Love the life you have. Create the life you want.

Love the life you have. Create the life you want.

I hope your family had an amazing Thanksgiving last week. Ours did, and it was a great reminder of just how blessed we are. All of our kids were home, including many more that we call family. This past weekend brought to mind an important but easily forgotten...
Faith Habits That Last a Lifetime

Faith Habits That Last a Lifetime

“Jesus? Jesus?”… said our two year old, as she pointed at her toothbrush on the bathroom counter. For the longest time, she struggled to let us brush her teeth at night. But for the last month, since I started singing “Jesus Loves Me” to her while brushing her teeth,...
Why Won’t My Kids Listen? (3 reasons they tune you out)

Why Won’t My Kids Listen? (3 reasons they tune you out)

“I’m going to count to three, and if you don’t obey, you’re going to be in big trouble.” “If you don’t stop teasing your sister, you’re not going to get dessert for the next year.” “Why can’t they listen to me the first time? They only obey once I raise my voice.” Is...
Replace the Bad With the Good

Replace the Bad With the Good

“Parenting forward” (focusing on training more than correction) is a huge win for Christian parents. Last week, we talked about one of the best ways to do this: train your kids when they’re NOT in trouble. Use those small, everyday moments to speak...
Train Before Trouble Strikes

Train Before Trouble Strikes

Teach them diligently unto thy children… when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way. -Deuteronomy 6:7 Many parents find themselves perpetually frustrated with their kids…  “Will they ever learn?”… “Why can’t they just listen?”… etc. ...
What Does It Mean to Parent Forward?

What Does It Mean to Parent Forward?

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. -Proverbs 22:6 Last week, we talked about the importance of training over just correction. It’s interesting that the verse above doesn’t say to correct a child in the...
Shift From Correction to Training

Shift From Correction to Training

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. -Proverbs 22:6 I can remember a season when we had reached a point of parenting frustration… “This kid just won’t listen!” Ever feel completely stuck in your parenting? You’re...
Don’t Protect Your Kids From Hard Things

Don’t Protect Your Kids From Hard Things

Since my boys were young, they’ve all helped me mow lawns over the years. They’ve learned how to cut the grass, weed eat, clean out the mowers, and change the oil, etc. But when I asked my 15-year-old son to weed-eat recently, he said, “Sure, but I’ve never done that...
3 Ways to Help Your Kids Avoid Religious Noise

3 Ways to Help Your Kids Avoid Religious Noise

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Colossians 2:8 Religious noise is a real problem, and kids raised in church all their lives can easily fall prey to...
A Top Defining Characteristic of Godly Parents

A Top Defining Characteristic of Godly Parents

“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”  Proverbs 31:27 I’ve watched a lot of parents over the years, and one of the defining characteristics of godly parents, as opposed to just “good” or even “Christian”...