Relax, Parents: There's No Need to Put the Christ in Christmas

By Amanda Marcotte

The Rockettes don't flash their legs to celebrate the Virgin Birth.

Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

In our age of neurotic parenting, it should come as no surprise that irreligious parents might succumb some to the evidence-free claims of many that children must be raised in a faith tradition in order to achieve some ill-defined "values". Andrew Park at Salon has a piece up about his attempts to inject a little religion into the holiday festivities. (By "religion", he of course means "Christianity", because as concerned as he is about exposing his children to faith traditions, he isn't concerned enough to start fasting for Ramadan and teaching his children about the prophet Mohammed.) 

Superwoman Is Dead

Most mothers fight a constant battle between stress and guilt.


by Emuna Braverman

“The Age of the Superwoman is dead,” says Samantha Parent Walravens, editor of the recently released TORN: True Stories of Kids, Career & the Conflict of Modern Motherhood. I called Ms. Walravens at her Northern California home to discuss the impetus for the book and her goals and vision. We forged an instant bond because I know first-hand exactly what she is talking about.
Many of us today have bought into the superwoman myth. We think we can do it all – careers, children, healthy marriages – and then we realize that we still need to sleep at night!

From The Eyes of God

Written by Rev. Daniel Forster

Are you feeling overwhelmed by guilt? Let’s work through it together.

“When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.”  But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’” (1 Samuel 16:6-7, ESV)

Have you heard the saying “perception is reality”? I used to believe that but praise God, He has taught me otherwise. All throughout the Bible we are taught that God does not see the same way that we do.

In 1 Samuel, the king Saul has lost the favor and spirit of the Lord our God because of his disobedience and his lack of repentance in his heart. God instructs Samuel the prophet to go to Bethlehem and seek a son of Jesse there. Samuel does not know his name. He has all of Jesse’s sons brought before him as the Lord directs him in which God will anoint as King of Israel. Today’s passage picks up the story when Samuel is looking on the sons of Jesse.

The Grandparents' Crown

"Grandchildren are the crown of old men..." - Proverbs 17:6

Isn't it amazing how the normal conflicts in the parent-child relationship don't seem to be a problem with grandparents and grandchildren? Grandparents may have old-fashioned values, but they're loved and admired by their grandchildren.

What do you think of when you think of a beloved grandparent? Even hardened cynics often get misty-eyed when recalling memories of a grandparent, yet grandparents are often the forgotten victims of divorce and separation. In June of 2000, the Supreme Court defended the parents' right to restrict or cut off ties with the grandparents of their children. Such a sad state of mind.

Parents, let's do all we can to enhance the relationship between our children and their grandparents. It's part of their heritage that they need to understand. It's part of their identity that makes them whole. God's Word says, "Grandchildren are the crown of old men." If at all possible, don't deny them their crown.