The Rest of My Life

My Faith Journey
I found a Christmas newsletter my parents wrote when I was six years old that stated I went forward in a church service during the previous week. I am not sure I can explain all that took place at that point, but I am thankful for the presence of God in my life over the last fifty years. While I certainly do not claim to be perfect, I am a committed to Jesus Christ, and hold to beliefs related to historic Christianity. Yet I know events like the Crusades, as well as unkind comments and actions today, are said to be "Christian" but clearly are not. On the other hand, there are people like William Wilberforce who helped bring about vast improvements because of their faith. Jesus often emphasized that love must replace hatred, brotherhood must replace prejudice, peace must replace violence, and compassion must replace greed. When people are genuinely transformed by God, the world changes for the better.

My Family and Friends
I am grateful for my family! My wife, Brenda, is a treasure, as is each of my children. As the kids were growing up, we used several different modes of education: public school, private school, and home school. I think each has merit, depending upon the abilities of parents, the personality and needs of the child, and the resources available locally. We developed a number of instructional materials and some curricula which may be of help to parents using any of the educational options. I'm also grateful for deep, long-lasting relationships with friends that I treasure.

Mount Olivet Campmeeting
The PBS television special "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" included several scenes and interviews at the Mount Olivet Camp in West Virginia, which was founded by my grandfather just after the turn of the century. This section is a short history of the camp, including quite a few pictures taken over the last century. My grandfather's book is also available online without charge. This page is a memorial to my mother, Lois Ratcliff.

Celebrating the Biblical Holidays
My wife and I are interested in the Old Testament feasts and festivals. We have explored messianic aspects that we believe are latent in the biblical record. My wife developed curriculum related to this topic, available at her web site. That curriculum and some of my manuscripts are also posted on a web page created for homeschoolers. We continue to have interest in this area, although with our current busy schedules, we have not been able to devote as much time to this topic as we would like.

The Ratcliff Family Tree
The Ratcliff genealogy extends back to the time of William the Conqueror. This page is a memorial to my father, Clarence Ratcliff, who researched the family history for 35 years. It includes a description of how we got our name, my father's complete genealogical record of several thousand family members, and links to other relevant web pages. There is also a section about a house my father lived in when he was eight years old.

My Professional Life

Foot-washing by "Rabbi Don" at Vacation Bible School, 2005.

For a slow-motion video of the foot-washing click below

MPG video file  (980 kb)

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.

--II Tim. 1:7 (NIV)

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach: "Full experiences of God can never be planned or achieved. They are spontaneous moments of grace, almost accidental."
Bo Lozoff: "Rabbi, if God-realization is just accidental, why do we work so hard doing all these spiritual practices?"
Rabbi Carlebach: "To be as accident-prone as possible."

--Bo Lozoff, It's a Meaningful Life—It Just Takes Practice

If you are planning for a year, sow rice.
If you are planning for a decade, plant trees.
If you are planning for a lifetime, educate people

--Chinese proverb

If you can talk, you can sing;
if you can walk, you can dance.

--African proverb

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.
Live your life in such a way so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.

--Indian proverb

All creative, unique ideas are really processed goods.

--my daughter

A major misconception is that you should learn in order to get good grades.
You should learn so you can be a better person, and be of greater service to God and other people.

--me

soli deo gloria