Monthly Archives: September 2009

8 posts

Trusting What is Unseen

If you fly on an airplane or travel any distance by ship, your safety hinges on what is unseen. This may not sound accurate, since the pilot flying the plane looks through a window and the captain of the ship stands on the ship’s bridge to view the waters ahead. But visual recognition, particularly on long journeys, is not the most helpful means of navigation. In fact, trusting what is seen in these situations often leads to disaster. (It is true that ocean-going ships can use the stars for navigation, but modern electronic positioning is the more dominant form.) For successful and safe directions on long trips in this modern era, trusting what is unseen is vital. For a journey […]

Why is Sin Attractive?

Sin is deceptive. Parents, this is one truth that should never be far from your thoughts. Sin never presents itself for what it is. Anger appears to be a just response when one is wronged. A lie seems to be the easy way out of a difficult situation. This is the nature of sin. It seems to be the right thing to do at the moment. No matter how long you live, sin will present itself in this way.

Different Continent, Same Issues

I have had the privilege of speaking with parents here in the U.K. about teenagers the last several days. Despite the different geographic and cultural settings the main issues are the same – how do parents effectively reach the heart of their teenagers? The matters are of the heart are indeed universal. I have been talking about the role of influence in the lives of teenagers. Ultimately, your influence as a parent is the most important tool at  your disposal as you help your teenagers to honor God.

Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road – I think?

It is easy to confuse the absolutes of life with personal preferences. Because of this it is also easy to make relationships with others, particularly our teenagers, more difficult than they need to be. For example, take driving on the right side of the road. This is, of course, the right way to drive; unless you happen to be in the United Kingdom. Here, as you know, they drive on the left side of the road, the “wrong” side of the road. But is it really the wrong side? While is against the law to drive on the left side of the road in the United States, it turns out that this law is actually a national preference rather than […]

Are Fires Angry

The recent wild fires near Los Angeles have prompted the news media to return to a favorite theme concerning natural disasters. On-line news sites such as USA Today and Fox News referred to the out-of-control California fires as angry; USA Today ran a headline on September 1 that labeled the largest of the fires as very angry. As the fires began to be less intense later on Tuesday, CNN reported that Mike Dietrich, the U.S. Forest Service’s incident commander, said, “I feel a lot more optimistic today than I did yesterday. Yesterday I characterized the fire as ‘angry,’ today I’m going to characterize it as “cranky. “

Are You Safe?

Today is September 11, 2009. “Are you safe?” seems like a good question to consider on the 8th anniversary of the Al Qaeda attack. I remember the morning of September 11, 2001. I left the house early to follow my son to the mechanic’s shop where he was to have some work done on his car. I was listening to the radio as we drove through the countryside. The local talk station was playing on my car radio. About half way to the mechanic’s, the morning talk show host interrupted his discussion of some local topic to report that apparently a small plane had just flown into one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York. The […]

Formative Instruction – Practical Examples

Here some practical ways to implement Tedd Tripp’s first important truth for parents–Formative Instruction. This term sounds formal and structured. But actually, for formative instruction to be truly effective, it must be taught in the informal classroom of life. As Instructing a Child’s Heart teaches, children need you to provide a constant interpretation of life events. Understanding this truth is essential to your ability to provide formative instruction that is positive and points toward the cross.

Four Truths for Your Family

Formative Instruction I recently had the opportunity to do a radio interview with Tedd Tripp. I asked Tedd what four truths he considers most vital for Christian families to embrace in their parenting. Given that Tedd has become a recognized and trusted authority on the subject of training children, his insights are worth thinking about. In today’s post we will consider the first of these four truths–the importance of formative instruction.