"Oh, Mama," said my then four-year-old son joyfully, "I love Jesus, and you love Jesus, and ... oh, everyone loves Jesus!" Ever have a similarly sweet-yet-challenging parenting moment? "Well, Jed," I explained, "Umm ... not everyone loves Jesus." Eyes wide and hands on hips, Jed demanded, "Who doesn't love Jesus?" I figured my preschooler needed a simple, concrete example. "You know Mikey across the street? I don't think his parents have ever told him about ... hold on, Jed, wait! Come back!" I'm not sure how Jed planned to set Mikey straight, but I thought we'd better have Continue Reading

The professor stepped back to check the spelling of the word he'd just written on the chalkboard. "There should be two u's in Weltanschauung," I ventured timidly. All heads turned my direction. I was the only underclassman in the small Ancient History class (and the only girl). The professor grabbed an eraser and added a "u." My classmates groaned. They feared I was brilliant and would ruin the class curve. What they didn't know is that German was my first language. "Weltanschauung" is German for worldview, or the lens through which we view life. Everyone has a worldview. Continue Reading

If I asked, "Do you think you pray enough for your kids?", my guess is you'd say no. Or maybe you'd say you don't feel very good at praying for them. Maybe your best shot is, "Thank you, Jesus, that I didn't kill them today. Again." When it comes to prayer,  a little structure can be super helpful. One of my favorite ways to pray for my children, and now my grandchildren, is to pray the Scriptures over them. Here's one idea: the book of Proverbs has 31 chapters, one for each day of the month. Read a chapter a day, and then choose one or more verses and personalize them as a prayer Continue Reading

Eighteen-month-old Aviella pushes her new doll stroller while three-year-old Reuel sets up his “Planes” smoke jumpers’ course. The adults chat over wine. It’s a nice little Christmas celebration –except we’re about to find out it’s much more than that. We’re gathered to celebrate an early Christmas with our son Sam and his new bride, since they are slated to spend Christmas with Jamé’s family. After a sumptuous meal, we make our way to the living room to exchange a few gifts. Sam searches for a music video; Danny plugs his phone into the stereo to play it.  Cloverton’s Continue Reading