Beyond Bringing Up Boys

Today required something of me that I didn't want to do. Not a bit. I knew I needed to, but everytime I thought about it, I got a little nauseous. But, I did it. Or, at least I started the process.  It's not the first time, I had to pray my way through something.   Roughly 18 months after an accident that required a lengthy recovery,  I finally climbed on a bike again to ride 17 miles of the Virginia Creeper Trail with my supportive family.  I am intentionally grateful for courage. Today, 18 months ago  and everyday in between.  Psalm 56:3 "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you."

  Yes, these ladies know that a balding, middle aged, hemorrhaging man is looking over their shoulders.   Last month I extended extra credit to students who were willing to invest in a  Macbeth  performance at the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern.  T o claim their extra credit, students had to take a selfie with a cast member following the performance. I am not sure of the identity of the head - banded hero, but the gentleman on the left is the  valiant Macduff. Having taught this play over twenty times, I find that the story of Macbeth has become an old friend. I know where the students will laugh (with the drunk porter), where they will be aghast (when Lady Macbeth evokes the image of bashing the skull of a nursing infant),  and  where they will see themselves (when Macbeth describes being trapped by his choices: “ I am in blood /  Stepp'd  in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o'er ”). Macbeth  is my favorite Shakespearean play because it provide

"The greatest masterpieces were once only colors on a palette." Henry Haskins  When you see creation in all of its magnificence, you cannot deny the Creator, you can only suppress this truth (Rom 1:18).  Intentionally grateful today for a colorful world! 

In a world of brokenness, I'm thankful that we've been learning how to forgive for 25 years.   Intentionally grateful for forgiveness today (and everyday!).  Colossians 3:13 "bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." #staymarried

David and I had been married 5 years when we moved to Louisville, KY, for David to teach at Highview Baptist School. Zachary was 7 months old.  It soon became our custom to walk the sidewalks of our neighborhood, Ashbrooke Gardens, after dinner. Zach was as happy-as-a-clam in his stroller and it gave David and me an opportunity to catch up on our day. He was a rookie in his teaching career and had the stories of the day to prove it. I was at home with Zachary, and was always anxious to share the newest milestone or development that he had achieved. Three years later when Samuel joined our family, we were still walking and talking each evening after dinner.  And three years after that, when Seth joined Team Balty, we were still walking together. Over the years things changed of course; Zach outgrew the stroller, then rode a bike, and then drove a battery operated truck. As soon as Samuel could hang on tightly enough, he was not content to be in the stroller either and he joined