Memorization used to be a big part of education. Then "...educators came to believe that no one needed to memorize much of anything. Instead, students needed to learn how to get whatever information a given situation demanded."  (Reviving Memorization, by Tamim Ansary). What about the memorization of scripture?  How can you help your children commit the word of God to memory? Lets look at a few ideas:

• We know that memorizing God's word is important because we read in Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." One key to memorization is repetition. Read the words, write the words, sing the words...all of these things help retention.

February was my "Birthday month!"  Part of my celebration took place in North Carolina with some very good friends. I loved my cake. 

What do you do when your child provokes you unmercifully? "It's difficult to work out a satisfying response to flagrant disrespect," states Alan E. Kazdin, 2008 president of the American Psychological Association and professor of psychology and child psychiatry at Yale University. Well, it may be difficult, but not impossible.

1. Step one is to keep your ultimate goal in mind. The goal is to change your child's behavior; behavior that is defiant, destructive or dangerous. 
2. The means to your goal is NOT to lash back at your child. When you react in anger, you are the one out of control, allowing your child to be in control. This is not desirable.

It is difficult to find a news program these days that doesn’t highlight the current economic downturn. How can you explain the situation to your children?

• First, it is important that your explanation is age-appropriate, both from the standpoint of vocabulary and emotion. “What younger children are looking for is reassurance,” says Janet Bodnar, deputy editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. “You may have to address this [the economic crisis], if only to reassure them.”

On a Compassion International trip to Ecuador in 2008, we were the guests of a family living in the Andes. Three generations live in the block home. In the first picture I am getting a lesson in making tortillas over an open fire.
And, in the second picture...