What are Your Priorities— Really?
Imagine with me that someone asks you to write down your priorities, starting with the most important first. Would your list look something like this? God Family Church Work Social life/extracurriculars That’s kind of the universally accepted “biblical priorities pattern.” Here’s the question…
Little, Developing, Overstimulated Brains
We often talk about how what we consume, and what our kids consume, impacts the conditions of our hearts. And it does. But did you know that what we watch also impacts our brains? Especially when it comes to children. While we might bristle against the idea of boundaries, adults and children both…
Trusting God Together
“I’m scared, Mom.” I saw the text message on my phone. It was 11:30 p.m. and my daughter was away on a school trip in Florida. We had just gotten a late-night phone call from a foster care worker asking if we could take in a sweet little 7-month-old boy who had medical complexities and needed to…
Teaching Kids to Trust
“Mom and dad, I need to talk to you about something.” Beautiful words. They could also be frightening words for parents to hear. Yet they are priceless words because they communicate that our child trusts us enough to share what is on their heart. And such is parenting. Parenting consists of…
3 Reasons to Sing in Our Homes
One reason many of us are intimidated by the idea of family worship is that many of us don’t think of ourselves as worship leaders. Our idea of a worship leader is the person leading the music at church on Sunday mornings. But the truth is that all parents are worship leaders. We’re all…
Bible Reading Guide for Holy Week
For the better part of the past year, our family has enjoyed being a part of a small home church gathering. We continue to marvel at all God is doing in our family and in the families of those involved. Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday and one of the men from our group felt led to write a Bible…
Creating Homes Where Our Children Truly Belong
“I don’t belong anywhere.” “No one cares about me.” “I can’t trust anyone.” “I’m not valuable.” As a therapist, I hear statements like these from young people all the time. Teenagers and young adults feel alone, isolated, and detached in what appears to be the most connected generation ever. These…
Please Talk with Your Kids About Sex
I have three teenagers at home, and l just want to start out by saying that I can’t offer you a magic conversation or a 3-step guaranteed process for your kids to grow up with a healthy and biblical view of sexuality. My husband and I are learning as we stumble along. I’m certain my kids don’t…
7 Ways to Change Up Communication with Your Kids
Our primary job as parents is to disciple our children— to help them see that they’re sinners in need of a Savior, to introduce them to Jesus, to teach them about Him, and to show them what it looks like to follow Him. We need to communicate clearly with our children if we’re to fulfill this…
Family Worship Revolutionized Our Home (No, Really)
My husband and I have been married 7 years; our older daughter is almost five. Until recently, we’d never consistently practiced family worship time. Like many young families, we’ve wanted to raise our children up in the Lord. We’ve wanted to show them how precious Jesus is. We’ve wanted to teach…