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"Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from our children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that He has done" (Psalm 78:1-4).

You've seen them all over your TV, and on every internet news page - those poor, pitiful, oil-soaked pelicans struggling for life in the Gulf waters. If you haven't seen them yet, you must live under a rock. If you do live under a rock, click here:

The 5th grade public school teacher that sat on the couch across from me baffled me with her descriptions of the unruly, chaotic nature of her classroom. She told me of 5th grade boys who routinely call her the "b" word. She spoke to me of her constantly having to ask students not to text or use their hand-held devices during her period of instruction. Worst of all, she relayed to me that when these disciplinary problems are addressed with parents, they often take their kid's side and act as if the teacher is the problem.

Apparently a group of seven year old girls are capturing quite a Youtube following. The early shows on the major networks this morning carried the story about the girls' "dance troupe." Even the morning show hosts cringed as they played short segments of the performance. And what do you guess caused the cringing?

"So, when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you. Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood" (Isaiah 1:15).

The American Family Association Journal (www.afajournal.org) recently reported on a research study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. They surveyed 8-18 year olds to assess the amount of time they spend with entertainment media (TV, the web, iPods, texting, cells, etc.). The results were staggering, even to this old-fashioned guy who thinks an hour or two a day spent texting, talking on the phone or Facboking is far too much. Drumroll . . .

In the regular email updates I receive from Life Institutes, one writer referenced an intraoffice memo sent by a higher up at NPR. The memo urged NPR employees / broadcasters to stop using the term "pro-life" and instead substitute what was labeled more "neutral" language like "abortion rights opponents."

Wake County, NC finds itself embroiled in quite a bruhaha. The County School Board recently voted to stop busing children long distance to achieve "diversity" in schools. You can read more on the controversial decision here:

I hate sin. In my life. In others' lives. In our culture. In our world. This is who God graciously makes us in Christ - haters of sin and lovers of God. So, it has been with great sadness that I have followed the now over-exposed exploits of Tiger Woods. While the media circles like sharks around a bloody piece of bait, his adoring fans remain shocked and deeply disappointed. He was, and is, the world's greatest golfer, an icon to millions of kids. His downfall is not something to rejoice over or even to gawk at like the news agencies so want you to do.

For the next few posts, I want to begin challenging readers to think very seriously about the obstacles that might stand in the way of growing more cross-centered in their homes (marriage, parenting, sibling relations, etc.). After all, it should come as no surprise that if a follower of Christ makes a commitment, by God's grace, to pursue holiness and Christ-likeness in one or more areas of life, battles will ensue.