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The Benefit Package: Life Insurance I was reading Psalm 103 when something caught my eye. In verse 2, David instructs us to “forget not all his (God’s) benefits.” As I thought about how I can’t even think of all of His benefits, I noticed this “—,” followed by a list. David felt led to name…

When a teacher at her new school recommends her for an after-school job, Elizabeth is grateful both for the opportunity to make some money and to make some new friends. She begins work at the New York Circulating Material Repository which lends items rather than books. Costumes, props for plays, tools, and—the Grimm Collection. The…

Summertime is swimming time in Texas and I can’t wait. I love the water. My daughter and I teach lessons in our backyard pool. Every summer, two types of students give me the greatest concern: 1)      The child that is so afraid of the water that he can hardly stand to be in it, and…

Summertime is swimming time in Texas and I can’t wait. I love the water. My daughter and I teach lessons in our backyard pool. Every summer, two types of students give me the greatest concern: 1)      The child that is so afraid of the water that he can hardly stand to be in it, and…

The adventures of Grandma Dowdel continue in Richard Peck’s sequel to A Long Way from Chicago,  A Year Down Yonder. The novel’s focus shifts from Joey in the first book, to Mary Alice, now 15, in the second. A recession hangs over the country. Mom and Dad must downsize to one small room and Mary…

Summer camp. I have a stack of forms waiting to be filled out and sent. Football camp. Basketball camp. Dance camp. Strength and conditioning camp. While summer brings a much needed break from the school routine, it also allows us to give extra time to our favorite things. Have you considered giving God some of…

One surprise after another unfolds in Julia Golding’s novel, Dragonfly. Action. Adventure. Romance. Tradition versus truth. Faith and loyalty. A clash of cultures. Golding writes an engaging story while encouraging the reader to examine their own values. Guys, don’t check out because you see a little romance in the mix. Kidnappings, ambushes, villains, and  combat abound. Also,…

Fighting for Peace My son has signed up to be a peacemaker. He’s enlisted in the U.S. Navy and will be fighting for peace. Fighting for peace? That sounds strange, but isn’t that how it goes sometimes? You have two friends and they are not getting along. They need to talk things out, and you…

If you are looking for something a little different, don’t be intimidated by the size of Brian Selznick’s Wonder Struck. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this book could have been much longer, because Wonder Struck tells two tales, one through pictures and one in prose. Rose’s story, the one in pictures, begins fifty…

Make Up Makeup. Applied correctly, it accents our positives, covers our blemishes, and minimizes our flaws. Base. Blush. Mascara. Each serves a purpose in the face we present. We do the same in our relationships. We do our best to make a great first impression. However, the closer we get to a person, the less…