family life

How My Old Band Director Influences My Family Life Today
Sometimes you get a life-changing lesson from an unexpected source. My 8th-grade band director taught me something really important about relationships. Last week, my old band director passed away. Pat Wylie (it’s still hard to think of him by his first name) was a major part of my young life, for two years in middle…
When Your Boys Gang Up On Each Other
A mom with several boys asked us, “How do you handle the constant ganging-up on each other?” (more…)
Boxing Day Secrets
It's the day after Christmas, and I'm working in the living room this morning, happily surrounded by my new books and the noise of our younger children playing. But there's the question: What are we going to do about all the new toys in the house? Here are some startling truths we've discovered in 23 years of parenting:…
An Open Letter to Parents Considering Divorce
Here's a letter I posted in response to a homeschooling mother who told an email list that she was thinking of divorcing her husband because she didn't love him anymore and they were not getting along at all. I hope if you are thinking of divorcing your mate, that you will read this very carefully…
Purposeful Planning
Purposeful Planning: A Review
I think most of us get reflective this time of year. A lot of us make resolutions with good intentions. A lot fewer do it with a real sense of purpose, aiming not only to resolve but to actually set things in place to make it happen. About sixteen years ago, Phyllis Sather's husband came to…
Review: “Courageous”
Not many movies had me in tears in the opening sequence. "Courageous" did. I'm not an "early adopter" of whatever comes down the road--I think I didn't upgrade to Windows 95 until Windows 98 came out. Movies are a little different, and there may not be many days left in the theater schedule for this…
Review: This Means War: Equipping Christian Families for Fostercare or Adoption
Don't miss the contest at the bottom of this post, friends! Although we have never adopted, when author Cheryl Ellicott offered me a review copy of This Means War: Equipping Christian Families for Fostercare or Adoption, I jumped at the chance! You see, I had read the first chapter of the book as a sample…