Last year as my mom was dying, I was amazed at how very small the world became for her. There were no more trips for her to the nail salon or flea market, no need for the part-time job or her library card, no interest in the subdivision gossip. There was touch. Presence. Prayer. Only…

This is not the chart. See below. I once read an article with a very arresting visual about child development. The chart in question overlaid graphs tracking an individual child’s physical, social and academic development. The article’s writer made the point that it’s optimal for a child if the lines tracing the various areas of…

Just a couple of new pictures. Indulge me…Grandpa and Gabriel, during our apple-picking excursion. All of the apples were off the trees, so we technically didn’t pick apples. We picked them up off the ground. It looks like Lio is screaming his brains out, but he’s just making a face. Flex your face muscles and…

A pet parakeet wanders the yard of author, blogger, North Park University professor, birdwatcher and Cub fan Dr. Scot McKnight. The other backyard birds were terrified of the bizarre blue visitor’s quick movements and strange birdsong. The parakeet made its home in and around the McKnights’ suburban yard most of the summer, and McKnight watched…

Early this morning, our second grandchild, Lionel Ilan (LEE-o-nel EE-lahn) Valenzuela-Lozano was born. Here’s a few pictures of this beautiful little guy’s birthday:

One of our former pastors (that’s a depressing phrase, but I digress…) had a catchy little way of summarizing spiritual growth. He would tell the congregation that as they followed the Lord, the bumps in the road wouldn’t get smaller, but their shock absorbers would get bigger. It was a folksy metaphor to explain how…