Family

Ark Encounter Brings the Epic Story to Life in Biblical Proportions

Shelly Pond
7 Mar 2024
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ark encounter

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 […]

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Ignite Hope in the Lives of Others

Kevin Enders
13 Feb 2024
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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 […]

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hope

How to Keep Your Parenting Balance

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
7 Feb 2024
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parenting

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 […]

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

Shelly Pond
2 Feb 2024
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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) […]

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A Paradigm for Redemption

Kevin Enders
9 Jan 2024
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paradigm

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 […]

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Finding Jesus in Jonah

Dr. O.S. Hawkins
7 Jan 2024
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“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 […]

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Teaching the Discipline of Self-Improvement

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
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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, […]

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The Warmth of A Home

Kevin Enders
14 Dec 2023
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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 […]

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warmth

Our Christmas Family Trees

Lisa May
13 Dec 2023
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Christmas family tree

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition by the 16th century when sources record devout Christians bringing decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if the wood was scarce. It is widely believed that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. According to a common version of the story, walking home one winter evening, Luther was awed by the stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and decorated its branches […]

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All I Want for Christmas Is…

Dr. Bob Barnes and Torrey Roberts
11 Dec 2023
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“All I want for Christmas is…?” The answer to this 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 for 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.” All I Want is… There are many electronics we could get […]

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all i want