Building on the Foundation

  Modern society often touts independence as one of the highest virtues, especially in women. The “strong, independent woman” is held up as the ideal for young women to aspire to. Women are told they don’t need men, and men that they don’t need women; that all can be complete within themselves. Young men and women are urged to move away from their parents and “get out on their own” as soon as they turn 18. But despite this, getting married young is discouraged; both sexes are told to first go to college, get degrees, and start climbing the corporate ladder. When they do finally get married, husbands and wives are still encouraged to be as independent of each other as possible: separate incomes, split bills, and taking turns on the various household chores. In extreme cases, even separate meals, separate TVs, and separate bedrooms to accommodate the separate work schedules! This type of thinking permeates not only the western world, but even the churches. It’s common to hear such th...

Are you struggling with pronouns like a confused penguin? Fear not, my friend! As a seasoned wordsmith and Bible buff (not to brag, but I have written a couple of posts. Hehe), let me guide you through the treacherous waters of pronoun use. Trust me; you'll be pronouning like a pro in no time! So sit back, grab some popcorn, and hang on as we dive into the not-so-wild world of pronouns and remove your confused penguin look. The first thing to straighten out is the question that might be on everyone’s mind. What is a pronoun? Well, quite simply, it is a noun that has lost its amateur status. It has gone pro. Having gone pro, it is now a word that stands in for a noun. Like nouns, pronouns refer to people, things, concepts, or places. Most sentences contain at least one noun or pronoun. A pronoun can serve as the subject or object in a sentence, and it will usually refer back (or sometimes forward) to an antecedent—the noun that the pronoun stands in for. Pronouns are used to avoid t...