Hal Young's Blog, page 63

Review: Ned, Barnardo Boy

There are only a select subset of books that I reread. Most are barely worth the time to finish them, but there are a few that bear rereading again and again. Dorothy Sayers is like that. Although she writes mysteries, her prose is so enjoyable that you don't even care that you know "who dunnit." I was rereading one of hers the other day and Harriet mentioned to Lord Peter that someone was a Barnardo's boy. Thanks to Barbara Coyle, this time I knew what she meant!

Anyone in the England of 70 o...

A Winner!! This Means War

Congratulations to Akbowlin88, who won a free copy of This Means War: Equipping Christian Families for Fostercare or Adoption!

I hope all of you who didn't win will consider heading over and buying a copy. This is a book every family who is considering adoption or fostercare ought to read!

Keep an eye out for a new review and contest later today…

What To Do With A Tick

One of the realities of hiking, camping, or even just working in the yard is the possibility of ticks.  Now, I'm not quite like Humphrey Bogart and the leeches in Africa Queen, but close enough — I really don't like the little bloodsuckers.

I was over at Duke Medical Center yesterday for an appointment and their website had a helpful article about the illnesses you can get from a tick bite., and what to do if you get one (either a bite or an illness).  We had a case of one of them a while...

Review: This Means War: Equipping Christian Families for Fostercare or Adoption

Don't miss the contest at the bottom of this post, friends!

Although we have never adopted, when author Cheryl Ellicott offered me a review copy of This Means War: Equipping Christian Families for Fostercare or Adoption, I jumped at the chance! You see, I had read the first chapter of the book as a sample she offered a group of fellow authors. I had seldom read anything so honest and practical about the spiritual warfare a Christian family can face and I was dying to read the rest of the...

News from the Brethren in Mexico

I hate that we are so far behind in posting these updates for the Richardsons in Mexico. We've been away at Hal's family's lake camp and in contrast to previous years, the internet service was so wretched we were not able to do nearly what we needed to online. Please be in prayer for our brethren in Mexico!

From: "Mike Richardson"

Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2010 21:59:30 -0500

God is good, all the time.

All the time God is good.

This morning we had church at a house in San Juan. Only the people from
close ...

What They Won't Learn in School

The King's School is the oldest independent private academy in Australia.  The headmaster of the all-male, K-12 boarding school, Dr. Tim Hawkes, presented a paper at the International  Boys' School Coalition conference in Toronto, Canada, a few years ago, starting his presentation with this observation:

When the philosopher, Aristippus of Cyrene, was asked some 400 years BC, what boys should be taught, he replied:

"Those things which they will use when men."

Imbued with ancient wisdom, this...

Serving God on a Wooden Saddle!

Another update from Mike Richardson, missionary in Mexico in the area devastated by Hurricane Alex:

Subject: God is good

Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2010 23:06:24 -0500

Early this week I was asked by the government disaster relief agency to all the damage to the orchards here in our valley. Then they came back and asked that I also document the damage to houses. Timothy (10) and I went out this morning to begin that process. We rode five hours, on the donkey, to reach the farthest houses. This time I...

Real Men Standing Firm in Devastation – Please Pray!

Dear Friends,

The following messages are from our dear friends, Mike and Pam Richardson, missionaries in Mexico.  Their area has been devastated by Hurricane Alex, some dear brethren losing their entire source of support, their orchards.  We thought you'd want to be praying for them and would also enjoy hearing about how Mike's sons have stepped up to the plate and are doing men's work in this crisis.

Thank you so much for praying!!

Hal and Melanie (comments in italics are ours)

A Road, Not a...

Available July 4: Hero Tales Part One

New from Great Waters Press!

Hero Tales from American History

By Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt

As read by Hal Young

Part One

You have heard it on our podcast — now you can order it to keep! This series of five stirring accounts from early American history illustrates the values of heroism, courage, patriotism, and perseverance.  We've even added music and sound effects to liven up Lodge and Roosevelt's eloquent prose!

Order your copy today at the introductory price of $5

Or download the...

A Letter to Children Who Have Lost a Parent

I am posting this for the children of a friend, who just lost their mother unexpectedly. I wrote this several years ago when a dear friend's mate died. As I read over it just now, I thought that others might benefit if I posted it more publicly.

My dear young friends,

I am writing because I have been through what you are going through. My father died when I was 14 years old. I felt so sad and confused and frightened. I wondered where we would get the money to live on and if we'd have to ...