The authority of the Bible

Wonderful thoughts from Dr. James McGrath on the authority of the Bible.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2012/10/thoughts-on-the-authority-of-the-bible.html

Bruising the Ego

Why is it that the ego is so easily bruised? To me, it says just how powerful the ego can be and how much control we have allowed it to have over us. I experienced this control recently. I became offended by something not worthy of offense. I must learn to put the ego in the background and prevent it from ruling my life. It's not easy. The ego doesn't like it at all. Until I can immeditately see what is happening when the ego takes "front and center" in my life, I shall continue to be ruled by this selfish, power-hungry part of me.

Parenting Is Tough at Any Age

When my wife and I were younger and in the process of raising our three boys, I can remember thinking that this is not easy, but we can do this. As the boys reached the teenage years, it suddenly got a little more complicated. My thoughts then were that this is simply not easy by any means. It could actually be impossible!

One by one the boys successfully graduated from high school. The oldest went away to college. He eventually graduated from Baylor University, and then went to law school. The middle son, announced to us that he wanted to take a year off to decide what he wanted to do with his life. He eventually joined the U.S. Marine Corps. The youngest received a vocal scholarship and went away to college. He returned home after two years, fed up with the world of scholarships and college. He joined the work-a-day world shortly after that.

We had decided that when the youngest left home, the hardest part of parenting had come to an end. The "empty nest" was finally here. Little did we know, the hardest part of parenting was still to come. Don't let anyone tell you that parenting basically comes to an end when the nest is empty. 

Parenting is a lifetime job. It changes as your children reach adulthood. It shifts gears to another style of parenting, but it is only just beginning. Trust me on this. 

Parenting is tough at any age.

In the Process of Change

Change for me used to be difficult.  I have had two different blogs in the last ten years, In Search of Life, and Reflections. It's time for another change. Bear with me as I take that step. I want a blog where I can say what it is that I feel. It is difficult as a former teacher to have a blog that doesn't instruct, that doesn't teach something. That for me has been the problem. The blogs were for the most part instructive about the things most important or most current in my mind that I wanted others to see and read. This new blog, hopefully, will be different. I wish for it to be a place where I can simply express my feelings about subjects and things dear to me (without trying to teach!). It is not going to be an easy thing for me to do. But I think it is the right thing for me to do at this time in my life.

My life is changing as I speak. My wife has officially retired. I will, hopefully, follow her down that path in less than a year. Our lives will change. Maybe drastically. I hope not, but the signs are there. It is with some apprehension that I embark upon this change. Yet, I look forward to what it brings. My dear blogging friends, please come along with me on this new phase of my life.