The Word Worker

Tag: Nonfiction

  • “We Need a King”

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    wordworkerrussell
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    How many times have you heard people complain about something wrong or unpleasant then demand that someone do something to fix that problem? Throughout history this has been a common human reaction. If we are honest as individuals, we have probably all done it at some point. The prophet Samuel accomplished a great deal with…

  • Approval

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    wordworkerrussell
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    My five year old and I butt heads. Frequently. As in, all day every day. She has extremely strong ideas of her own, and the determination to pursue them against all odds. If she doesn’t want to do something, it isn’t happening without some serious and repeated consequences. Yesterday it was her turn to run…

  • Seeing God

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Three teachers scheduled back to back have no contact before the date, but all deliver the same message from three unique perspectives. A child prays for another person for no apparent reason, and shortly afterward his parents find out the person was sick or injured. An unexpected medical bill empties the bank account, but the…

  • Book Review: The Tattooist of Auschwitz

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    wordworkerrussell
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    When Lale walked beneath the lie that dressed the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau, he intended to keep his head down and do whatever he was told, whatever he had to do to avoid being killed. He hadn’t counted on two impossible events: being chosen as the tattooist’s assistant, and falling in love in the death camps.…

  • Debtor’s Prison

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Galatians 3:21–26 (CSB): “Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of…

  • Mr. Meanie

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    wordworkerrussell
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    “I was yelling at Mr. Meanie! He just WON’T! LEAVE! ME! ALONE! I can’t do anything right anymore!” The above came from my tearful, sobbing seven year old son. He had thrown his playthings and rushed to his room growling like a cornered tiger. To an outsider it might have looked like a temper tantrum,…

  • The Gods of Earth

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    wordworkerrussell
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    “Do not have other gods besides me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord you God, am…

  • Book Review: The Storyteller

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    wordworkerrussell
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    The stories of the kingdom have been forgotten, and as they disappeared the fountains have all dried up. A thirsty child is the only person who will listen to the last storyteller. Every day the old man offers a new story that builds on the last. Every day the boy’s cup magically fills with water…

  • Blessed

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    wordworkerrussell
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    “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven.” Matthew 5:10-12 Being an outcast is…

  • Learning Outside the Box

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    wordworkerrussell
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    I’ve always found it hard to explain to questioners what we do as homeschoolers. Not because I don’t know what we do, but because most questioners have preconceived ideas of what constitutes education. They want to know what grade a child is in, what their letter or number grades are, what subjects they are taking,…