Family

How a Simple Apology Can Demonstrate the Significance of Easter

Easter is the most pivotal moment in our Faith, remembering the sacrifice our Heavenly Father made so that we may have a relationship with Him. This is an unimaginable sacrifice for us as parents to wrap our heads around. As Christians, teaching this to our children is necessary, but how? In the past we have talked about many ways for us to talk to our children about Easter. We have talked about the “Resurrection Eggs,” which help parents of small children walk through the Easter week in a creative and age-appropriate way. We have mentioned “Resurrection Rolls,” another age appropriate […]

-Read More


HopeConnect™ hides the Word of God in the Hearts of Children

You never know when God is going to bring a word or promise back to you – after all He is always writing the most amazing stories. It was back in 2018 when we were on our 4KIDS staff retreat when God began the story of HopeConnect™.   A flicker of hope At the time we had just finished the Christmas season and our church did some incredible work with Operation Christmas Child where we sent gifts to kids in crisis all over the world as we shared the hope of the gospel.  During our annual staff retreat, we always […]

-Read More


Ark Encounter Brings the Epic Story to Life in Biblical Proportions

In the heartland of America, a replica of Noah’s Ark built to biblical proportions rises above rural Kentucky drawing visitors from around the world to experience a piece of the Bible brought to life. The Ark Encounter, located in Williamston, Kentucky, is one of the largest faith-based attractions in the country, drawing one million visitors to the theme park each year. Noah’s Ark Encounter Based on the biblical account in Genesis, Noah’s Ark was a massive ship, built at God’s command, to save Noah, his family and representatives of every kind of land-dependent, air-breathing animal from the global flood that […]

-Read More


Ignite Hope in the Lives of Others

This past Christmas Season and into the New Year, I kept hearing messages of “light” and “hope.” As I sat in church for our Christmas service I was struck by the message that the light of the Holy Spirit illuminates hope all around us.    Hope that is promised  It got me thinking about hope and the differences between the hope of this world and the hope God guarantees for us. Pastor Dan Hickling recently broke this down in a poignant way when reflecting on 1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who […]

-Read More


How to Keep Your Parenting Balance

Much of life is about balance, finding a balance between work and play or maintaining a balanced budget. In the Parenting on Purpose process, nothing is more important than the balance between relationship and discipline. The Right Parenting Balance The right disciplinary program gives a child the ability to discipline himself eventually. A right parent-child relationship gives the child the motivation to say “No” and makes the child feel secure even when he hears the word, “NO.”   Avoid extremes Discipline without relationship teaches a child to fear “getting caught.” At its worst, discipline without relationship teaches the child to […]

-Read More


BiG Children’s Foundation to Open Education Center for Teens in Foster Care

Thousands of teens enter the foster care system in Florida each year as victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment, or because they have run away or had run-ins with the law. Because of their age and history, their odds of being fostered or adopted are slim. The health of most teens is compromised due to the trauma and abuse they’ve suffered. A good majority resort to crime that results in arrest or incarceration, and more than half will become homeless within 18 months of leaving the system, becoming targets for sex trafficking and gang recruitment.  However, Big Children’s Foundation (BCF) […]

-Read More


A Paradigm for Redemption

We all have a brand new year ahead – and for most of us that looks like new goals, dreams and plans. Come January we are all envisioning what the New Year could be like, but what if I told you that right now, even in the midst of a new year, you have a neighbor who is hurt and abandoned in a ditch. It’s easy to overlook this neighbor, and after all you are busy and on your way to planning a big, new year ahead. Does this story sound familiar?    Your neighbor  The parable of the Good […]

-Read More


Finding Jesus in Jonah

“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord” (Jonah 3:1–3 NKJV).   The pages of history are replete with the heartwarming stories of men and women who have been down and came back to take advantage of the second chance. Abraham Lincoln is a prime example. Defeated for the state legislature in 1832, defeated for Congress in 1843, again in 1848, defeated for the […]

-Read More


Teaching the Discipline of Self-Improvement

The start of a new year usually begins with a few resolutions. Whether they actually follow through on the resolutions or not is a separate issue. The thought of self-improvement and the discipline involved is a great training lesson for children and teens. The fact that I actually have in me the discipline to improve myself is an understanding that has been totally lost. When you ask today’s child, teen, or young adult what they would like to change this next year, they will almost always talk about a possession. Instead of changing themselves or improving themselves as a person, […]

-Read More


The Warmth of A Home

We have this tradition at 4KIDS where every Christmas season we gather all our foster and adoptive families for big Christmas parties in our different regions. One part of that Christmas party is our gingerbread house competition. We break out into groups and decorate all of these gingerbread houses, which with hundreds of kids in one room, you can imagine, is quite the sight!  Home in the Warmth One of my first years going to these Christmas parties as 4KIDS’ President, there was a young boy who eagerly recruited me to be on his gingerbread house team. His little brother […]

-Read More