A new book about worship...family worship

So, I am always looking for good books. New research. New ideas. New ways to say old things. Books that explain something from a different angle. Books that challenge, inform, upend, encourage.

I'm usually pretty careful of two things. First, I am careful to not always read books by writers who are "on my team." It's important, I think, that we are reading things by writers who come from a different perspective, or by writers who we might think we won't agree with completely.

Second, I am careful to read books that have some "street cred." By that, I do not mean that a book must have the approval of all reviewers. I mean that they should be found respectable and worthy of engagement, even if someone does not agree with everything said.

Well, I found one such book that fits these criteria. And I offer it to you, parents and families, as a resource. Oh, and I'll be blogging and talking through it over the next several weeks. If you want to read along, I'd invite you to get a copy also.

Small Things.

A recent article from Bicycling Magazine focuses on eleven quick and simple changes that can positively affect one's bicycling life. The article suggests that small things--the things one might think are quite insignificant, that take really little time at all, that one can easily overlook--pay big dividends.

Like drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning.

One might not think that drinking a glass of H2O at first wake is a big deal. One might even be excused in thinking that a morning glass of water has less importance for one's bicycling. But such a small thing done regularly might make all the difference.

I believe it is no different for one's faith life and discipleship to Jesus--especially in the home.

Small things make a big difference.

Practicing the Fundamentals

Little League Baseball.

Several thoughts and images just went through your mind. Little boys and girls playing in the dirt. Running to third base instead of first base after hitting the ball. Eight kids running to the ball in the outfield when someone hits it, and the one who gets it jumps up and yells, "I got it!" 

Here’s one thing: little league kids need to have regular practice in the fundamentals of the game.

If they don’t, they throw the ball all over the field, swing at bad pitches, and forget what to do with the ball if it is hit to them. Good plays are more by accident than not.

Mind the Steps

This past fall I walked my daughter into a new school. She's in middle school now. It's a new stage--for her, for my wife, and for me. And it's a new stage for her two younger brothers. They look at her differently now. My wife and I see her differently also. I still haven't adjusted to the previous changes and transitions as she's grown up. I'm still wishing she were in a stroller.

We can't stop the turning of days or the physical, mental, and emotional growth and change we all experience. Such growth and change is a necessary part of life. You stop growing and changing, and you stop living.