Family Life

Snow Joes: Chocolate Snow Cream!
Growing up, my mom always made snow cream (but never from the first snow of the season, though we’ve abandoned that rule as lacking scientific basis :-) , but what we really loved were her Snow Joes. I’ve never heard of anyone else making such a thing, but it was like snow cream, but chocolate.…
What’s The One Most Important Thing?
We recently reached a milestone online – our Facebook page Raising Real Men has gathered 20,000 fans. In the discussion that morning, one of our readers asked, “As a single mom, can you tell me the one most important thing I can teach my son?” (more…)
Six Ways to Beat Bickering
A friend asked recently: Ok ladies, it's time for me to do some major/drastic behavior boot camp in this house. I am committing to staying home for several days, going nowhere and do nothing but set straight some major behavior issues we have here. I need some advice, though...How do I handle/tackle my 4 and…
Learning the Carols: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="403"] Schnorr von Carolsfeld, From the Bibel in Bildern, 1860[/caption] This is one of those hymns that we think we all know, but usually only sing the first verse. This is like nibbling on the salad and walking out on the feast. Charles Wesley packed so much Biblical truth into this carol,…
How to Talk to Your Children When Christian Leaders Fall
This has been a pretty sobering week for many homeschool families. A very prominent leader and speaker in Christian homeschool circles confessed to an inappropriate relationship with a woman and resigned from his ministry and speaking engagements. As speakers ourselves, we and our children know most of the other families on the speaking circuit, so…
Semper Reformanda
The U.S. Marine Corps has a slogan – Semper Fidelis, “Always Faithful.” More often, people shorten it to “Semper Fi.” In the church, there is a slightly different slogan: Semper Reformanda, which is short for Ecclesia semper reformanda est, “The Church Is Always To Be Reformed.” Why the lesson in military and ecclesiastical Latin? Because…
Finding a Mate: Don’t Shut the Door Too Soon!
Lately, I've been noticing a phenomenon among our acquaintances that really concerns me. Single ladies, we don't often address you on these pages, but this one's for you. Most of the young adults we know are very intentional about finding a mate in the right way. They are committed to waiting until they are ready…
Grand Theft Auto V and Hoods In Training
The headlines have been everywhere this week. Grand Theft Auto V is out and, to listen to social media, everyone is super-excited. Well, not everyone, but it sold $800 million dollars worth the very first day! And it has over 4.3 million fans on Facebook. We were thinking about this today when we read the…
Announcing Our New Radio Show – and an iPad Mini Giveaway!
We are thrilled to announce that we'll be hosting an hourlong weekly streaming radio show on the new Ultimate Radio Network! Our new show, Making Biblical Family Life Practical, will be the Hal & Melanie you guys know and love -- there will be lots of back and forth and humor, but also pointed, principled…
Helping A Struggling Reader
After our first few children learned to read so early and easily, we thought we were some ol’ wonderful homeschoolers. Then came our next child – and humility! It was really tough, but we got through it and he’s now a very successful college student. Here are some things that helped: Don’t despair – and don’t let…

On Christmas Break, but Check the Sale! Dismiss