D6 Blog
Bringing Joy to the Ends of the Earth
My five-year-old insists that crayons are an essential purchase this season, and I can only agree. She has a deep joy for giving to kids she may never meet, a joy she shares with her little brother as they intentionally pray over every colorful shoebox gift we pack as a family. I love getting to model generosity for my children and teach them about Jesus. God nurtured these desires in my heart and continues to demonstrate His perfect timing in fulfilling the deep desires of my heart. And it...
Daddy/Daughter Time!
I’m sure I could have many more teenage followers from my daughter’s school had I entitled this article “How to Date MY Daughter,” but alas I have her convinced that at this age dating boys is not in her best interest right now. But that is another blog post for...
Five Simple Ways to Say “Thank you” to Your Sunday School Teachers
What two words have the power to keep you going? That’s right, you guessed it…thank you! (“You won a vacation” is four words!) You know how well those two little words can encourage you to keep at it. When someone notices and says “thank you for all your hard work” it...
It’s Been 3 Years and She Still Cries: 4 Ways to Love Your Spouse Through Grief
Understand that people grieve in their own way and at their own pace. Healing is a process that takes time and effort. Time alone does not heal wounds; rather, time gives us the opportunity to take steps towards healing. Some people can experience healing in a few...
Five Strategies to Spiritually Connect with Your Grandchildren
Being a grandparent may be one of the best roles God has given any adult. When grandchildren are born, something very special takes place inside the grandparent. At least, this was our experience. Grandchildren are very special. Interestingly, in our experience...
You’re Not a Horrible Parent
And with the stroke of midnight and the turning back of the clocks…it happened. Somehow we magically moved into the mysterious time we call the “holiday season.” In just three days my Facebook feed has lit up with posts about Christmas, posts against...
Back to the Future of Families
Today’s date, October 21, 2015, is significant for all “Back to the Future” enthusiasts. In the second movie of the franchise’s trilogy, Doc Brown, Marty, and Jennifer go forward from 1985 to 2015. You can see a small clip of some of the many predictions they made...
How to Reach Your Grandkids with the Gospel
In over 18 years of ministry, I have come to understand that what I believe about God will be seen most clearly not in my life or the lives of my kids but in my grandkids. What I believe about faith is passed on to the next generation who then passes it on to the next...
#D6 Reflections
I attended the D6 conference. It’s billed as Children’s, Youth, and Family Ministry conference based on the concepts of Deuteronomy 6 where parents are reminded to be the primary spiritual influence of their kids. The conference lived up to it’s billing…and so much...
If Jesus Came to Church
If Jesus were the guest preacher at your church, what would you do with your kids? Let that question sink in for a moment. This question was posed by Rob Rienow to a group of ministers and parents yesterday and I literally watched the reactions go from “Bring them of...
Planning Center Check-Ins: How it Can Help Your Ministry
Planning Center loves churches. In fact, two thirds of our team have worked on staff at churches. We know what it’s like to be in the trenches, struggling with the complex problems a church faces. Sometimes, adding a complicated management system on top of the mess...
With Faith, Nothing Is Impossible
Nine-year-old Faith Russell was born with the worst form of spina bifida. She endured three surgeries within her first year and then amazed her doctors by learning to walk at 21 months, even though she has no feeling in her feet. When Faith was 4, her older brother...
It’s Time to Tell Our Kids the Truth
Marriage is hard. We’ve been told… Half of all marriages end in divorce, and that’s true, even within the church. Second marriages are even more tenuous. Happy marriages are treasures, but few and far between. The institution of marriage is falling apart in America....