Thursday, June 27, 2024

Enjoy the Long Days of Summer




By the time July rolls around, summer is in full swing. Most people have already experienced a family trip, Vacation Bible School, and pool fun. With the newness of summer worn off, it’s easy for families to fall into a summer slump. The good intentions of the projects we hoped to get done, the books we planned to read, or the family bonding time we envisioned might slip through our fingers.

July is a good time to take inventory. Exactly six months have passed since the New Year tolled and we confidently made resolutions. The holidays seem like eons away from the hot days of mid-summer. In July, children and teenagers may fall into a rut of accomplishing nothing and vegging out on television and video games.

Moses prayed that the Lord would teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts. (See Psalm 90:12.) Even in the lazy days of summer, let’s not become sloths. We can model for our children how to use our time productively. Here are four ways we can live intentionally this summer.

Evaluate and organize.

July is a great time for midyear assessment. Are we still on track for any of the goals we set in January? Realistically, what do we hope to accomplish in the second half of the year?

When July heat drives us indoors, we can spend time tidying our lives. Pick a project. Maybe the digital pictures need to be sorted, filed, and saved several times. Make a big stack of clothes to give away.

Set spiritual goals for the remainder of the year. Each summer I evaluate what I hope to accomplish at church in the fall as well as what writing projects need my attention.

Connect with your church.

Though your church’s schedule may be toned down in the summer, don’t let your connection with the Body of Christ wane. One sad reality in our day is that Christians attend worship on Sundays less than they did in past decades.

The Bible says that Sunday is the Lord’s Day — it belongs to Him. Prioritize worshiping with your church family on Sunday when you are in town. Don’t forget to give financially to your fellowship. Summer tends to be the hardest time for a church’s income. Look for ways to serve in your church during the hot summer days. Substitute Sunday School teachers or small group leaders may be needed as families take vacations.

Attempt to get to know some people in your church. Plan to go out to eat together on Sundays. Invite a senior adult or widow in your church over for a meal. Host a short-term prayer group or Bible study in your home. Linger after the worship service and talk.

Take one-on-one trips.

My wife and I schedule same-gender trips with our children one-on-one during the summer. We try to make the get-aways fun without spending tons of money. Last summer, my 14-year-old and I kayaked on the French Broad River in Asheville, N.C., through the Biltmore Estate. One year we went to the National Whitewater Center in Charlotte for some water fun.

We set time aside for much-needed bonding between father and son and mother and daughter. We look forward to the trips all year. We also intentionally use the trips to discuss any pressing issues confronting our children. When my son was 11, we had the “birds and the bees” discussion on our overnight trip, using James Dobson’s Preparing for Adolescence. We try to talk with them about things that matter without making the time too heavy or pushy. It’s one of the few moments during our year that we can leisurely spend time together with no real agenda other than connecting.

Don’t forget to play.

We’ve heard it said that the family that prays together stays together. But it’s also true that the family that plays together stays together. Without the routine of school, ball practice, and music rehearsals, summer provides margin for families. During the school year, parents have to be responsible for keeping our kids on task for all of those engagements. So for the summer, let’s be responsible for making sure our family plays!

Find some local points of interest to visit. Our family takes several Saturdays each summer and finds waterfalls in upstate South Carolina. They provide cool refreshment on hot afternoons. Have “no electronic nights” when you play board games and charades or tell stories.

Get friends together, cook out, eat watermelon, and stay up late chasing fireflies. When our children are adults, they won’t remember much about our work and responsibilities. They will remember times when we played together as a family.


Read Some Books, by Tracey Wilson

I love summer, and I love to read. As a homeschool mom, I treasure summer time to curl up on the couch with a good book. I watch my children nestled in their Enos in the woods, reading a thrilling adventure story.

During summer, we have to catch ourselves from falling into the habit of spending all day watching movies and playing video games. Reading is a fantastic alternative.

We read biographies together. The Christian Heroes and the Heroes of History series from YWAM Publishing provide great treasures for family reading. This year we have George Washington, William Wilberforce, Elisabeth Elliot, Clara Barton, and C. S. Lewis on our list.

