Encouragement Is the Oxygen that Vitalizes Everything We Do: Parents, thank you so much for your show of support to all of us on staff through your Christmas cards, treats and gifts!! You can’t believe how much we appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity. These signs of encouragement lift our spirits and the burdens of the semester-ending […]
The Limitations of the Golden Rule… Jesus taught in Matthew 7:12 — “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” This is so basic that it resonates with almost any audience — adults and children alike, the very wealthy and […]
Raising Children in an Insane World: Do you ever wonder how things in our culture/country have drifted so far from our Judeo-Christian heritage? Do you ever struggle to know how best to prepare your children for the moral anarchy that is all around us? What is going on out there? For many of us, we have […]
Most of the time we think that a tattletale is a bad thing. We tell our children not to tattle. We tell them that nobody likes a tattletale. (As if having people like us is an appropriate motivation.) And we even have little punishments for a tattletale. But, have you ever thought that there is […]
When I was a baby Christian, I was deeply impressed by the book of Acts. Peter, John, James and Paul were like these super heroes to me. They faced off their enemies without even flinching, even challenging nose to nose the Jewish Supreme Court that had ordered the execution of their beloved Lord and Savior, […]
Perhaps you missed the Brush and Nib case, or you heard about it and didn’t see how it related to you. But look again. Two Christian young ladies in their mid-twenties took on the city of Phoenix and its discriminatory “anti-discrimination laws” and won at the AZ Supreme Court! I will touch on some of the very […]
Jesus Plays Volleyball: Seriously, I did not know this. But I wandered into the gym and saw the girls practicing volleyball displaying this truth — “Even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to SERVE!” Who knew? Days Seldom Go as Planned, but Sometimes They Go Better! We often are so absorbed with our […]
We were studying Colossians 3:1-3 today in Sunday school: “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Suddenly, […]
Your Values Are Showing! My daughter Abby was so embarrassed. She had a long-time friend come over to assist her with the latest foster parenting challenge. Two sisters for whom they had cared in the Summer of ’18 had returned to their home after a year’s absence. Her friend was helping watch the girls in the […]
“Ask me the third week of school.” …was my stock answer when asked, “How’s it going?” at the start of the school year. I figured that by the time we got through Pre-Service Campus Teacher Training and Paideia, our family and satellite classroom teacher training, and the fits and starts of getting things up and running, […]
“Everybody starts with an A!” I announced to the class. I was thinking also, “And everyone is my teacher’s pet, as well.” That is how most of us start with each new class. Teachers normally want every child to succeed, every child to be his or her favorite, each class to be the favorite class of […]
The Virtue of Guiding Philosophies and Principles Every year I have the unwanted task of reading through and editing our policies and protocols in our various handbooks/manuals. I must confess that I don’t always reread the “permanent part” of our manuals, the unchanging philosophies and principles. After all, I won’t be changing them, so why […]
Blessings from Rigorous Training! There were many blessings across the board during this year’s Paideia. Encouragement overflowed from Ellen Schuknecht’s ministry among us, parent to parent training was chock-filled with practical suggestions and inspiration for the home days, and the time to connect with one’s teacher informed expectations and surely laid a groundwork for future healthy […]
My daughters were both in track and it was fun to watch them as a team celebrate the end of their races and the end of the meet as well. First place runners were highly celebrated. But the other runners were also met with team members who embraced them regardless of their finish. All of […]
This is the time of year when students and teachers (both home and campus) tend to find their strength and focus waning. We’re almost done with the school year, we reason, how critical is what we are learning in these last couple of weeks? As a public school teacher, I saw this end-of-the-year malaise take […]
The Bible is full of allusions to the Christian life as warfare. Hopefully, we are fully aware that Satan bombards our thinking with temptations and lies to pull us off the track of living holy lives, fully dedicated to Jesus. However, there is another urgent aspect of warfare living for which we need to be […]
Resurrection Sunday! What a great time of worship and affirmation of the faith. The preacher reminds us all of the historical event that changed all of history and millions of lives. We greet each other, “He Is Risen!” And most know to parrot back, “He Is Risen Indeed!” But do we really believe it? I […]
At our Info Meetings, Christi often shares about the strength of working together in the process of making disciples. After covering the inner workings of the partnership between campus teacher and co-teacher, she then extols the benefits of the Veritas community, using as an illustration a phenomenon she observed on top of Mt. Lemmon. One […]
I trust your Lord’s Day yesterday was a blessing to you and your entire family. It is great to be refreshed by fellowship and strengthened and challenged by the teaching of God’s Word. I have been blessed to be on the receiving end of preaching after 35 years dishing it out. Well, mostly blessed… You […]
Most of us would be quick to answer — Jesus! But does the reality match the goal? Many have shifted to a Child-Centric or Kid-Centric home. The children’s interests and the child’s happiness are paramount. Children are consulted before most decisions under the guise of, “They need to learn to make wise choices.” But parents are […]
Have you ever thought about feedback and why we give it? Usually, we give feedback when something needs fixing. We are disappointed with something, so we mention it in hopes that things will improve in the future. But often we neglect to mention the good things. A wise friend once told me, you can’t make […]
Though shocked at the news and personalities (I had always liked Aunt Becky and Mayor Abigail Stanton–I guess no more lectures on integrity to Henry Gowen or the new saloon owner– “around Hope Valley our word is our bond”), most of us watch this scandal unfolding and unfolding and unfolding and think, “Well, this does […]
“Yeah, you’ll probably always walk with a limp.” the orthopedic doc declared when I was nearly 13 years old and had just gotten out of a cast for my broken leg. “What?! I’m just a kid,” I said mournfully. “Yes, but a kid who won’t listen to advice,” he shrugged. “I’ll listen, I’ll listen, honest!” He […]
Last night’s Academy Awards reminded me that we, as believers in our Lord Jesus, are often going against the current of the popular culture. These Awards and many like it have become a prominent display of our culture’s values and the glorification of things that would offend God. I try not to be overly obnoxious […]
One of the best ways for me to be reminded of the great gift that Veritas is for us is to talk with prospective parents. As these parents ask questions looking for what makes us special, I get to outline anew the things that we hold dear. One of them is that We Are Veritas. […]
Co-Laboring Apprentices in a Dance with the Lord; that is the most that any of us are, our keynote speaker said. The words resonated with me. “We are co-laboring with the Holy Spirit and apprentices of our Master.” That is really true, I thought. Like Kyle, I don’t know what I am doing more often than I […]
How to Train Prayer Warriors — Prayer is a mystery. God invites us to pray, promises to answer our prayers under certain conditions, and yet has everything under His sovereign control from the Beginning to the End. AND, God powerfully uses prayer in His processes. It is enough to know this in order for me to […]
Training Mental Ninja Warriors? Several discussions in the last week have brought me to the conclusion that our curriculum design, especially our Latin classes, do just this. I was talking to one student who seemed totally unmotivated to apply himself to his Latin class and struggling for an illustration to explain its benefits. American Ninja […]
Spiritual Encouragement from Unlikely Places… At times it is fun to discover God working in parts of our culture on which we have given up. One of those places is professional football. We hear so much about domestic violence in players families, drug abuse that sidelines a player or DUIs, or over-the-top materialism. However, God is at […]
You’re Not the Boss of Me! is often the cry of a diminutive child pushing back against an adult authority figure such as a parent or teacher. The little one is raising a big stink because he or she is not being allowed to have his/her own way. The underlying cause, however, is not unique to […]
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