And yet another pilgrim joins the happy fold

Chrissy and I have not been planning on addressing the issue of salvation with our sons in their early years.  When a child is taught to be obedient, it would be easy for a parent to talk his child into the act of saying a prayer of salvation before the child has a heart tender [...]

Read Full Post »

Quote of the Day

Never known to coddle words, Theodore Roosevelt had this to say about those who called themselves Irish-American or African-American or similar descriptors…
"A hyphenated American in not an American at all…  There is no such thing as a hyphenated American.  The only man who is a good American is a man who is an American and [...]

Read Full Post »

I’m a working on the roofline, all the live-long day…

Yesterday and today "I" am putting a new roof on the Boomershine homestead (built 1870).  Some of the shakes up there may have been there since the very beginning (or so it appears).  We are starting to cover everything back up again, and I didn't find one thing in the rafters that could be sold [...]

Read Full Post »

When you hear the bone go “snap”

Yesterday, I didn't hear the snap, but I felt it.  Fortunately it wasn't me.  Unfortunately, it was Karsten (4 years old).  In a hurried moment, when he was very sad and wanted to be carried, I picked him up by his little hands.  I've done it lots of times before, but this time I felt something [...]

Read Full Post »

Book Recommendation of William Bradford: Plymouth’s Faithful Pilgrim

I wish I had time today to make a better review, but I just finished this biography of William Bradford that I just loved. 
The last two Aprils I have led the senior trip through Massachusetts and stopped at Plimoth Planation.  It's my favorite stop in the whole two weeks.  Before I got home this year, I [...]

Read Full Post »

Quote of the Day

Henry Smith on the rewards of humility…
"As Christ ceased not to be a King because He was like a servant, nor to be a lion because He was like a lamb, nor to be God because He was made man, nor to be a judge because He was judged; so a man doth not lose [...]

Read Full Post »

Is Rhetoric Christian? A Guest Entry by Pastor Dave Mallinak

Pastor Dave Mallinak of Ogden, UT runs one of the only fundamental, classical schools in the world (we would love to know of more).  He runs the Sharper Irony blog and has this to say about the topic of rhetoric in a recent post (copied with permission)…
Is Rhetoric Christian?
Should Christians be studying rhetoric? After all, [...]

Read Full Post »

I am such a sucker for capitalism…

It's been raining for almost two weeks here in my part of the world and the grass has been getting deep enough to lose a toddler in it. I don't own a lawn mower — even though my lot is the length of a city block (and since our house is so small, there's a [...]

Read Full Post »

Abandon all hope ye who enter!

I took this picture in April inside the Memorial Church in Harvard Yard at Harvard University. The sign offers the attendant the option of two flights of stairs. If you can't read the subtitle at the bottom, it is "Helpful Tips for Avoiding Hell." Clicking on the picture will help you to be able to [...]

Read Full Post »

Quote of the Day

It's been about four years since I've done Quote of the Day on a regular basis, but those first four years in the ministry, I sent a quotation out by email to several dozens of people on an almost daily basis.
I'm not going to commit to that sort of ministry again in the near future, [...]

Read Full Post »

One man’s trash…

This is a time sensitive posting.
At BJU two weekends ago, my family and I were waiting outside FMA for my sister to be released from one of her mandatory whatever-it-was. The boys were behaving appropriately (though they sometimes felt inclined to meander ONTO THE GRASS!) and having a grand ol' time. I was carrying Lincoln [...]

Read Full Post »

A quotation worth memorizing…

It's kind of surreal how similiar the American author Stephen Crane looks to my chiropractor Stephen Hoard.
I've no real connection to Crane or his writings, but one of the most profound [profoundly what? I don't know] moments in my life came as I was reading The Open Boat as a requirement for an American [...]

Read Full Post »

At six months, he’s been around…

My youngest future man is Lincoln. Last month he traveled with Christie and me and the three girls in our school's senior class (I'm the principal) across New England, New York City and Philadelphia.
He was a valiant little traveler with narry a fuss…though there were some hard times as he started to teethe while we [...]

Read Full Post »

Here’s what people are saying about the TBAP blog…

"It's about time, Boomershine." — Augustine
"Prithee, do it well and soundly, Master Boomershine." — William Bradford
"I wish I could write as well as you." Charles Dickens
"I'd give my other hand to be as smart as you." — Captain Hook
"I've heard so much about your blog…if I could only get to a computer!" — Ernest Shackleton
"And [...]

Read Full Post »

He Who Would Valiant Be

This triumphant and hopeful hymn was written by John Bunyan from his English prison cell in the late 1680s. Rather than kowtow to the powers of unrighteousness, he sat in bonds for 12 years of his life.
He who would valiant be ’gainst all disaster,
Let him in constancy follow the Master.
There’s no discouragement shall make him [...]

Read Full Post »