Tag: Parenting

Morning Musing: Proverbs 22:6

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“Start a youth out on his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

For a nation that is supposedly reeling from superhero fatigue, filmmakers don’t seem to be getting the message. This summer we have been treated to a number of big budget action movies, several of which have fallen in the superhero genre. And they’ve mostly done well. Thunderbolts* (which I haven’t seen yet) was a moderate success, especially as compared with more recent Marvel releases. Fantastic Four (which I also haven’t yet seen) scored Marvel’s biggest box office opening weekend of the year and seems to have been a hit with both audiences and critics – a rare treat for any superhero movie. But of all the summer box office hits this year, only one of them really hit the mark of super. Let’s talk about Superman.

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Morning Musing: Psalm 127:3

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“Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, offspring, a reward.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

As the old saying goes, a broken clock is still right twice a day. For the better part of a generation, Disney has been one of, if not the, primary entertainment-producing companies in the world. But in recent years, they seem to have forgotten that they are in the business of making money, not pushing a particular cultural agenda. As a result, they haven’t been making money quite like they once were. But for all of their cultural tone-deafness, there are some signs they are starting to turn a corner and remember that one of their primary audiences is families. One of the latest such signs came in the recently completed and final season of What If?…

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A Special Birthday Reflection

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“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching, for they will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck.” (CSB Proverbs 1:8-9 – Read the chapter)

Some of the best movies are the ones that create a potent sense of nostalgia around an idyllic childhood. The Sandlot is a classic in this genre. It is ostensibly a movie about baseball (and one of the greatest ever released), but it’s really a movie about nostalgia. It’s about making the viewer feel a certain way. Our culture is enamored with the idea that childhood should unfold in a certain way. It should be carefree and safe and familiar and encouraging and challenging and so on and so forth. It should happen in the context of a family with a mom and dad and a sibling or two. It should be happy and fun. On that score, my childhood was about as idyllic as they come. One of the two main reasons for that turns 70 today. This is for him.

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Morning Musing: A Special Day

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“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding; furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There are some moments you don’t know are going to change your life. It’s not until you look back on them later that you realize just how profoundly different you are than you might have been because of them. Some moments that you think are going to change your life, wind up not mattering very much at all. Then there are the moments you know will change everything, and that’s exactly what they do. When I woke up 16 years ago, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was walking into one of those moments. I was right. Nothing has been the same since, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Today, my oldest son turns 16. Indulge me a few moments as I just get to be a proud dad.

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Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 5:25, 6:4

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“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her…Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever gotten started off on the wrong foot only to get back on track once things got up and running pretty well? I think about the NCAA Men’s March Madness championship game from a couple of years ago. My Kansas Jayhawks were playing UNC for the title. The game didn’t start very well. At the half we were down 15. We weren’t shooting well. They were. It was a pretty dispiriting beginning. But then things got back on track and the game went entirely more smoothly in the second half…unless of course you happen to be a UNC fan in which case this illustration completely fails. Just focus on the win over Duke in the Final Four and you’ll be fine. Let’s jump to something happier for you. The CBS sitcom Young Sheldon is coming to an end. As it does, one particular storyline is getting up and running really well. It’s become for me the best part of the show. Let’s talk about it this morning and why it’s such a good thing.

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