Teach Your Children to Worship
Our role as parents is to steward our children— we don’t own them. They are gifts from God, entrusted to us to steward on His behalf. Our goal in stewarding our children is for them to grow as stewards of the relationships in their own life— their relationship with God, with themselves, with others…
We Aren’t Loving Homeschooling
I’m homeschooling my oldest son this year— he’s seven— and I’d like to just confess here publicly: We aren’t loving it. We are doing the math and the reading out loud and a million baking soda volcanos and lots of hikes. And every time I check in with him to say, “Hey, it’s not so bad, is it?” he…
How to Help Your Children Find True Happiness
We love to make our kids happy. That feeling we get when they smile and say, “Thank you, Daddy. That was the best time, ever.” There’s a special kind of a delight a parent takes in their child’s delight. When they’re happy, we’re happy. As they get older, our culture teaches them what they “need”…
Super-Hero Dads & Gospel-Centered Apologies
My daughter thinks I know everything. Like everything. In her mind, there are no problems I can’t fix and no questions I don’t know the answer to. She’s 7 years old, and I am her hero. I soak it up with everything I have. Dad to the rescue She recently came to me and asked me to fix a toy of…
The 7 Minute Conversation Challenge
“Most conversations take at least seven minutes to really begin.” —Sherry Turkle, Reclaiming Conversation The parent-child relationship is primarily a discipling relationship. And it’s hard to disciple someone without engaging them in real, meaningful conversation. Our hearts and souls were…
5 Things I Lost When I Became a Parent
It’s amazing how quickly life goes by and how fast we transition from newlyweds, to love birds, to the parents of three amazing little kids (with one on the way!). These years have gone by so fast, and we’re excited to see what God has planned for the future. But who could have prepared…
Yelling for Quiet
We’ve all done it. At one time or another we’ve all been total hypocrites while parenting. It’s ironic and almost comical if you think about it. We’ve yelled at our kids for being too loud. We’ve lost patience with their impatience. We’ve corrected their unkindness unkindly. We’ve complained…
The Perks of Being Unplugged and Unavailable
We live in a world that’s always on and we’re expected to be available at all times. There are so many perks to being unavailable, though! Moments pass so quickly with our spouses and our children— we can completely and unwittingly miss them if we’re glued to our screens. First let’s look at how…
3 Thoughts on Parenting in the Smartphone Age
This conversation will benefit all of us, in all seasons of life* but especially parents with teenagers. Navigating your teenager’s relationship (or potential relationship) with a smartphone is no joke— here are some guiding thoughts that have shaped the way we view and use tech in our home. *Many…
4 Steps to Turn Your Smart Phone into a Dumb Phone
Spoiler alert: these tips are just as helpful for parents as they are for kids! This post is all about practical tips and tricks that will make your smart phone less addictive. Check out our previous post for more on our philosophy and why this approach might be right for family. Set Your Phone to…