image from adonyig at pixabayI’m going to begin with a disclaimer: the essay you are about to read applies to some Christian schools and some teachers employed in them, not to every school and every teacher. One Teacher’s View from the Auditorium Last week I attended the Distinctive Teaching and Learning Conference in Gastonia, North Carolina. It is a yearly event for teachers in Christian schools to gather to gain new insights and inspiration for the coming school year and... Read more
If you want to get a good perspective of life, get a good perspective of the mountains. The Perspective from the Top of a Mountain A while back, I went with my husband and my two dear friends Debbie and Charlie to the top of Mount Cheaha, the highest natural point in the state of Alabama and the thirty-fifth highest point in the United States. It is 2,413 feet high. We sat on the very edge of Bald Rock... Read more
Violets Let’s talk about violets. I don’t mean the flower shop variety that people pay a bunch of money for and then pamper to make them bloom. I mean the little, wild violets that pop up in the yard in the spring, the lowly purple flower, the weed. Call me crazy, but of all garden flowers, they are my favorites. I love their color, their leaves, and the way they just appear overnight and smile at the sun. I love... Read more
Image by Stux at Pixabay Live the Example I think we can all agree that even under the most perfect circumstances, parenting is the hardest job on the planet. A parent is on call 24/7/365, and for each child in the household, a parent has 2 little eyes always watching and 2 little ears always listening. Honestly, living the example is hard, but it makes all the difference. No parent is perfect, but it is the... Read more
Two weeks ago, our daughter and her four children came to visit. We had a total blast with them and did so many fun things and had so many meaningful conversations. Then they left. As usual, by the next day, the mulligrubs set in, and as usual, my sensitive and perceptive husband who knows a formula for a great marriage, asked the magic question: “Do you want to go on an adventure?” Do You Want to Go on an Adventure?... Read more
Hagiography and Truth Each year in preparation for teaching my 12th grade students Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, I teach a brief unit about hagiography–the legends of the lives (and martyrdom) of the saints. The legends themselves are a fascinating study, and whether or not they are 100% accurate, they do teach truth. First of all, the person introduced in the legend is believed to have actually existed. Second, the stories teach biblical truth, lessons to apply to our own lives... Read more
When the devil comes to you with his lies, don’t just stand there and take it. You don’t have to talk back to him. He is not your friend and you’re not required to be polite, but if you do talk back … USE THE STRATEGY OF THE MASTER “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests... Read more
If you have been a Christian, even for just a short while, you have probably come to the conclusion that choosing to follow Christ does not mean the end of all your problems. In fact, the day you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, a big target was painted on your … ears. Yes, that’s right, your ears–the spiritual ones, the ones that hear from God, and the ones that hear from your enemy. Don’t you know that... Read more
I vividly remember a day when I had to face a hard fact of life: Sometimes God says, “No.” I needed to be fixed! There was this thing in my life, nothing sinful or evil, that I really needed to get fixed. It probably happened because of something I neglected in my past, but again, nothing evil. It affected no one but me, and other than a handful of other people, no one knew about it. I prayed for God... Read more
Today’s advice: Don’t neglect the wood. Solomon’s Temple “So Solomon built the temple and completed it. He lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper. He partitioned off twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. The main hall in... Read more
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