family

Poison Oak and Vocation

By Bob Hiller –

Hey, you know what’s terrible? Getting poison oak all over your skin. This last weekend, my dear wife and I found a great deal of this devil’s weed in a group of trees behind our house. We have dogs who like to run through the yard and jump through the plants and kids who play in the yard hunting those dogs, so we don’t want poison oak to take over. We decided to pull it out. We wore extra layers and gloves, and we took every precaution we could have. We took showers with the right kind of soaps and washed multiple times. We did everything the right way. Now we are covered in pink skin, scabs, and calamine lotion. Although, my dear bride has it far worse than I do. Please, say a prayer for her healing!

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Through the Tunnel

By Scott Keith –

A few years ago at the very tail end of my vacation, Joy and I took all of our children and Dr. Mallinson’s son, Auggie Mallinson, to Yosemite. While Joy and I have been several times, by mere coincidence of timing and obligation, most of our children have not seen the grandeur of the Yosemite Valley. Joy, Autumn, and I left Dr. Rosenbladt’s house in Portland and drove to meet everyone else (Caleb, Erika, Joshua, and Auggie) at the Bass Lake resort just outside of Yosemite. We had fun at Bass Lake driving Jet Skis and cooling off in the now almost completely empty lake. Bass Lake is fun, but it is no Yosemite.

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Where are we Driving our Kids?

By Cindy Koch –

If you are anything like me, you care what happens to your children. If you are anything like me, you would go to insane lengths to care, protect, educate, and empower your children. If you are anything like me, you fret and worry if you are doing the right things to raise your children. If you are anything like me, you have been detoured down a complicated road of insanity, for the sake of your children.

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Women Weaken Legs!

By Ross Engel –

One of my favorite movies of all time is Rocky. I love the entire series (Minus the disappointment that was Rocky V). In the first film, Rocky is training hard for his shot at the champ He lands himself a girlfriend, the lovely and slightly awkward Adrian, who later becomes his wife. When his trainer Mick finds out that he’s involved with a woman, he grumbles at Rocky and tells him point blank, “Women. Weaken. Legs!” At that point, Rocky reluctantly agrees not to “fool around” anymore with Adrian.

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Escape the Guilt Gift

By Cindy Koch –

What do you want for Christmas?

A new iPhone.

How many times do you think the jolly old mall Santa Claus will hear that one this year? Wow, the pressures of Christmas presents, selfish expectations, and parenting issues tied up in this one little yearly tradition. Within earshot, mom’s eyes shift side to side, and she hides a frustrated smile. Her five-year-old wants an iPhone, pony, $500 Lego set, or a drone. That seems about right according to all of the other little kiddos eagerly waiting in line. 

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Keep Them For Yourself

By Cindy Koch –

This time of year is blooming with photos of our memories and special moments. Christmas, loved ones, beautiful trees and tables—I always enjoyed these frozen moments until just recently. Up until now, I didn’t realize how perverted our pictures have become. Now, I’m not talking about sneaking a peek at dirty pictures of shameful things. Rather, we are all now shaped by a culture that has a deep reverence for a filtered millisecond caught on a phone. Every time my little boy creates something, he proudly says, “Mom, take a picture!” When my daughter thinks something is funny, she asks, “Mom, can take a video?” Of course, it is not just our kids who have this digital obsession. But until recently, I didn’t think about the ramifications of our spectophilia.

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Stress: The Reason for the Season

By Cindy Koch –

Do chestnuts roasting on the fire make you break out in hives? Does the holiday hustle find you hiding under the covers? Do the weeks leading up to the most wonderful time of the year fill you with anxiety and stress? You just might be experiencing the true meaning of Christmas. Now, I know this is not really what we want to hear. We would rather find a blog about ways to reduce our holiday stress. We would rather listen to advice on crafting our Christmas to be more restful. We long for something that will transform our Christmas preparations to reflect that serene Hallmark holiday. 

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The Anti-Social Social Media

By Scott Keith –

I understand that what I am about to write is full of irony and perhaps even sanctimony or hypocrisy because this will be published on the internet and shared on various social media platforms.

I recently listened to an Art of Manliness podcast (ha, perhaps another form of social media), which interviewed Christina Cook, author of The Joy of Missing Out. In part, her book recounts a thirty-day period in which she gave up the internet, even email. I say “even email” because that is the work-related medium that I have a hard time eliminating from my daily life.

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To Santa Claus or not to Santa Claus; that is the question

By Cindy Koch –

The evergreen dresses in her stunning Christmas sparkles. Ginger and cinnamon waft from the warm Christmas oven. The family gathers close to the bright Christmas fire, but a guilt-ridden question hangs over our head. Carols sing sweetly in the white Christmas cold. Little toys hang from the tall Christmas tree. Candles, friends, and family light up the dark Christmas evenings. But somewhere in the middle of Christmas wreaths and gingerbread houses, we struggle with the Santa Claus conundrum. Should our old jolly friend visit our Christian household on that blessed Christmas Eve? 

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The Beatitudes for the Holidays

 By Bob Hiller –

Well, friends, on this blessed day after Thanksgiving, I hope this blog finds you waking up from a day full of food, drink, laughter, and rest. I hope today you are not shopping like a crazy person, but continuing in some blessed rest with friends and family. Thanksgiving is truly a wonderful day to enjoy the marvelous gifts of God’s creation which He has given “out of divine, fatherly goodness and mercy with no merit or worthiness” in us. I hope yesterday was a day for you to enjoy that divine, fatherly goodness and mercy.

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Thanksgiving Traditions

By Joy Keith –

The Good:

This year the Keith Clan is heading to Gardnerville, NV to be with my hubby’s mom. We Keiths don’t have many traditions. Each and every year our nomadic family talks to each of the Grandmothers and one another to determine what the best Thanksgiving plan is. Will we go to Arizona to be with my mom, or NV to be by his? Will either one of them be able to come to CA? Are the grown kids able to get off work? Are people sick this year and can’t travel? Will we spend it with friends not too far away who we don’t see often enough? All these things seem to get thrown into the recipe of what will be the plan this year. So, our tradition seems to be that we have a lack of tradition. This is true concerning everything but what food we will eat. The menu is the same and a tradition: turkey, mashers and gravy, beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry and my absolute favorite––STUFFING, followed by the exquisitely baked pumpkin (and one alternating dish which is “TBD” by me each year) pies!

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Why I’m Happy Being a College Dropout

By Caleb Keith –

*Written by my beautiful wife Erika, who is helping me through a busy week.

I met my husband, Caleb, just after finishing my sophomore year of College at Concordia University-Saint Paul. We were camp counselors together, and our relationship moved pretty quickly. We both knew within a few weeks of dating that we would marry. It was an exciting time, but we were going to school in different parts of the country. We made some difficult decisions pretty quickly; I would finish the fall semester at Concordia in Saint Paul and then transfer to his school, Concordia Irvine, in the spring.

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