Below you’ll find a list of chapter-a-day posts on the book of Joel written and published by Tom Vander Well in June 2023. Click on the image to be directed to that post.
Joel (June 2023)
Tag Archives: List
Obadiah (Feb 2022)
Below you’ll find a list of chapter-a-day post on the book of Obadiah written and published by Tom Vander Well in February 2022. Click on the image to be directed to that post.
Malachi (June 2023)
Below you’ll find a list of chapter-a-day posts on the book of Jonah written and published by Tom Vander Well in June 2023. Click on an image to be directed to that post.
10 Ways I Tried NOT to Exasperate My Children
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)
Exasperate v. ig-ˈzas-pə-ˌrāt
1. To excite the anger of: Enrage
2. To cause irritation or annoyance
From the home office in Pella, Iowa. Top Ten Ways I tried not to exasperate my children:
- Let them become who they are called to be, not who I wanted them to be.
- Be patient with their small mistakes and accidents. I make them too.
- Be patient with their big mistakes and accidents. I make them too.
- Expect progress, not perfection.
- Life is short: Enjoy letting them be children/teens/young adults with all the irritations, aggravations, lessons, and foibles. I’m the adult, and should be the one to understand that it’s a stage of life they are in and be patient with it.
- Found and complimented the beauty in who they were in the moment, refusing to tease or be critical of them in the awkward stage(s) they went through.
- Be critical of their behaviors, never of their person.
- Believe in and trust: Make my default answer “yes.”
- When angry or frustrated, express it appropriately. Sometimes yelling, ranting, and screaming are counterproductive. Let silence do the heavy lifting.
- Forgive them, just as I have (and need to be) been forgiven.
This post was originally published on April 25, 2014.
Ezra (Aug/Sep 2019)
Below you’ll find a list of chapter-a-day posts on the book of Ezra posted in August and September 2019. Click on an image to be directed to that post.
About…
esther (Jul/Aug 2019)
Below are chapter-a-day posts from the book of Esther published in July and August 2019. Click on an image to view the respective post for each chapter.
Please feel free to share this post! – Tom
Chapter-a-Day Posts by Book
Click on the graphic to access a summary of posts for the book. I will slowly be going back and adding book summaries. Please bookmark and keep checking back!
Jonah (June 2019)
Below you’ll find a list of chapter-a-day posts on the book of Jonah posted in June 2019. Click on an image to be directed to that post.
10 Ways I Tried NOT to Exasperate My Children
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 (NIV)
Exasperate v. \ig-ˈzas-pə-ˌrāt\
1. To excite the anger of: Enrage
2. To cause irritation or annoyance
From the home office in Pella, Iowa. Top Ten Ways I tried not to exasperate my children:
- Let them become who they are called to be, not who I wanted them to be.
- Be patient with their small mistakes and accidents. I make them too.
- Be patient with their big mistakes and accidents. I make them too.
- Expect progress, not perfection.
- Life is short: Enjoy letting them be children/teens/young adults with all the irritations, aggravations, lessons, and foibles. I’m the adult, and should be the one to understand that it’s a stage of life they are in and be patient with it.
- Found and complimented the beauty in who they were in the moment, refusing to tease or be critical of them in the awkward stage(s) they went through.
- Be critical of their behaviors, never of their person.
- Believe in and trust: Make my default answer “yes.”
- When angry or frustrated, express it appropriately. Sometimes yelling, ranting, and screaming are counter productive. Let silence do the heavy lifting.
- Forgive them, just as I have (and need to be) been forgiven.
Related articles
Don’t Worry, It’s on the List
Chapter-a-Day Psalm 56
You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
Psalm 56:8 (NLT)
Lists. My life is full of lists. Wendy is the Queen of the Lists. Her royal highness manages the Vander Well realm via a series of lists. There is the white board calendar list which used to list our daughters schedules, but now lists our evening meals for the week. There is the kitchen grocery list that is updated any time you use the last of something in the kitchen. There is the Playhouse list of what needs to go to the lake. The other day I was asked to print the rehearsal list for the theatre. I have a work list, a honey-do list, and a list of people to call. I have a list of chapters we’ve covered on this chapter-a-day journey. There’s a list of DVDs we own, a “must see” movie list, and a list of movies in our queue. My computer holds mailing lists, show lists, and cast lists.
This post is beginning to feel like Dr. Seuss.
Big list. Little list. List, list, list.
How many lists must I insist
on managing all that life persists
to throw my way as I exist?
In the days when David wrote the lyric of today’s psalm, kings and rulers in authority were known to be keepers of lists and records. Because the written word was rare and reserved almost exclusively for rulers, it was a big deal for Kings to have anything that was written down read to them. Sometimes, if the king had a bout of insomnia for example, he would ask his servants to read from the records, chronicles and lists. In doing so, he would sometimes run across an item on the list on which he would act. There are at least two very clear references of God using circumstances like this to fulfill His purposes in the old stories:
In the story of Esther: “That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.” (the chapter-a-day entries for this chapter from 2009 and from 2012)
In the story of Josiah: “Then Shaphan the secretary informed [King Josiah], ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.’ And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.” (the chapter-a-day entry for this chapter)
When David’s lyrics refer to his tears being stored up and his troubles recorded, the image he is creating is that of his lament being written on God’s royal record. It is chronicled and will not be forgotten by God who sits on the throne. God sees. God knows. It will not be forgotten. It’s written on the list.
We all go through periods of life when we feel alone. Our troubles seem so huge. Our prayers seem to hit the ceiling and bounce back. We wonder if God is listening. We question whether God even cares.
Today, I’m reminded that God says the number of my days is already accounted for in His records. My name is recorded in His book. Even the decreasing number of hairs on my head is on a list somewhere in heaven’s royal archive. Certainly, I am not abandoned despite the intensity of my feelings to the contrary. My troubles are not forgotten. My cares are known.
Related articles
- Leadership Profile: King Josiah (garyrunn.com)
- 2 Chronicles Chapter 34 (pofw.wordpress.com)
- The Good King Who Assumed Too Much (anvilofgrace.com)
- How Do I Pray When Words Fail? (underthecoverofprayer.wordpress.com)
Wayfarer 