grow in character. He encourages people to, as Merriam-Webster’s puts it, exude “moral excellence and firmness.”
In his book Team Studies on Character, Handley lists traits embedded in the essence of 1 Timothy 4:16, which exhorts us to “Keep a close watch on how you…
hagar mistake
A Christian friend of mine was desperate for marriage and tired of waiting for God to deliver. Finally, she entered into an intimate relationship with a man whose character and faith lacked nearly every requisite trait she’d once held dear. When the unhealthy romance finally ended, my friend felt dejected and humiliated. She looked back on the relationship with dismay,…
true view
Researchers Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton have coined a term for the religious beliefs of many teens—Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Their view of God and faith—shared by a good portion of adults as well—is moralistic in that they think life is all about getting people to “be good.” Therapeutic stands for the reality that the teens feel that faith is…
virtuous
So, when was the last time you heard someone being complimented for being virtuous? In Ecclesiastes 7:29, we read, “God created people to be virtuous.” So, what does this word mean? The Hebrew word for virtuous is chayil, which means “strength.” Throughout the Old Testament, we find that in the majority of cases this word refers to soldiers, to fighting…
wasted gift
The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge possessed a tragic lack of discipline. He left Cambridge University to join the army; he left the army because he couldn’t rub down a horse; he returned to Oxford and left without a degree. He started a weekly newspaper that made it to just 25 issues before he ceased publishing it. It’s been said of…
