Mr. Visionary and I talk a lot. He was born to explain, exhort and encourage. It is a gift. I was born to question, condemn and complain. It is not a gift, per se, it is…ummm…an inherited trait. In any case, we talk a lot, with myself usually asking questions, and he usually […]

Have you ever had one of those moments, spiritually, when you realize that a corner has been turned, that you have reached a place of ‘no going back’? Conversely, have you ever felt that you were banging your head against a wall, so caught in the same cycle of sin that you just can’t get […]

Well, the break was refreshing. I was sorely disappointed, however, to find that being away from the computer didn’t free up gobs of time for me. My two well-worn excuses for never having enough time have failed me.
I always thought that if we kept a tighter schedule, with every moment planned, and the day running […]

THE PARTIES
1. The Parties of the first part, Phil and Julie, are the happily married father and mother of seven homeschooled children whose principle roles include the training, nurturing, teaching, loving, instructing and managing the aforementioned children in and from the domicile shared by them, the children, four cats, four cows, two kittens, one guinea […]

Have you ever called one of your children and begun explaining a job you wanted them to do, when they instantly leave without ever having listened, without ever having asked for details, and to have them start working frantically, furiously even, on something altogether other than what you were desiring? Not only have I experienced […]

***This post is an answer to something in the comments section of yesterday’s post, What Will We Do With It? Please read that first, in order to understand this response. ***

Let me begin by assuring you that you do not sound silly or naive. You sound like a person who has lived so long […]

Often we are met with incredulity from folks who find out that we have no television reception in our home, we do not listen to the radio, nor do we take the newspaper. Exactly two seconds before the revelation, had you asked one of these people if we seemed backwards, uninformed or out-of-touch with […]

Apparently efficiency has no relevance anymore. Effectiveness as well, has left the building.The concept that the Lord has methods rather than just loosely defined principles is no longer accepted, either. From all appearances they have gone to the far country, never to return. They have been replaced by a new creature called simply, […]

We are going to die. There is no question that it is going to happen. Before we die ourselves, we may have loved ones die before us. Our friends or family could also struggle with illness and disease. That should not come as a surprise to us. We know that traumatic things happen. We […]

We are exhausted, the kids are cranky, the house is trashed. This is par for the course after a weekend of ‘Bed and Breakfast’. The condition is not unique, but it is dispiriting. After all, why would we clean up after ourselves during Bed and Breakfast? No, let’s don’t do the dishes, […]

In an attempt to create a hospitality experience more resembling real life, our family began a practice customarily known around our home as ‘Bed and Breakfast’. Instead of the clean your house, lecture your kids and hold-your-breath-for-three-hours method, it involved inviting an entire family over on a Friday to spend the night. Even folks in […]

I am so sick of ‘fellowship’ I could scream. ‘Honey, we’re having dinner with the Schmo’s tonight,’ is enough to cause me to grumble, grit my teeth and get that weird little twitch in my eye.
‘Dad, she’s twitching again…’
Mr. Visionary tries to help: ‘Relax, Baby, it’s just dinner. It’s no biggie.’
No biggie. Right. At […]

I can positively say that Daylight Savings Time was not God’s idea.  The same goes for alarm clocks. As a matter of fact, no, I do not have a chapter and verse reference on that, but I have deduced it based on basic human physiology.  There is something very beautiful about waking up with the […]

I love free advice. Especially when it comes to infants. All those folks who bombard me kindly offer and explain the ‘proper method’ for raising a baby do me a great service. I imagine they have no idea what a valuable commodity their words of wisdom have become in our life.

I do not actually follow their […]