Give your older children reading assignments for the summer and then discuss together their reading adventures.


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Wednesday, June 26, 2024

D.E.I. or Character, Proven Record, and Wisdom?

 

“Equity is just the opposite of equality. It has come to mean the government administering justice unequally depending on what race you are or what ethnic category the Census Bureau has put you in. 

It is the opposite of the government treating you on a colorblind basis. Inclusion really just leads to speech codes. You lose your right to speech because you cannot say something that might discomfort others.” So says Mike Gonzalez of the Heritage Foundation.



Many Americans share concern about the massive wave of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, critical race theory, identity politics, and other movements making our culture more “woke.”

Here are a number of articles and resources sharing that concern:

The Diversity Delusion: How Race and Gender Pandering Corrupt the University and Undermine our Culture by Heather MacDonald

When RaceTrumps Merit: How the Pursuit of Equity Sacrifices Excellence, Destroys Beauty,and Threatens Lives by Heather MacDonald

Biden’s HHS Pushes ‘Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility’ Agenda to Racialize Government by Kevin Mooney




DeSantis Tackles Divisive ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ Programs on College Campuses by Lindsey Burke

The appalling ideology of diversity, inclusion and equity is demolishing education and business by Jordan Peterson

DEI Training: Harmful, Phony, And Expensive by Rod Dreher

The Problem with DEI by Andy Cosner


Monday, June 24, 2024

How to Spend Time with the Lord




 One of the most valuable habits of the Christian's life is that of what evangelicals have called "the quiet time - spending time alone with the Lord in biblical meditation.


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Friday, June 14, 2024

Celebrating Flag Day

 

In 1949, Congress approved a joint resolution formally establishing June 14 as Flag Day to commemorate the day that the Stars and Stripes became the official symbol of the United States of America.

Nearly 250 years ago, on June 14, 1777, the Continental
Congress in Philadelphia adopted a resolution to establish the official flag of our Republic. Embroiled in the Revolutionary War, with the drafting of the Articles of Confederation underway, the Founders shifted their focus to pass the Flag Act that read: “Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”

The adoption of the Stars and Stripes as our young nation’s flag was a powerful symbol to the world, representing the unity, determination, and grit of the American colonists as they faced the formidable British Empire.

Read the entire article by Callista Gingrich here.

Also, see Eric Metaxas' Remembrance and Ritual on Flag Day.


Image courtesy of Pexels

Friday, June 7, 2024

America Has Its First Show Trial

 

"To understand the damage done by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Judge Juan Merchan, and the Manhattan jury in the Donald Trump corporate records trial, one must first understand the most important rule of modern life: Everything the Left touches it destroys.

The Justice Department and the American legal system are only the most immediate examples. . . .

We are bequeathing our children and grandchildren a completely different country than the one our parents, grandparents and Founders bequeathed to us."

Read the entire article by Dennis Prager here. Dennis Prager here. 


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Picture used courtesy of Pixabay

Thursday, June 6, 2024

The Fake Conviction

 

"Americans are now being forced to think through the first fake conviction in the history of presidential politics.

As an historian, I am really bothered when I hear lawyers on television describe these proceedings as though they were somehow related to the rule of law and the normal legal process.

It is clear that what happened to President Donald J. Trump in Judge Juan Merchan’s court was not a legitimate conviction. Nearly every element of the prosecution was false. Therefore, the outcome is false."

Read the entire article by Newt Gingrich here.

Also, you may find the following articles helpful:

America Has Its First Show Trial

Judge Merchan Threatens the American People


Picture used courtesy of Pixabay

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Judge Merchan Threatens the American People

 


Judge Juan Merchan’s dictatorial behavior in rigging the trial against President Donald Trump is not only a threat to the former president.

President Trump is only one person. While the threat to him is real,
Judge Merchan is also threatening 332 million Americans.

Merchan threatens the entire structure of the Constitution and the rule of law. He clearly violated the Eighth Amendment requirement that citizens have the right to know with what crime they are being charged.

Read the entire article here by Newt Gingrich.


Picture used courtesy of Pixabay