As a parent, spouse, co-worker – plain old human being – you are going to be angry sometimes. However, we’ve learned that, though God sanctions anger, He puts a prohibition on it. So, it begs the question, “How can we be angry and not displease God?”

Galatians 5 (“The Fruits of the Spirit”) provides some clues:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against... more

“Be angry; and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger" (Ephesians 4:26)

This verse tells us two important things – first off, God gives us permission to be angry at times! However, and secondly, there is a caveat – there is a way to express that anger that spills over into sinful activity. So, what are the "danger signs?"

For some answers, let’s look at 1 Corinthians (the “Love Chapter”):

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not... more

I really hope I make it to Heaven, because in my head, I live in a Utopian society – everyone does the right thing, rules are fair, and atrocities don’t exist.

If you’ve read my road trip series, you know my family loves the superstore circuit. Tonight, upon exiting our local superstore, we went to our car, only to find a really big ding to the back of it. No note, no nothing. I just couldn’t fathom why someone wouldn’t go into the store, or at least stick their card or a note under the windshield.

But, then again, I can’t fathom the tragedy... more

My birth child had a tonsillectomy last week (on Love Thursday, ironically!). Knowing that it might be a few days before he could talk again, we called the children we are adopting to let them know about their brother’s surgery, and give them an opportunity to talk before the surgery. Before hanging up, my daughter (who is 5 going on 35), asked me to call her to let her know how the surgery went.

I thought this “sisterly concern” was adorable, especially in light of the fact that the kids aren’t even here yet. Clearly, they have bonded over these many months of phone calls, letters and our road trip... more

Interesting article out of Hollywood today: Seems that Queen Latifah (born Dana Owens) has sparked a controversy about adoption. In reading her remarks, I thought she was very clear, articulate and went out of her way to defuse any offense. But it “just shows to go ya” that adoption is right up there with religion and politics in terms of discussion time-bombs!

In reading the comments under the blog article, it seems to me that some commentators took the star’s... more

Continuing our previous discussions about homeschooling, let's talk about online resources:

You don’t need a fancy or pricey curriculum to get started in homeschooling. Usually, each year before the beginning of the term, I will go to my State Department of Education website and download a copy of their curriculum standards as well as Scope and Sequence materials. I then use things I know interest my son to meet the content standards. For example, in... more

You would have to be the most isolated of hermits not to have heard the recent hoopla surrounding heiress Paris Hilton. However much media saturation she has received, I’ve heard almost as much about her permissive, over-indulgent parents. Whenever there is a tragedy, such as school shootings, or something just plain “outta whack,” as is the case of late with young Hollywood, we often look to the parents.

Why is that?

Parents are uniquely positioned to offer guidance, boundaries and a philosophical or ideological construct for children until they are able to do so for themselves. When parents fail to do this, or send mixed messages, children flounder. Are kids doomed to a... more

So you’ve decided you’d like to explore homeschooling – but where to begin?

First of all, though homeschooling is a legal educational option in all 50 states, each state does have its own specific statutes. Your first order of business is to find out the laws for your particular state. A few good websites are A to Z Home’s Cool, About.com,... more

In the early years of the homeschooling movement, many parents chose this educational option for religious reasons. Fast forward a few decades, and you’ll find homeschooling is practiced by many families for a wide variety of reasons. Some choose home education to support a specific ethno-centric world view. Others homeschool due to dissatisfaction with their local school system. Yet others opt to educate at home because they feel that children learn just by living daily life. Whatever the reason, homeschooling has gained mainstream popularity... more

Most of us know him as Abraham, but before God dubbed him the “father of all nations”, he was plain old Abram, and his life story provides a parallel for adoption:

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; (Genesis 12:1)

"The Lord said, 'Go forth'": I know in my own case, I wasn’t actively looking to adopt when... more