Family

Divorced Dads: Stay Engaged

Dads, your children need you. Here are two reasons why divorced dads must stay engaged in the lives of their children: God and secular statistics tell us we must. Headship Since the beginning of time, God has commanded man to be the head of the family. The headship command is an issue of order not of who is better or more important. In divorce, man loses headship over his wife while maintaining it with his children. The father has the responsibility of leading his family to a closer relationship with the Lord. God will require it of the father on […]

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Love Makes a Difference in Public Schools

After working as a basketball coach and athletic director at Palm Beach Atlantic University, Jack Wells began visiting public schools in Palm Beach County as a recruiter and discovered something that surprised him. “Everywhere I went I was finding seasoned teachers wanting to leave public education. It was only September or October, and they were already wanting out due to the frustrations they faced,” said Wells. Having been active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the past, Wells said, “I felt God calling me to do something, but I asked, ‘What can one man do to make a difference […]

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Transition of a Growing Child and Mom

Picture yourself sitting at the table with your now grown-up daughter as she plops down a packet of information with the title “Peace Corps” on front. Your mind drifts to the first time you ever held her as a precious baby in your arms—then quickly rushes to images of hostile foreign people groups trying to pry her from your grasp (while in the Peace Corps, of course). All at once you reel in your imagination and regain your dignified, yet slightly shaken, composure. She looks at you, “Mom, are you okay?” These are the many crazy feelings and emotions we […]

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Get Involved With Vacation Bible School

Because I am a seminary professor, I live most of my life in the ivory tower of academia. In spite of that, I love Vacation Bible School! Despite the fact that I teach New Testament Greek as my vocation, I have no greater privilege than helping children to understand the gospel. In my life I have been a worker or attendee at well over two hundred Vacation Bible Schools. Learning to love the Gospel Because I spent a good part of my life as a professional juggler/ventriloquist and have used these skills to pay my way through graduate schools, I […]

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Six Pillars of Parenting for Fathers

The first Father’s Day in the United States was observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington. The day was proposed by Mrs. John B. Dodd, who wanted to honor her father, William Smart, a Civil War veteran who raised six children alone after his wife died in childbirth. Clearly, Mrs. Dodd took seriously the Lord’s instruction, set forth in the fifth commandment, to honor your father.  I understand that not all of us have a father like William Smart, who seemed worthy of honor. But the commandment does not tell us to honor our father if he is honorable; […]

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Has Your Family Altar Altered Your Family?

Members of our congregation often ask me about how to have family times of prayer, Bible study, and worship in the home. What they are inquiring about comes under the heading of “family altar,” which is a “spiritual” way of referring to family devotions—Bible study, prayer and worship in the home. As a pastor I would like to tell you that this is a daily practice and routine in our home . . . but I cannot. Oh, we were quite regular when we had our first child all alone for 20 months. When our second child joined the mix, […]

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A Second Chance

Daniel’s Story Not everyone believes in second chances. But Daniel Cadorette and Theresa Gold know they exist after the family’s loss eventually led to new hope for life. Cadorette, a 22-year-old Palm Beach Atlantic University student, from Snellville, Georgia, was raised in a loving home. “My mom was always very involved in my life,” Cadorette recalls of his mother with whom he had a close relationship. But life began to change for Cadorette’s family when his parents decided to file for divorce in 2004. It was an emotional year for Cadorette and his younger sister, Isabelle. “At times, I felt […]

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Regain Control of Your Child’s Education

Looking for a way to regain control of your family and put God back at the center of your child’s education? Home education may be the solution. With a focus on common core curriculum, crime in schools and the removal of God in the classroom, Mary Hood, Ph.D., author of The Relaxed Homeschooler, said she believes “we have to band together to create real options to public education.” Whether it is through private education or homeschooling, “parents must take control of their children’s education.” Speaking at the South Florida Homeschool Convention in Davie last month, Hood quoted from Martin Luther […]

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Tell Mom How Much She Means To You

“For Mother’s Day this year, I want . . . .” If you’ve ever heard your mom utter these words, consider yourself among the fortunate. For the rest of us, Mother’s Day can be a somewhat stressful holiday filled with indecision and confusion as to what to buy for the woman who gave us birth. Not to worry, though; with a little forethought, Mother’s Day can be a breeze. Here are a few ways to let mom know she’s appreciated. Service and memories We often think that gifts need to be physical, but it isn’t so. Some of the best […]

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Ripped Apart By Suicide

By: Julie Woodley A couple of months ago, a friend came to me and told me that his 74 year-old father-in-law committed suicide. This man was an upstanding Christian and of course, it shocked the whole family. As I reached out to his daughters, I began to reflect how suicide had impacted my own life – something I never felt I had the strength to speak out about – and a part of me felt that to speak it out would be to betray the distorted family messages that I had carried all these years. God continued to nudge me […]

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