THEO

Yesterday a friend said something very profound. She said they had finally cancelled their home telephone service-- giving up life as they had known it. What a life changing thought. Because of her casual comment, I have metaphorically dumped all ...

After Jesus returned to heaven, early Christians used the anchor as their symbol for Christianity. Why did it change? In my humble opinion, an anchor is a great symbol to represent Jesus. I don't know the story, but I guess ...

Right now I am praying fervently for the health of a friend. Rarely have I been so intentional about praying for another. When you have a request before God that touches your heart deeply, it makes you evaluate all the ...

How loud is God's voice in your life? Right now God is speaking on full volume to me, which reminds me that hasn't always been the case. Often times I have listened to other voices more than His. Right now, ...

God created our world filled with paradoxes. In His Word, He makes in-congruent statements like "in our weakness, we are strong." Or, the meek shall inherit the earth. The poor are rich. The contrasts don't end there. He has tucked ...

Today I learned something new. After being troubled for weeks over a situation that seemed impossible to resolve, God broke into my thoughts and fixed "it." The problem was conflict between believers. Conflict weighs heavier on Christ-followers since we instinctively ...

In God's economy things don't work as you expect. Remember Jesus' New Testament words, "the first shall be last?" It's the same God of the Old Testament. He has not changed. The principle of Psalm 4:1 is similarly unexpected. In ...

The eye-catching quote is by French Jesuit theologian and scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Today it speaks to me. Maybe it will speak to me every day if I will make time to consider something more than my body. No ...

This is an incomplete post, and probably always will be.  When can our finite minds and limited faith plumb the depth of all God has for us in our suffering? Nonetheless, let's start the discussion.... Until a Christian suffers loss,  ...

My cousin's adopted daughter decided to return to the Ukraine on her 19th birthday.  What heartache for the family.  All because of a boy she met when she visited last month. But she won't listen to reason.... Is that by ...

Fragile people.  We all know at least one.  Most of us want to treat them carefully, kindly, with lots of TLC. But the problem is that sometimes fragile people are so rocked by their previous hurts, rocked to their core, ...

Juxtaposition: The state of being close together, side-by-side, especially for contrast or comparison. That word defines the human dilemma, or at least one of them.  Inside each soul is the truth that we are created in the image of God.  ...

Thinking little of yourself makes it easier to yield to the Holy Spirit for change.  I feel sorry for those with many talents and much success ...

First reason? Because I go soft on myself and hard on others when I don't. Second reason? Satan's lies always have a little truth mixed in with them, which means we need to be saturated with the Word of God ...

Thank you Lord for this good word from you!  How can I know it is from Him? Read on... It started by my turning to read Psalm 1, but I opened to the closing of the book of Job - ...

Surreal In my book, Webster earns a C- he defines surreal as having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic.  But then again, I didn’t have my first glimpse of understanding of that word at all until 2008 ...

They can’t hear you. My family is a big fan of the character Gibbs on the TV show NCIS; Gibbs with his list of rules. His list caused me to develop my own.  Threadgill rule number 9: people can’t hear ...

Imagine the day of your death when you will cease laboring, striving, working here on earth. At many funerals, one can hear, “He entered into his rest.” For those who believe in heaven, they believe heaven = rest.  Some even ...

Wow.  Scott Simon, NPR Commentator,  offers a glimpse into the foundation of the  left's belief system.  He says that he routinely avoids using the word "evil" in his work as a reporter, although Scott Simon, the parent, cannot always avoid ...

At THEO, I am always impressed by the rare student who seems to have an understanding of their big picture.  These extraordinary people rarely struggle following the crowd, and yet they have friends.  They are content in their own circumstances ...

One definition of insanity is to repeatedly do the same thing while expecting a different result.  This is the textbook definition of how Terri Threadgill tries to change. Today, God's Word jumped off the page at me as I suddenly ...

Happy Wednesday THEO students, During our high school Economics class, students learn the difference between producers and consumers.  Normally, I ask the students who in the room is a producer.  Many hands go up as most high school students have ...

Thirty years ago a friend offered some great insight. God-given gifts are very negative when not harnessed by the Holy Spirit. Example: The gift of discernment from the Lord is a critical and judgmental spirit when not harnessed by the ...

Feeling judgmental?  I struggle with that too, but feel thankful  today that the Lord revealed my sin to me, for I lived decades without knowing it was my sin, without ever struggling against it.  How badly do I struggle?  I ...

There is a skill set, an angle to understanding life, which few of us think to consider or request from the Lord. The skill of identifying emotions doesn’t hold the key to making all of life happy or peaceful, nor ...

As parents, we learn to recognize markers of maturity in our children. Eventually we can recognize them in all children.   It starts when a baby can sleep for five hours in one stretch, or when they can suddenly hold a ...

A hole in my heart for God I grew up hearing that every person has a hole in their heart that only God can fill. I never understood that phrase even though I became a Christian at an early age ...

A NEAT TEACHING MOMENT Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of ...

The Word of the Lord stands forever.  I Peter 1:25 NIV Bob Gass of “The Word for You Today” writes in his February 24, 2012 devotional: Let’s read what some of the most notable leaders in history have said about ...

As August rolls around each year, the craziness hits—as predictably as the triple degree temps of August in Texas.  Perhaps this year I am finally wise enough to spot the cyclical theme.  And it isn’t just a theme of heat ...

Cheer up! You're worse than you think. — by Bob Glenn One of the occupational hazards of pastoral ministry is that you are often the subject of people’s destructive criticism, gossip, slander, misrepresentation, foolish inferences, ignorant speculations, and the like. And ...

“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.”  ----Eleanor Roosevelt Beautiful young people are never accidents of nature; all are beautiful because of God’s hand, not merely a few. However, she got it ...

I am constantly waiting and annoyed. I am annoyed with the salesman who calls on my telephone and then takes 20 seconds to speak. I am annoyed by my husband who tries to talk to me and work on his ...

None of us is equipped to be a homeschool leader.  But all of us should follow the call of the Lord if He is pushing us to do something in a leadership position.  He who calls will enable. Recently a ...

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 says We keep the Sabbath to remind us that God brought us out of Egyptian slavery with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm—verse 15 That speaks to me today. 99% or 99.9% of our country works on ...

I haven’t ever said it, but I have thought it….why don’t you grow up?  You are acting so childish?  I have thought it about my children, who are, duh, children, growing up!  In my case, when I demand them to ...

I am confounded at times by my own obsession with money. I have prayed for specific amounts of money, which never came. Regardless of my lack of miracle money, the Lord provided what I intended to buy without providing the ...

What if I make my meeting with the Lord my power meeting of the day?  How do I prepare for the big meeting with a client or with an important person?  I do my homework; I make sure I am ...

A Christian homeschool….isn’t that what we all set out to build when we launch our home schools?  Unfortunately, in many homes, this idea gives new meaning to the phrase “hindsight is 20/20.”  As much as I longed to found a ...

Many of us work our money hard, especially as a homeschool family.  We don’t have any choice but to make the most of every penny by borrowing curriculum when possible, finding it used at other times.  We use produce co-ops ...