Family

Great Ways To Teach Civility and Kindness in 2021

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
12 Jan 2021
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kindness

Well parents, we officially made it to the end of 2020! It was quite the journey for us all. There were definitely ups and downs, but if we choose to see the positives, we all probably learned many things. Even better, we had the chance to instill in our kids some very powerful life lessons. Our kids learned how to cope with major change. They learned how to manage disappointment. They hopefully learned how to process through emotions like fear and anxiety. This time period forced many of us to streamline our schedules and get a lot more organized as […]

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Reading Versus Engaging

Rob Hoskins
4 Jan 2021
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You are reading this. But are you engaging with it? What’s the difference, and why does it matter? In the context of spiritual formation, the question takes more significant shape: “Is it enough to simply read God’s Word, or must one actually engage with it to grow in their faith or be transformed by it? Now you start to see where this becomes important! This seemingly minor distinction has tremendous repercussions in the life of any believer, as well as in the areas of evangelism and discipleship.   The Science Neuroscience tells us that the more ways something is learned, […]

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reading versus engaging

Back to the Present

Lisa May
17 Dec 2020
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back

Back in Time Family, the stuff we’re made of. Where do we come from? Where do you feel most at home? “The Hillbilly Elegy” is the top 10 movie on Netflix.  It’s a story of a Yale law student that receives an urgent phone call that pulls him back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his future. The movie opens with a cast of characters such as Glenn Close, Amy McAdams, and the first words are “it’s the year of our Lord.” We all have a story.   The family system Dr. […]

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All I Want for Christmas is…What?

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
3 Dec 2020
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All I want for Christmas is… what? The answer to that question could determine the success or failure of your Christmas experience. As a parent, the question is: What do we really want for Christmas? Don’t we want something that will last on into generations to come? Something powered by more than batteries. I have never heard anyone say, “We have a great family tradition of giving each other video games for Christmas. It’s been an awesome part of our Christmas for generations. It’s what brings us back home each year.” There are many electronic things we could get for […]

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want for Christmas

Deserve or Serve?

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
4 Nov 2020
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deserve

There is so much going on today in our country. We can use this to teach and train our children.  Everything from healthy debate and disagreement to responsible citizenship. But how do we do it? It seems so overwhelming right now… one place to start is the difference between deserve and serve. Many people like to tout the rights of citizenship and many people go to great lengths to become citizens, but we also must accept the responsibilities of citizenship. What do we deserve? We have raised generations since World War II who ask themselves, “What’s in it for me?” […]

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How And Why To Fit Chores In the Schedule

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
14 Oct 2020
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Many of us will soon be headed back to school. Some of us may still be virtual learning or doing half and half. Whatever we are doing this month, prioritizing a schedule for our kids is so important. Many have not been in a school building since March, so keeping home a place of consistency and “knowing what to expect” will be an imperative piece for easing this transition.     Why chores? Last month, we talked about setting up a wake and bedtime routine as the bookends for the schedule. This month we are going to focus on why adding […]

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chores

EPIC Tools to Raise Resilient Kids

Daniela Bolla
9 Oct 2020
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Right now, kids desperately need a strong village of parents, educators, friends and neighbors surrounding them. This pandemic has forced children to unexpectedly give up the joy of playing at their friends’ houses, participating in sports or visiting with a beloved grandparent. From what felt like one moment to the next, household living rooms were transformed into virtual classrooms, and dining room tables were taken over by piles of worksheets and textbooks. Huge milestones for teens, such as graduating high school or attending prom, were either cancelled or re-envisioned in light of social distancing guidelines. Without warning  all of the […]

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What’s Your EQ?

Lisa May
9 Sep 2020
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We all know that IQ measures intelligence, but are you aware of EQ? EQ is our emotional intelligence. In the best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman documented the research indicating that IQ intelligence only accounts for about 20 percent of a person’s success in life. So what accounts for the other 80%? Researchers believe a big piece of the puzzle is Emotional Intelligence – the capacity to ACQUIRE and APPLY emotional information.   People with strong emotional intelligence are more effective and successful in their career, make healthier choices, have more influence, make better decisions, make better grades, and they have […]

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EQ

Establish A Routine To Help Kids Thrive

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
3 Sep 2020
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routine

We have mentioned that our kids have been the unsung heroes of this time period. Their entire sense of normalcy has been tossed out. Things they have done day in and day out since early childhood have stopped. They can’t go play with friends. They can’t go to church. They can’t even play at playgrounds. The good news for us as parents is that there is one main thing we can do to help them, especially as we head back into the school year. Kids thrive in routine; they feel secure when they know what to expect. Even though school […]

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Our Father Is Still In Control

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
5 Aug 2020
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Wow, parents…we have made it to August!!! For that we should be high fiving and patting ourselves on the back. Next up… the fall! The beginning of school year, or not, or yes, or we don’t know yet. While things may still be seemingly out of our control, we first need to remember they are not out of our Father’s control. We can be still in that. And regardless of what your family decides to do, or the district decides, one thing we can control is what and how we communicate things to our kiddos. What are they seeing in […]

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our father