This is the first of a two-part article by Irv on the Biblical understanding of work. For most of the history of this nation, America has held to the “protestant work ethic” meaning those who know the Lord are committed to working . . . hard. They knew that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop” and so they worked. This was especially true in the agrarian days of the country in which there was much to do on the farm and everyone had their assigned jobs to do. It was “all hands on deck” to keep the farm financially afloat. No shirkers, no sluggards allowed.

Life has come a long way from those agricultural days. Yes, there are still family farms but they are rapidly disappearing. Now most Americans ...

In January 2016, Elsie and I added Parenting Adult Children to our six areas of counseling focus. We added this important area because we continue to see more and more parents come for counseling on how to deal with the problems of their, now, adult children. Their children are running the gamut of problems from cut-offs to divorce to drug/alcohol addiction to sexual immorality. The parents are asking how can we help our children and, even more, how can we protect our grandchildren. This becomes especially heart-wrenching when the parent is attached to the grandchildren. It causes them deep pain and, often, anger to see the mess their parents have made of their lives and the impact it is having on the grandchildren.

Here are some thoughts ...