Is there a middle ground between being all in for Jesus and being in rebellion against Him? Is there a place for someone to be just a good, decent believer but not a zealot? Can’t I just be going around my daily life seeking to do good without having to make Jesus Lord over every […]
Kids take their cues from us to a large extent. Something happens and they look to us on how to react. Think of a child falling down and getting a little scrape. He or she is rattled, but looks up to Mom or Dad to find out — is this a big deal? Is this […]
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 […]
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 […]
Whining drives almost every parent crazy. It is often triggered with just one little word — No. No matter how one delivers this verdict, no matter how nicely and considerate of our young child’s desire, the whining can begin… “But, Mooooom!” The vowels are drawn out and the voice reaches supersonic frequencies. My 7th grade […]
Do you ever feel provoked by the claims of one group or another against the person or “side” that you support? Or have you ever felt very strongly about an issue, even with your own family, and you want to give the other person both barrels of your opinion/your set of facts? Even more important, […]
It’s been no secret that I am a Kansas City Chiefs fan from my stint as a pastor in the KC area. Along with the Chiefs fans back at my old church we had a wild ride this year. Patrick Mahomes had a wild ride, too: awarded huge contracts, commentators touting him as the future […]
One of the main things that attracted me to my wife Linda when I first got to know her 48 years ago, was her unique sense of humor, much of it accidental. Just the other day she was chatting with her snowed-in sister Kathy up in Big Bay, MI. Kathy was complaining that her dog […]
As a Classical School, we often tout that we want our children to think critically. How do we do this when times are such as these? Part of us wants to teach and preach about our thoughts and feelings about current events. We figure that if we repeat our talking points often enough, we are training […]
Many families try to read through the Bible with their children only to be stopped short at Genesis 18-19, the sad story of Lot and his family. Suddenly the G story becomes more PG and even R-rated! Things come up that no one wants to explain to young children — the men of the city wanting to […]
Have you been losing sleep this year after watching mobs take over the streets or invade the Capitol building? Have you become angry when hearing distortions on all sides being projected through the media? Do you fear what is going to happen to our country or even our children as events unfold around us; events […]
Each Thanksgiving we gather in a circle and take turns saying what we are thankful for. But the value of this activity extends beyond one meal a year. We have often talked about the importance of gratitude and its impact in encouraging one another and our family members. Developing the simple habit of thanking others creates a […]
What can you get out of a daily Bible Reading of just 20 minutes a day? No matter what is going on, I do not let myself go to sleep without my discipline of 20-25 minutes a day reading through the Bible. (Yes, even as late as I stay up.) Some have criticized this “shallow” reading […]
As I think about this last week, I have realized that our country is filled with strong emotions on all sides, but deeply polarized in these feelings. Some are celebrating like in the scene in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy’s house fell on one of the Wicked Witch of the East, dancing and singing, “Ding-dong […]
What a time we live in! And the election is tomorrow. Am I alone in spending time speculating what might be the reactions in our country to one outcome or another? Not only do we have to wonder how the loser and his followers might react, but I remember riots when a city’s team wins […]
While listening to Prof. Greg Koukl at this weekend’s Apologetics Conference, I realized that his comments on witnessing also provided insights for us as parents. He said, “I’m a gardener, not a harvester.” It struck a chord with me as I remembered Jesus’ Parable of the Sower. In this parable, Jesus actually describes four soils […]
I came across this verse in my QT two nights ago: But Jesus called them to Himself, and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be […]
Our daughter Hope was an addict… to pacifiers. Anybody else have that? She could not get to sleep without one. Many a night we had to search the house from top to bottom to find the Binky so she would finally stop crying and fall peacefully to sleep. One road trip, somehow we got to […]
As the election nears and news from all sides gets worse and worse, nearly apocalyptic, “This election could mark the end of democracy as we know it.”, perhaps we need to take a breath. Who are we? What is our mission? What gives us peace and purpose? First and foremost, we are believers in the […]
When a devastating act of evil occurs like 9/11, even believers can be shaken in their faith. The toll in human life is hard to wrap one’s mind around and the pain even in the lives of the survivors seems unending. At times like this, our preparation and training needs to be strong so that […]
As part of remembering 9/11, my wife Linda DVRs History Channel documentaries of the events. As we watch them, we are struck anew at the incredible care for one another and courage on display by first responders and co-workers of those in the Twin Towers. In one documentary, it focused on spouses and parents at […]
Living in a Cornfield? My wife and I often used that statement to encourage the other spouse to stop talking about adult things in front of the kids. Our point was to remind each other that we were surrounded by little ears. Usually, we would follow this up shortly after with a walk when our children […]
One of Margo’s latest hashtags is #VeritasUnited. I got to thinking about that. This is definitely our goal and something our enemy works non-stop to prevent. He would love to destroy the best parts of Veritas — our caring, supportive community. He sneaks around in our minds, sowing seeds of division, since he knows that […]
Over the weekend, we have had a drill of our emergency response system with a possible COVID contact on campus. At 7:41 AM Sunday morning, I got the email I was both expecting and dreading — “I am your teacher and I have a fever of 105.” Immediately, my brain was scrambling through all of the […]
Have you been stunned by any of the recent defections from the faith? I was stunned to learn that Joshua Harris of I Kissed Dating Goodbye fame and nationally known pastor and speaker had renounced Christianity. I also learned recently of a similar falling away by Jon Steingard, the frontman for the Christian rock band Hawk […]
We often think of parents discipling their children. But have you thought that discipling our children begins with discipling ourselves? In Deuteronomy 6 God starts with the parents: “These commands that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Teach them diligently to your children…” Deut. 6:6-7 It starts with each one of […]
One friend of mine was always ready with a comment when things would not go as planned — “If you want to make God laugh, make plans!” I often did not appreciate her snarky sense of humor, especially when major adjustments had to be made in very important plans. But, I began to see the wisdom […]
As we continue through this pandemic environment, I sometimes wonder what the long-term effects this will have on all of us. The other day I had a meeting of adults, everyone wearing masks, and I went around and squeezed out a little hand sanitizer for everyone. They all dutifully rubbed it on their hands thoroughly. […]
Please see our VAT Biosecurity Proposal for information about our plan going into the 2020-2021 academic school year in light of COVID-19.
Often we work hard at many things. We also fight mightily against earthly and spiritual forces, and even fight our own internal battles between the flesh and the Spirit. Unfortunately, while working hard and fighting battles, we often box aimlessly beating the air. (1 Corinthians 9:26) One place that God tells us to strive diligently is for “the […]
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