One of the things I think about most with regard to parenting is how to succeed in the long run. I don’t want short-term victories and long-term failure. I don’t want kids who know every AWANA verse now but who don’t love Jesus when they ‘re 22. I wonder (but can never know) if some… Read More »
Had he lived, our son would have celebrated his tenth birthday today. September 2, 2001 was a very happy day for us, beginning with a very early morning delivery. It was only the next day that a doctor heard something unusual in his heartbeat and he was airlifted to UCLA. He had a “successful” surgery… Read More »
This is the fifth and final question. 5. How can fathers prepare for family vacations? I think it starts with a commitment to take family vacations. A weekend trip to a beach house will afford fewer opportunities for the type of growth and learning than a longer vacation will. Some may feel that a vacation… Read More »
This is the third installment of a series of reflections on our wonderful summer vacation. 4. What would you do the same / differently? I would certainly do this trip again, but so much was so clearly owing to the grace of God that simply can’t be prescribed for another. This includes: Visiting our long-time… Read More »
I am going to continue reflecting on our family vacation by using the questions posed by my friend. 3. How did you try to blend family, friends, fun, education, and shepherding? Perhaps some people sit down and think out strategies for this but I work rather intuitively in such matters (for good or for ill).… Read More »
A friend with a young family has written and asked me to go beyond the “what we did today” level given in this series about our family’s vacation. Initially I was resistant but he helped by suggesting five questions. That moves it from the general to the specific and makes the task more appealing. I… Read More »
We made it home. According to the GPS, we drove 5,214 miles. According to the car’s odometer (which we never turned off), we drove a few more. It was a fantastic trip. Some careful readers know that the whole record of it was delayed by three weeks. My initial thought was to “tweet” the trip… Read More »
When I was planning this trip, I thought it would be a bit too much to drive 17 hours (plus stops) from Charleston to home. Along the way is Nashville and since no one in our family has spent any time there, I thought it would work out well to cut the driving into two… Read More »
After a relaxing morning (are we allowed that on a vacation?), we left our friend Becky’s home and drove through Pennsylvania, the Maryland panhandle, and through the mountains of West Virginia to our hotel in Charleston. It rained a good bit as we drove and though the scenery was interesting, at no point did we… Read More »
Today was a day with friends. After a morning drive, we enjoyed lunch at the home of an Old Testament professor and his family. To this point, our relationship had been through books (me reading his) and email, and it was a great privilege to spend the afternoon with him, his wife, and his daughter… Read More »