In my previous post on living with my mother-in-law, several of the comments indicate the sentiment that they wish they did not have to live with their in-laws. They want to get out of that situation, but have no choice. Not many of us, if any, marry our spouses wanting to invite the in-laws to […]
You might have noticed that I am a big fan of Family Life. That’s because the President and host of the radio program, Dennis Rainey raised 6 children. And anyone who has raised 6 successful children is someone to whom I pay close attention. So I am going to quote him again today. I read […]
Have you heard the complaint that kids nowadays do not show proper respect? I read an Agatha Christie mystery where a room full of eyewitnesses were not able to identify the culprit, because the murderer was dressed as one of the housekeepers in the hotel, and “no one ever looks at the face of servants.” […]
Soccer, basketball, scouting, karate, piano lessons, art lessons – we give our children many opportunities to grow. Have we also considered the character traits that we want our children to develop? It can be all too easy to let the prevailing culture’s values carry us along while we are too busy with the daily living. […]
Last Sunday at church, I was called in to talk to a crying 8-year-old boy. “It’s not fair!” He told me in frustration. Another boy had grabbed a Pepsi bottle from his hand, and in anger he started to swing at the boy and the teacher. It wasn’t fair that he got in trouble, and […]
Everyone is talking about Haiti. Is it enough to just talk about Haiti? My son reminded me yesterday that it’s possible to feel strong emotions about a devastating situation and that in itself somehow gives us the impression that we’ve done our part. Our mere sympathy for Haiti shows that we are compassionate people, and […]
I mentioned here before, my mother-in-law lives with us. While there are certainly many adjustments, there has also been many benefits. One of the most important advantage is that my children get to have an intergenerational relationship. Yes, grandma makes them whatever they want to eat. Grandma buys them stuff when we go shopping. Grandma […]
“Can we have a puppy for Christmas?” Doesn’t every child dream of having a pet? A pony? A puppy? A rabbit? When I was growing up, I wanted a dog, but the closest we got was a fish tank with an array of colorful fish. I developed a fear for fish when I woke up […]
My mother-in-law lives with us. You read it right. My mother-in-law lives with us. My father-in-law passed away of cancer about 10 years ago, and she has been living with us for about that long now. What is your reaction when you read this? People usually think I am either a martyr or a saint. […]
I admit, we live a sheltered life here in the suburbs. I’m not complaining. We like the relative peace and tranquility of suburbia. On the other hand, we cannot live with our heads in the sand. In my zeal after reading about the devastating earthquake in China, I went berserk last night and lectured my […]
