It is so interesting that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in the middle of winter, when darkness comes early. For thousands of years, God’s people lived in darkness, waiting. John called Jesus “the light of men” (John 1:4) and “the light in the darkness” (John...
“My dad and mom gave me two Christmas gifts that prove they do not get me” declared this young lady who was obviously bewildered by her parents. I could not hide my amazement and blurted out, "Oh wow! What did you do?" As she explained, this college student talked...
“Daddy,” my six-year-old leaned over and whispered in my ear, “should I change it to baseball? Because that’s what our family does”— and I was reminded that family discipleship can be far simpler than we sometimes think. Three or four months had passed since this...
The church calendar is punctuated by celebrations and times of preparation for those celebrations. On the heels of Easter, the next celebration, Mother’s Day, is almost here. In 2 Timothy 3:14 Paul writes this to Timothy, “But as for you, continue in what...
When your son asks you in time to come, saying, “What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?” - Deuteronomy 6:20 Do you ever wonder if your kids are watching and listening as you continue to pour into their...
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,...
Imagine if your pastor shared the following message the week before Christmas. "Here is our plan to celebrate the birth of Jesus this year as a church family. We have scheduled a 'decoration day!' You are all invited to join us as we decorate the sanctuary and set up...
Most of the time when we need to discipline our children, we are confronted with both an incorrect action and an incorrect attitude. Sometimes, however, we encounter a right action with a wrong attitude. For example, suppose you tell your son to apologize to his...
I need to start off by confessing this was not our idea. We stole (ahem, borrowed) it from some friends (thank you, Kyle and Sarah). A few years ago, my wife and I took a parenting class at our church and this was our big aha moment, our top takeaway, our immediate...
My husband and I both work full time in ministry. We are the proud parents of two teenagers. Often, as a family, we are pulled in different directions. Sports, jobs, theatre practice, music lessons, church events, and so on. We get caught up in all we have to do; all...
One of the most frequently asked questions we have received after the release of our new book on parenting teens is, “Should we require our teenaged son or daughter to go to church with us when they do not want to go?” It’s a great question and believe it or not, we...
My friend Samantha Krieger just wrote a post called What I Want My Daughters to Know About Beauty & Worth. I recommend you read her post and subscribe to her blog. She is one of the best writers I know and you don’t want to miss what she has to say, especially for...