We are heading into a season of opportunity. For some families Thanksgiving and Christmas can help define who they are. For others these holidays are little more than eating and expense. Where do family traditions fit in? Traditions might just be the most important part of this holiday season. In fact, Tevye, in “Fiddler on the Roof,” kept singing that traditions were the signposts that kept a family going in difficult times. Where did our traditions go? For some reason many homes left the traditions at grandma’s house. Traditions are the repetitive activities that can help children feel as if […]

As we head into the primaries every eye is on candidates. This is important!  The election of a leader is very important, and we should all be involved. Having said that let me also say that what is really important is not the next leader, but leadership. Training Leaders We need to be training leaders. We can’t elect and then sub-contract out the leadership of our future to an elected official. We need to be leaders, and we need to train tomorrow’s leaders. It’s the job of every parent to train their children to become leaders rather than followers. No […]

It’s no secret that fall is my absolute favorite season.  In college I had the opportunity to live in a state that experienced all the beautiful changes that fall brings with it.  It starts with a chill in the air at night, then you can see the leaves begin to turn.  In South Florida, we open the season by celebrating with all things pumpkin and enjoying the humidity starting to lift.  We love the opening of football season and focus on “back to school rhythms.”    Cycles So many areas of scripture point to the fact that God has created […]

When Torrey, my oldest child, began school, somehow I felt she no longer needed my approval as much as before. She was older and other people, like her teachers, were in charge. Because Daddy was so busy, I began to miss key events in her life, such as her kindergarten play.  Absent Parents Leads to Low Self-Esteem Not long after that, I was walking in my neighborhood and heard the shouts of six-year-olds playing soccer. I sat down to watch the game and noticed that of the thirty boys on the two teams, only four parents had taken the time […]

(Scroll down to leave a comment on the assembly process of parenting.) Recently I bought a piece of furniture—a large hardwood table. When it arrived, the table came in a box from another country and had 80 pieces to assemble. The package included a small wrench and a 28-page book of directions. The picture of the completed project looked great, but the process was overwhelming, especially for a guy who thinks “wrench” is something you do to your back. All along I kept wondering how much it would cost to hire someone else to assemble it. Yet I took my […]

There are many milestones in your life where you pause and take stock. For some it is a significant birthday or anniversary. Some pause every New Year’s Day to think through goals for the new year. In our family we recently had one of those events: our son’s 13th birthday. It has made me pause to think how fast it’s gone but also realize how much time is left until he graduates high school. Just five fast years…sigh.    Looking back It makes me think back to the baby or family dedication at our church. That Sunday morning before we […]

As you look at our culture, it’s obvious we are not sure about the role or the purpose that our sexuality plays. For far too long the Christian home has attempted to teach a child about sex with one word: DON’T. Then the child goes off to school, or turns on the television, or listens to music or social media or TikTok and hears a totally different message from every other part of our culture: Go for it… experiment! Parents must first decide what they think about sex and then be very proactive in teaching their children about sex. Is […]