I forget about these stories until Amanda tells me: “You should write about ______.” Then I’ll go: “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Here is one of those stories: The situation: We were flying from Minneapolis, MN to Spokane, WA on an evening direct flight and Sari was a baby; probably around 6-7 months-old. Back […]
We are not the perfect family nor the perfect parents by any means. I’m a recovering control freak. I’ve even lost my temper a few times (okay, more than a few times). I won’t mention what my wife is not perfect at… because that’s not my job! My kids tend to get hyper (because of […]
Jonathan McKee has an interesting resource he’s working on called: “R U Listening?” About “R U Listening?”: We are asking thousands of teenagers across North America, “What advice would you give to your parents if you knew they would actually listen?” The responses are amazing… if you really listen. Listen in right here each week, […]
A little over a month ago, my wife and I sat down to create and agree to a set of boundaries around our use of technology. Basically it was her telling me to get off my phone and pay attention to our family! While I tried to justify my actions because I mainly read articles […]
Sari and Macie were both given ring pops by their daycare providers the other day. Nothing unusual. They typically get a “treat” at the end of the week if they have been good. Usually I slip these weekly treats in my pocket before the girls see them so they don’t whine and fuss over them […]
Unbelievable! I’ve seen neat graphics and photographs of the different stages of prenatal development, but never an imaging video like this. Simply amazing! My favorite part of the presentation was when the presenter said: “…it is hard not to attribute divinity to it…” Another quote: “Even though I am a mathematician, I look at this […]
I came across this infographic about parent’s monitoring their children’s activity on Facebook. I was actually encouraged that the research seems to indicate that parents take monitoring their children online seriously. HT YouthMin.org
Notes from: Spiritual Parenting: Resourcing Your Parents to Be Spiritual Leaders Breakout Session @ CPC 2012 Orlando by Kit Rae Core Values (@ Rock Harbor): Parents are primary Church is supportive Holy Spirit works when He chooses (on His own time table) Temporal vs. Eternal carpool, laundry, TV Studying the Word, worship, fellowship, prayer, devotion, […]
I love my children. They are great! We have lots of fun together… we laugh… we cry… we dance. I cannot imagine my life without them. They are truly a treasure. However, someday my children will grow up, and God-willing, be independent, responsible, and Jesus following adults. In order to accomplish that goal, we as […]
When I was at Bethel Seminary a few years ago, in my Introduction to Children and Family Ministries class, the professor talked about 3 powerful ways to form faith in our families. She got this information from the Search Institute: Talking with Mom or Dad about faith: These are informal conversations that happen in the […]
Do you sometimes wonder if teenagers argue just because they want to argue? …for the mere pleasure of watching you, their wonderful parent, get suckered in and engaged in a meaningless argument for the purpose of… well… the argument?! Then you’ll enjoy the classic clip below: HT All Pro Dad source YouTube
Once again, the EpicParent.tv does not disappoint! Here is a list of 10 creatively interesting discipline ideas: JAIL TIME NIGHT TIME CHORES MISS A GAME OLD SCHOOL SOAP TRICK PAY THE PIPER GIVE GRACE YOU HAVE TO CRY COLLABORATIVE WINDOW CLEANING LET THEM DECIDE HEAD GEAR Head on over to the post for some further […]
I’m sure you know that successful parenting has more to do with the little things you teach over and over and over again… all in the hopes that these teachable moments add up to a wise, kind, content and caring “future” adult who is productive, generous, and responsible. Dr. Michelle Borba shares 38 Parenting Practices […]
This is a guest post from a friend of mine @ Hayward Wesleyan Church. She writes: A young family sitting together in a church service, the youngest with his head resting against his father’s shoulder. The oldest is jotting down notes as the pastor preaches. When the singing time begins the whole family rises together […]
Do you ground your children? Do you put things in time-out for a time as a disciplinary measure? Do you find yourself saying things like: “That toy is out for 3 days, or 3 weeks!” Then the quote below might offer some helpful advice for ya: Whatever the discipline is (no TV, no bike, etc.); […]
Mark Merrill shares a 3-step approach to disciplining your children: Remove Reflect Reconnect Read more about these 3 steps @ 3 R’s of Discipline
For the last couple of months we’ve been repeating a sort of mantra with the girls at bed time. We say: “Who loves you?” The girls reply: “Mom, Dad and God.” Then we ask: “Why did God make you?” To which the girls answer: “To love God, and to love others.” The other night I […]
@ CPC 2012, breakout session speaker, Kit Rae made a great comment about normal, average, everyday life. He said: Redeem the time you currently have with your children. One lady I know has redeemed bath time. She prints off characters of the Bible stories they learned in children’s ministry the past weekend, laminates them, then […]
Is it possible to gain the whole world and still lose? John DeButts was the CEO of AT&T just prior to its breakup in the 1980’s. At the zenith of his power, he had more than 1,000,000 employees around the world. DeButts retired as a very wealthy man. Not long after that, he needed to […]
Are you ever at a loss for words with your teenager? Need a few ideas to start a conversation with? Sometimes all we need are some prompters… I came across a series of graphics and downloadable PDFs on Conversation Starters for Young Men that just might help. Even though the graphics and documents are peppered with […]