Discipleship

Lessons from a Small-town Wedding
The gospel of John tells the story of Jesus’ first public miracle, when He changed water into wine at a wedding in the village of Cana. (John 2:1-11) It wasn’t even very public at that; He didn’t reveal His power at the Temple in Jerusalem, or in the halls of Roman government in Caesarea, but…
Temptation – And How to Fight It
Our church is studying the life of Christ right now, and we just looked at His time in the wilderness facing temptation. Although He had divine power, He faced temptation like a common man would have to, without resorting to miracles to solve His problems. The English pastor Charles Spurgeon observed, “God has one Son…
Temptation – The Error-Likely Situation
  When I worked for the power company, I was told to be on guard against “error-likely situations.” When crews were called to deal with power outages, often it was late at night, in bad weather and unfamiliar locations, with everyone tired and under stress. Any of these conditions made it more likely for someone…
Five Things You Need to Know About Your Boys & Internet Porn
"I don't know who else to talk to. My little boy has been watching horrible stuff. I don't know what to do." There are five things we wish all parents knew about internet porn. If they did, there would probably be a lot fewer of these heartbreaking messages for us to answer! (Note, this post…
The Homeschool Fitting-It-All-In Summit
We are so happy to be featured speakers with Homeschool Summits for the Homeschool Fitting-It-All-In Summit, a free event hosted online this April 30-May 5. You can watch our interview on May 4th at 9am. We'll be talking about how to keep your marriage strong while you're homeschooling.  We hope you’ll join us! You can register…
Review: The Vanishing American Adult
The Vanishing American Adult by Ben Sasse (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2017) - 306 pp I rarely read a book that leaves me thinking, “I agreed with every single point he raised.” This one comes awfully close. Before he was elected to the U.S. Senate, Ben Sasse was president of Midland University, a small…
I Haven’t Kept All My Resolutions Either
  So February comes trudging in sooner than we expected. You history buffs may already know that the ancient Roman calendar started in March, not January – so February was the end of the year to them. The name comes from februum for “purification” because this is when they traditionally got rid of the old…
Why Luther is Important for My Kids
Our family makes a point this time of year to talk about the courage of Martin Luther, but there are reasons beyond a spirit of “Yaaaay, TEAM! Go, Protestants, go!” There are some serious lessons that we want our children to absorb from Luther’s life, and they’re not Protestant-vs-Catholic talking points – they apply to…
Talking to Kids About Disasters
  The news is full of alarming stories - hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and more - and it's nearly impossible to shield our kids from hearing about it. How do you help your children understand natural disasters and bad news with concern but not panic? Do you talk with your teenagers differently than your young kids?…
Bullied Into Buying: Grownup Peer Pressure
Homeschooling allowed us to raise kids that were not peer-dominated, not bullied, not searching for affirmation and validation from every direction. Hooray! The problem is, we parents were not raised that way, and guess what? Often we're the ones with peer group problems.   How Does This Happen? One of the great doctrines of the New Testament is the…