For one month out of the year most Americans are contemplating all that is good every single day. You see it most vividly via social media as people post what they are most thankful for each day. It is November, the month of Thanksgiving. But what happens in December or even further down the road when the month of remembering to be thankful is but a distant memory. God’s word doesn’t designate a month for thanksgiving, but a lifetime…

It was a typical night in my home when I got the dreaded call. The kids were running around after a warm summer’s day. I was curled up on the couch chatting with my husband. All seemed to be well with the world and then the phone rang. My oldest sister was intensive care and it wasn’t looking good. By midnight she was gone. It’s one of those surreal moments in life that you wish you could forget but you know you never will. In a few days, I will gather with my remaining fun-loving sisters and mom to celebrate Thanksgiving. We will laugh a lot, you can’t get us in a room together without hearing laughter, and I imagine we will think and speak about our sister. There is no doubt that we will also mourn that she is not with us this year…

I finished reading Pastor John Piper’s most recent post on raising children, looked at my husband and cried out, “We are failing.” He looked at meand said, “We are learning.” Yes. That is right. We are learning.

Pastor John urges parents to require that their children obey. After my episode, I wondered if there were other parents who felt the same way as I did at that moment: deflated, incapable, and self-sufficient. There isn’t anything I’d like better than to know that I trained my children well. But I can’t do it on my own. I can’t muster up the energy. I can’t read enough books. Oh, I can try. I can try in my own strength. I can try in my own wisdom. I can read every parenting book on the market. I can do all of those things, but it is only God who will enable me to be faithful in my calling to train my children…