Bear with me. This will make sense in a moment. I got a new car this year. Gently used, actually. I turned in the keys to the family van that had been mine, a well-worn 2002 Honda Odyssey. Sally wisely declared that at 61 it was time for me to have a bit more manly…
This morning we were sick together. I heard you at five stepping down the last four wooden steps in the dark, barefoot and concerned, dragging your striped blanket. Something wasn’t right. You knew it. You crawled in bed beside me, buried the fevered weight of your forehead into the white softs of my inner arms,…
The thought comes in various moments; sitting at dinner, driving across town, lying awake at night: God has entrusted me with the care of a beautiful woman, two precious girls, and a dear little man. What the heck was He thinking? Please, someone tell me I’m not the best we have. Isn’t there someone wiser,…
The little people in your life may be different ages than mine, but I’ll bet my to-do list rings a bell anyway: Prepare meals Trick your kids into eating them Hunt for what’s missing Fix what’s broken Spread art supplies on table Clean art supplies off floor Find the source of the smell Shoe little…
Spontaneity doesn’t come naturally to me. My mind is linear and logical, sometimes to a fault. I live in the realm of the practical. Flying by the seat of my pants just makes me woozy. Children do not understand this. To them, life is all imagination, curiosity, and magic. This makes a simple thing like…
In their book, Bless This House: Prayers For Families And Children, Gregory and Suzanne Wolfe write about how “mornings seem to be the special province of young children”, about how it’s hard for parents to keep up with the incredible energies of a child freshly awake. Bethany and I know this first hand. Coulter has more…
Editor’s Note: Today marks our first week of posting solely on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Today, I regret to inform you, is Monday. But here’s a beautiful post to help you survive and –can it be possible?– delight in it. See part 1 of Rebecca’s Art of Days here. —————————- It is not easy to…
Hello reader, and welcome to day four of Story Warren’s Andrew Peterson Appreciation Week. If you’ve somehow found yourself here and you’re wondering “Who the heck is Andrew Peterson, and what’s the big deal?” Then today is your lucky day. Andrew Peterson is one of the creative treasures of our generation, and he has just…
I am at my best as a parent when I remember that I am also a needy child. Whether I remember or not, I need my Father in heaven every day for grace, forgiveness, comfort, patience… you name it, I need him for it. When I forget my need for him, it shows up in…
I know this is not really “Imaginational,” but it’s funny and very close to home for some of us. Enjoy! See some others. The above has been the bane of our parenting sojourn, but “The Stalker” also rings a bell. (Click to enlargenificate.) …
How I loved pre-child Saturdays! After five days working in the office, I found it almost ambrosial to sleep in late, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and share long conversations with my wife. “Enjoy it while you can,” my old college roommate told me not long after he had his second kid. “That stuff all goes…
My kids and I saw quite a sight at the library the other day. It was an impressive display of mimicry and showboating by a rather cocky young fellow on the rooftop patio. He strutted around with his chest puffed out, trying to impress a girl. He was unabashed in his affection for her. She…
