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In the name of God, I, being of sound mind and body, bequeath to my children the small store of wealth and the few possessions I have been able to accumulate over a lifetime of labor. I divide these equally among my children and ask them to accept it all with my blessings—to keep it or to give it away as they see fit. Of infinitely greater value, I bequeath to them all the fervent prayers I have made for …
I’ve come to the conclusion that Aileen and I parent weirdly. But I’ve also come to the conclusion that so does everyone else. When each of us looks at other parents, there are almost invariably some components of their parenting we would love to imitate, but others that strike us as, well, a little bit weird. This is why it is rare, or perhaps even impossible, to find a parenting book that we would follow completely rather than only partially. …
Those who explore the vast boreal forests of Canada are rarely far from a bunchberry dogwood, a plant so common that some have suggested it ought to be Canada’s national plant. The cornus canadensis is a little shrub that often carpets the floors of the great fir and spruce forests. A perennial, its shoots rise in the spring and soon each produce a whorl of six leaves. Come the early days of summer, a number of tiny flowers surrounded by …
When historians look back on the twenty-first century Western world, surely few things will strike them as being more deranged and more sinister than its insistence that biology has no bearing on an individual’s gender. While society has long acknowledged the rare existence of gender dysphoria, a psychological condition marked by discomfort with one’s biological sex, it now celebrates full-fledged gender fluidity. Only our contemporary context could make sense of a phrase like “some men get periods” or a headline …
As a father, I try to make it a habit to pray for my children each day before they even crawl out of bed. Before they’ve begun their day, I want to have already asked the Lord to bless, keep, and prosper them. Praying for my children was on my mind as I read this sweet, poetic prayer by Amy Carmichael. She did not have biological children of her own, but was Amma (mommy) to hundreds who were delivered to …
Social media was still in its infancy when it showed me a death for the first time. All these years later the details remain vivid in my mind. A colleague said, “Tim, check this out.” He turned his screen toward me to show a blindfolded man kneeling before his captors. They spoke a few words in a language I did not understand, then reached toward him. A knife flashed, a throat was slit, blood spilled. I almost threw up. Late …
I am sure parenting has always been a complicated business. I’m sure each generation of parents has had to deal with issues specific to their unique time and context. I rather suspect, though, that parents who raise children at the cusp of a technological transformation face a special kind of challenge. It falls to them to blaze a trail through unknown territory. And that is exactly what parents are doing today as we raise our children in this digital world. …
I do not often run guest articles on this site. But every now and again I do make an exception—usually for my friend Paul Carter. In this case, he is going to suggest a great way to turn a retired Bible into a precious family heirloom. What follows is from Paul… ***** If you are a Bible reader, a note taker and a highlighter then you have probably asked the question at some point in your life: what do I …
Children owe honor to their parents. Parents have the right to expect and demand honor and even to extend discipline to children who fail to give it, for God himself commands “Honor your father and your mother.” When children are young, this honor is shown especially in obedience—they are to submit to the authority of their parents, for in doing so they are submitting to God, the one from whom all authority flows. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, …
Chap Bettis recently wrote about a phenomenon he has observed in today’s young parents—one Aileen and I have often discussed as well. “Many parents are reluctant and even resistant to asking advice about their parenting. While others can see blind spots, the parents themselves remain… blind to them.” That is one side of the equation—young parents aren’t asking seasoned parents for input or assistance. The other side of the equation is that seasoned parents are reluctant to address concerns or …