Family

What Stands in the Way Becomes the Way

I like you, open my email daily and find worthy writers’ devotionals and musings. I often click “delete” for lack of time. I remind myself that I should read my Bible first, then if I have time, read the ponderings of others. This week I came across famous quotes and stumbled upon a quote by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” I read it a few times, and the COVID virus came to mind. My mind rambled on like one kicking a stone along a worn path, and […]

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While Finishing School At Home, Make Room For Fun

As we are heading into the most unusual end of the school year any of us have encountered, there are a few things that will help us as parents. We have been homeschooling for a while now and are probably at a point of getting antsy. For many of us, as things start opening up, it could create new challenges. Worry not about tomorrow First, we need to remember to take one day at a time. Matthew 6:34 reminds us not to worry about tomorrow… we just need to focus on today; tomorrow will take care of itself. Marathon, not […]

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In Uncertain Times, You Set The Tone

(Scroll down to leave a comment on what kind of tone do you set with your kids) The last few weeks, parents in our communities have faced some unprecedented things. There has been widespread fear for our health and the health of our loved ones. Panic to prep our households in case of quarantine. Long lines and craziness at stores. We are now facing school closures, work closures and for some reason toilet paper is nowhere to be found. Where were you? For our children this may be their “Where were you on 9/11?” moment. This level of upset may […]

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An Open Letter For Parents

To my teenager, I just finished reading about another victim of our social media era. You don’t know her, but you probably know other girls like her. Jessica was a teenager in Ohio who texted a photo of herself naked to her boyfriend. This photo was forwarded to other students in other high schools in her city. Jessica was so humiliated and so devastated by the violation that she committed suicide. She felt she couldn’t go on living with that photo of her naked body posted on the web for all to see for the rest of her life. As […]

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How to Teach Your Child to Love

This being the “Love Month” the topic of love is worthy of discussion … even in a parenting article. In fact, teaching children the proper understanding of love might be one of the most neglected areas of parenting. And, that neglect might be very damaging for a child’s future success in life. At first glance it sounds very worldly to challenge a parent to raise a child to “be a great lover.” But should we let our children gain this expertise by encouraging them to watch television shows like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette? This is what the world around […]

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Stop, Look And Listen = You Matter

Whether you’re talking to a child, a co-worker or the love of your life, when we stop, look and listen to them, we’re giving them our full attention, which says YOU MATTER! All three actions are keys to having meaningful, connected conversations which in turn leads to significant, connected relationships.   What does it mean to stop? Stop means purposefully ending whatever you’re doing to give someone undivided attention. Close the laptop, lay down the phone, put it on silent, remove the earbuds, stop folding the clothes and turn off the television. STOP means to remove yourself from anything that […]

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Be Refreshingly Uncommon

My dad told me a long time ago, “Find out what everybody else is doing and don’t do it.” I have found this little bit of advice to be beneficial at times. As a pastor sometimes I observe other pastors and preachers and I read about church leadership, church growth, vision-casting and fundraising, and I do the exact opposite. Be refreshingly uncommon at times. For example, my wife and I see a marriage counselor and have no problem sharing that publicly. How can I counsel couples on the importance of checking in with a counselor when I’m not willing to […]

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Use Those “Time Eating” Christmas Gifts to Teach

We often receive questions asking about all forms of video games. Parents of the past would ask, “Don’t these video games become addictive and cause kids to waste many precious hours of time? We bought a Play Station for our kids for Christmas, but I’m considering taking it back. I’m also thinking we should not have these temptations in our home.” In today’s day and age not only is it Play Station, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, there is constant access to gaming on their phones as well.   Content It is not necessarily the electronic device that is the problem. There […]

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The Origin of My Best Christmas

All of my life Christmas has been one of the most exciting times of the year. Beginning with intense expectancy on Christmas Eve, I anxiously awaited the gifts I would receive from my wonderfully, overindulgent parents. This excitement carried over to Christmas morning when I would open my presents. But these emotions always subsided shortly after the unwrapping of the gifts. My parents always gave me the presents I asked for. But, after we cleaned up the paper wrappings, ribbons and boxes, we all went back to business as usual. Somehow I knew there just had to be more! While […]

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Are You in Reactive or Proactive Mode?

New Year’s resolutions can often last into early February, but intentional planning can make a huge difference. Here are some tips for you to be a more effective person and leader in 2020. Next year is going to be so great, in part, because you took some time to think through a simple personal plan for yourself and your family. Spontaneity is great, but so too, is having some sort of relationship/family plan. Good leaders make good plans that give others a real sense of purpose and accomplishment. If you asked a son, daughter or spouse what the family wants […]

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