We make wedding vows, promising to be a faithful spouse. So why don’t we make parenting vows, promising to be a faithful parent? We could tell our kids about the unending love and service they can expect from us, just as we did when marrying our spouse. Someone who does this is a Proverbs 31 [...]
Raising PG kids in an R world is like a tropical cruise as a young couple . . . well, you know, without the tropics and without the cruise. But at least you’re young. My wife and I could hardly wait as we boarded our first cruise. We had read all about it, but after [...]
Why in the world is it so hard to find a decent movie? They nearly all have characters following R-rated scripts with strong language, violence, and sex. So too, it’s getting harder and harder for your kids to find friends that aren’t filled with R-rated vices. It makes you wonder: How different would our world [...]
Kids start out so innocent. Before you know it, though, they’re saying inappropriate things in front of your friends. And you’re left asking, “Where in the world did THAT come from?!” The answer is often simple. Kids today live in a R world. My grandparents and parents lived in tough economic times, but had G [...]
Oh, the joy of spoiling grandkids. You shower them in ways you never did with your own kids decades earlier. And then you brag about it! Spoiling, though, doesn’t have to be “stuff” you buy for them. It can be a legacy you build for them. Both are treats. Stuff can make them happy for [...]
Families today are so busy. So tired. So restless. So full, yet wanting even more. Like shoehorning large feet into small shoes, we’re forever forcing yet another activity into already crammed schedules. Maybe there’s a better way. Ironically, some of the happiest people have the simplest lives and the grandest treasures. They sacrifice the good [...]
Purpose is what you’re called to do ... Passion, what you’re compelled to do. What absolutely compels you? What grips your soul and won’t let go for decades? When God is both the author and the audience of what compels you, that’s God-honoring passion. God-honoring passion isn’t any ol’ passion. Any ol’ passion gratifies, but [...]
You are the greatest influence in your child’s life. No one can take Mom’s place. No one. The question isn’t if you shape your kids. . . it’s how are you shaping your kids? Are you creating in your kids a hunger and thirst for God? Granted, only they can choose to partake of the [...]
Sometimes we miss the joy. In every age and stage, there’s reason to rejoice, even if we have to look hard to find it. One of my daughter’s joys is sunflowers. Just like my Leslie, sunflowers are bold and beautiful. I can’t pass a field of sunflowers without thinking of her. But sunflowers also remind [...]
Rare is the woman who feels fully ready to be a mom. Then you have a child and realize you were right. So many responsibilities. So many roles. You’re supposed to be Dr. Mom when your kids are sick, Dr. Phil when they’re confused, and Dr. Spock when they’re needy. The real problem, though, isn’t [...]
