Rite of passage: Fear not
You may recall that I recently shared about the demise of our grandsons’ little swimming pool. It developed a leak, and I fixed it with some tape, but the adhesive came off the tape and embedded itself in their hands and feet. It took me the greater part of a morning to scrape the gunk off. To celebrate the grand reopening of their little pool, I bought some cupcakes with plastic shark fins sunk into blue-and-white icing. Since Tulsa...
Rite of passage: Old school
Titus the Honorable is just two months shy of 7 years old. Oh, how the time has flown! Your children grow up fast, but your grandchildren zoom by faster than a small-town parade. During my 47 years of working with students, I have noticed different classes or groups of them, based largely based upon their personality and their Creator’s design. First are the “rushers.” These are the students who have more compassion than they know...
Rite of Passage: Village people
One of the things I have missed most about being retired, and now with COVID-19 limiting travel, is engaging with unreached people groups. Even though I am no longer the head of a mission organization, I can still do mission work. Some of my best times on the mission fields have taken place while living in remote villages. I became a student of their ways and learned what happens when all of modern society is stripped away. On my...
Rite of passage: Happiness is overrated
After being a grandparent for six years, I am losing my touch when it comes to keeping my grandsons happy. It was easy when I only had one; it was challenging with two; and it is impossible with three. I don’t even want to think about it with a half-dozen. Of course, I’m talking about keeping my grandsons happy when they’re all together. I am more successful when only one grandson visits. I know that child’s interests, his likes and...
Rite of passage: Times have changed
After taking thousands of students to the mission field, I noticed a pattern. In days gone by, most of the students could count change in their head. With the inventions of computers and cash registers, the average cashier lets the machine do the work. Growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, learning how to make change was an essential part of life’s training. I really didn’t have to think about it. If I sold an item for $3.12 and the buyer...
