by Keeva Kase Matthew 25 is divided into three seemingly disconnected parables, each one describing the kingdom of heaven: “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” v.1 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who … Continue reading
Author Archives: Practicing Families
On Snapchat and Remembering
by Kimberly Knowle-Zeller Smile. Snap. Send. That seems to be the way we take pictures in our family. With lots of wrangling and funny faces and crazy sounds and patience. Smile. Snap. Send. That’s, of course, when we use Snapchat to take pictures to share with our friends and family. Our toddler loves to see … Continue reading
Giving God Glory
by Donald Hanna There is a quote I like, most often attributed to the early church father Irenaeus: “The glory of God is [the person] fully alive.” As I have thought about what this means, what it is to be fully alive, it seems that there are a number of factors wrapped up in this. … Continue reading
I Have Candy
by Cheri Tabel “What if after you die, God asks you, ‘So, how was heaven?’” —Unknown A couple of weeks ago, as we were leaving the sanctuary at the end of church service, a little boy ran up to me and exclaimed, “I have candy!” His eyes were bright. His hand high in the air … Continue reading
The Littlest Priest
by Tripp Hudgins On Sunday, our congregation celebrated the life of St. Francis of Assisi with a blessing of the animals. Due to logistical constraints, people are encouraged to bring their pets at either the first or third service of the day and not the second. For the second service, small children are invited to … Continue reading
Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable
by David Grummon So let’s leave it alone ‘cause we don’t see eye to eye There ain’t no good guy, there ain’t no bad guy There’s only you and me and we just disagree -Dave Mason, 1977 So I wanted to write a piece on teaching kids how to disagree without being disagreeable. That is … Continue reading
When Your Children Find Their Voice
by Dena Hobbs I remember how very glad we were when our daughter finally learned to talk at 18 months of age. She had come to us 13 months old from an orphanage in China. She was baby-talking just a bit in Chinese, but could neither understand nor speak English. We used some simple sign … Continue reading
Comfort
by Bromleigh McCleneghan My youngest, Hattie, turns two today. She was up early, ready to play with the gifts she received last night. Putting the Duplo Thomas together, cutting up the Melissa and Doug hot dog and basting everything with pretend barbecue sauce, pushing the bubble mower around the living room (though I was pretty … Continue reading
This Lenten Season
by Jennifer DiFrancesco Lent. It stresses me out every year. Like everything else, I know it shouldn’t but it does. It isn’t like we will be graded on it or will be asked to do a public presentation about it. Just when I have a good idea, I overthink it, rethink it, and ask others … Continue reading
Bringing My Son On a Journey
by Chris Lenshyn The Fraser Valley of British Columbia is beautiful. I get to live here. Not only is the mighty Fraser river a visual and ecological gem, but the Coastal Mountains and the enormous Mt. Baker in Washington State are nothing short of poetic. Over the course of 5 years since we moved here, … Continue reading
Practicing Families 