The Corrosion Effect

“I’ll be happy to stay with the class until the she arrives,” I offered.  My child’s elementary teacher was running late from an early morning meeting and hadn’t made it back to the classroom in time to greet the students.  No biggee.  As a parent, I am certainly capable of monitoring 20 young students while they unpack backpacks and prepare for the morning’s lessons.  It would only be a matter of minutes before the teacher arrived. This would be  easy – or so I thought.

Stop Sitting Still in Church!

I grew up in a legalistic church where skirts for girls were required, hair over a boy’s ear was forbidden, and musical instruments in worship were scandalous.  Although I was allowed to participate in an underground Amy Grant album exchange, my family characteristically abided by the demands of the church.  Especially on Sunday.

Field Day Dawning

It was perfect weather for Field Day.  Slightly overcast, but sunny and warm.  The threat of a shower was in the air, but never really developed into anything except a refreshing sprinkle near the end of the day. My mind, however, wasn’t on the weather.

Crimes Against Humanity

Recently, our pastor challenged us to live our Christian life in the “No Spin Zone” (to borrow a phrase from The O’Reilly Factor.  In other words, our daily walk should be authentic.  There should be no reason for a follower of Jesus Christ to put external “spin” on their personal beliefs, choices, or actions in order to get them to seemingly “fit” within the values espoused by the Christian faith.  Plain and simple.  Do I live that kind of life?  Can I avoid the cultural pressures to conform, and live day-to-day steadfast to biblical truth?

As a people-pleaser by nature, I know I sometimes struggle with “standing out.”  It is easy to succumb to preserving my “image” in order to avoid the uncomfortable tension of being “out there,” standing up for something on my own.  However, my Christan faith often calls me to that exact place.

A Fairy Blunder

In our house, the “tooth fairy” wears man pants, is prone to 5’oclock shadow, and has an alternate ego as a salesman with high travel demands.

I don’t know how or why it happened, but somehow that one fell into the “Daddy-do” side of our job delegations. I suspect it’s related to the fact that he conducts the lock down each night (putting the dog in the kennel, checking the doors, setting the alarm, etc.). Part of his nightly rounds includes peeking at our girls to ensure their safety and well-being. I guess if he’s the last one checking on them, it seemed logical that he perform the monetary exchange for any newly lost teeth. He’s going in there anyway, right?