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Swords of Blessing
10 years ago, I wrote this post about lettering names on wooden swords. And 10 years later, that’s on my agenda for today, for a whole new batch of 5th grade boys who weren’t even born yet when I wrote this post! This Father’s Day weekend, my to-do list included personalizing almost three dozen wooden swords. A dear friend has a wonderful boys’ summer camp called “Warrior Week” where men sow love and truth (along with a fair share of messy fun) into the souls of boys. I am privileged to use my calligraphy experience to letter each boy’s name and a prayed-over character trait that is a blessing for…
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Three Steps to Combating Power Struggles in Children’s Ministry
Power Struggles are as old as The Fall. In Genesis 2, the man and his wife worked as a team, one unit working together in trusting teamwork: the ideal for every children’s ministry to aspire. Only a few verses later, everything has changed. Man and wife have sinned, and the Lord pronounces the consequences of their actions. “To the Woman He said:….You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.” (Genesis 3:16). Four verses later, we see the first evidence of this phenomenon: “The man named his wife Eve….” (Genesis 3:20) . Verse 20 is often glossed over. Its significance is often missed. The Man had already…
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Idealized Men–Do you really want the guy on the white horse?
A white knight on a white horse, charming, courageous and smitten with you, an idealized man–that's what many young women dream about and expect to find–I did. But an idealized man can cause us to make poor choices. You might be thinking, "But shouldn't we set high standards?" Definitely. How do wise women navigate this tension? My husband isn't the man I married, and I'm not the woman he married–thank goodness. He has become the godly man I'm proud to call my husband, but it's taken over 40 years of God working in his life while God has similarly been working in my life–and still is. A good man…
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Are Women Worth Less Than Men?
Last month The Economist ran an article, “The Worldwide War on Baby Girls,” that addressed the devastating effect of “son preference” on a number of societies. The author noted that “mothers in some developing countries say they want sons, not daughters, by margins of ten to one. In China midwives charge more for delivering a son than a daughter.” It’s sad how much the world devalues girls. And sometimes such thinking even penetrates the church. Some time back a reader responded to one of my blog posts by saying, “I notice you are in favor of defining women in a good light from a biblical standpoint. This is an issue…
