Elohim, our great God, is the Creator of all things. When the Lord of Hosts begins to create, He always lays the foundations perfectly. Upon these firm foundations all goodness flourishes. However, as with all constructions, if the foundations are attacked, shifted, or allowed to decay, the whole edifice collapses.

History, specifically military history, has always been a great interest of mine. To many students of such history, the sphere itself provides all the necessary material needed to captivate their interest: soldiers, equipment, tactics, logistics, leadership, and drama. While this all fascinates me, much deeper observations can be gleaned from such a study. One example is trying to understand a people group of a particular era by the wars they fought—namely, by what values, ideologies, and principles drove them to engage in warfare.

The home is the proving ground for eldership. If a man does not manage his household well, he is ill-suited to lead the church (1 Tim. 3:4-5). Whereas Christ is Chief Shephard and local church elders are under-shepherds, husbands serve as the under-shepherds of their wives and children (Eph. 5:22-25). A husband’s leadership should demonstrate the kind of care, provision, and oversight one would expect of an elder in the local church. Indeed, if a husband “does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:8, ESV). The verb translated as “manage” (pronoeō) implies that Paul envisions a level of support that exceeds mere financial or material provision. T

I’m blessed to be the dad of a special needs child. Scharleen is a fourteen-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. She depends on me and her mom for all her care, yet she loves life and interacting with others.

In May (2025), we attended Scharleen’s eighth grade dance. Unfortunately, only one child said a brief hi to her and then hurried on to hang out with her friends rather than waiting for Scharleen’s response. Other children tentatively pulled the chairs from the table where I was sitting with my wife, Shelly, as she fed our daughter. Our chairs were the only ones remaining.