Entries by Veritas Academy of Tucson

I Do Not Cease to Give Thanks

“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…” (Ephesians 1:16) The issue of expressing gratitude came up in a family… we’ll call it a “discussion” recently. The spirit of the debate was more about the motivation behind giving gifts:  Do we give them with the expectation of receiving acknowledgement/gratitude, […]

Staying Off the Rollercoaster

Staying Off the Rollercoaster — Have you ever felt that trying to keep up with your child’s moods and behaviors is like riding on a rollercoaster? I remember the old-time rollercoaster. Slowly the car would climb to the top of the first peak. Even though it was slow, we knew the inevitable plunge was coming, that […]

The Word of God as Our Standard

I have been burdened by an issue that seems to be creeping out of our secular world and into our religious organizations: How can we disagree respectfully? How can we handle our differences like Christians? I was at an ACSI Leadership Conference this week and was dismayed to learn that pastors, school administrators, and teachers […]

American Noise

I had the incredible privilege of spending the day with the School of Rhetoric students on October 8th at the Triangle Y Ranch Camp and Retreat Center in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains near Oracle. Here’s what I can report: The theme of the retreat was “American Noise.” Mr. Hardeman spoke passionately about God’s […]

In Koinonia With You

Koinonia is defined as Christian fellowship or communion, with God or, more commonly, with fellow Christians. This word, from the Greek word κοινωνία, popped into my head this week along with “community.” I get to be a part of this koinonia throughout the day, and I see it happening all over campus. Moms stay behind […]

Becoming Is a Journey*

In numerous places in the New Testament, it is stated that we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29 for example). This transformation is from one degree of glory to the next into His likeness (1 Cor. 3:18). This becoming is God’s work in us by the working of His […]

On the Same Team

I’ve spent some time watching your kids play during their lunch recess period. The Gaga Ball Pit is like a magnet, seeming to pull children from the ramada over to it as quickly as possible. After being assured that they did, indeed, eat their lunch first, I allow students to play. Here are some of […]

Friendship & Community

This week, the themes of friendship and community kept revealing themselves to me in different forms.  Proverbs 17:17a says, “A friend loves at all times.” I received a beautiful cross with this phrase on it from a dear friend, just because. It’s not even my birthday! 1 Corinthians 12:14 states, “For the body does not […]

More Than a School

Well, here we are! Another school year has begun. When my boys were young I was convinced that June and July flew by at warp speed. I’m guessing that many of you are wondering where the summer went as you loaded up your children for their first day of school on Friday. As a military […]

Set Apart Kids

Often our children would question, “Why can’t we do what other kids get to do?” “Why isn’t our family like other families? They let their kids watch ________ or go to ______, etc.” And this was before parents were getting their 11 year olds SmartPhones and Facebook and Twitter accounts. I can’t imagine what pressure […]

Character Counts

Man, that hurts! I was thinking after a person blasted my reputation by sending out letters to every person in her current and former Bible studies. This lady’s Bible study leader and I had come to an impasse on a doctrinal/practical living disagreement. She was sorely disappointed that I did not take her side in […]

The Irony of COEXIST 

Being older gives me a bit of historical perspective. I remember the time in the Sixties when college professors were pleading for tolerance and academic freedom so that their Marxist values could be expressed in the classroom. The argument was that college students should be exposed to a diversity of opinions and robust discussion of different […]

Building a Treasure Chest of Wisdom

Many of us can remember pithy sayings — those short direct comments that were full of meaning — from our parents or grandparents. My grandparents relied heavily on Poor Richard’s Almanac or apocryphal statements like: Cleanliness is next to Godliness. My mother seemed resistant to the idea of passing along wisdom, lest she impose her value system […]