Things I’ve Learned

Pray Small Prayers

I took the kids tent camping recently. We packed up the car with all that we thought we would need, drove 45 minutes to a nearby state park, and attempted to pay the $6 to camp that night. Alas, no campground hosts were available the entire time we were there, so I guess I saved…

A Day in the Life

I did not grow up a Christian, so I did not have the faith modeled for me. I share the following as an attempt to “model” for you from afar. I think it could have helped me when I was young in the faith, maybe it will help you. 0600: Wake up, drink a bunch…

Advice for a Student Entering Public School

I have a student (or two) that shall remain nameless. He or she is going to public school next year and asked for counsel. I thought what I wrote may be helpful to others. Even if you aren’t going into public school next year, you will one day go out into the world. This advice…

The News is a Waste of My Time

It’s a pretty inflammatory title, I know. Here’s what happened. First, I ended up neglecting to vote for President Trump in 2016. I wasn’t paying much attention to things at the time, and I didn’t yet realize I was conservative on many issues (theologically and politically). So, the wife and I wrote in a third…

Fast, Greasy Seafood

I eat healthy because I have a great wife. I didn’t always eat healthy. She didn’t always eat healthy either, but she was way ahead of me. I ate like a 3-year-old until I had children of my own. No matter how we ate, though, what’s coming was a rough time in our lives. Let’s…

Dr. Kaplan, Everybody

I was a physics major in college. There weren’t many of us, as you can imagine. I felt for the others; I was just planning on being a teacher. I didn’t have to take some of the ridiculous classes they had to. I wish I knew some of that stuff now though – oh well.…

The Truth in Love

My pastor recently said something to this effect: it’s just best not to ever read into anyone’s motives. Wise words. This doesn’t mean we can’t judge the actions someone takes. Jesus does tell us to judge with correct judgement. It does mean that, if we can find a decent reason why a person did that…

Why I Bought a Fountain Pen

Some of this may be hard for you to believe. I promise it’s true. These things really do happen outside the walls of your house. I was a teacher in St. Louis city for two years; I then took a job at Cahokia High School for two years. Sometime in there, I bought my first…

Living Faithfully can be Intimidating

We moved to the city of St. Louis in order to change the world through public education. Every one of my preconceived notions about that decision eventually fell flat. I cannot express how wrong I was about so much in my life at the time. We did find a good church, however, and we made…