Even though each day is very full, I enjoy almost every single day. Don’t get me wrong. I have bad days. I have days that as I’m going to bed, I feel like I did a bad job as a mom. Or I feel like I got absolutely nothing done. Or I feel like I’m never enough for everyone. Or that I’m not able to give everyone and everything as much of me as I’d like. But in general, I end most days very happy…
Read MoreWhen we think of the values we want to pass down to our children, we also think about how those practically play out in our day to day lives as habits. It’s one thing to like the idea of a value, but if it isn’t something you have incorporated into your life, it won’t likely get passed on to your children…
Read MoreMost people underestimate children, and many parents don’t even know what their own children are capable of. You may know in theory that there’s no junior Holy Spirit, but haven’t seen it for yourself. The solution is to have this kind of behavior activated and alive in your own home, and I’d love to show you how! Read more…
Read MoreHave you ever wanted to teach something to your children but felt like you didn’t have the tools to communicate in a way they would understand and remember? The truth is, the first church is the home, and the first pastors are you, the parents…
Read MoreDirty kids that need baths. Dinner on the stove. Emails coming in on our phones. Dogs barking to be fed. Horse waiting for dinner. “To Do” list with 25 things to get done. Deadlines coming up. Grass in the backyard up to my knees. This is our life…
Read MoreIt’s not something we like to think about, but sometimes we as parents will have to navigate how to parent our children through a natural disaster. As you probably know, our home was in the Woolsey fire here in LA. We were evacuated for a month before getting back into our home…
Read MoreOne of the keys for creating a home culture or environment we want comes from creating boundaries that work for us as parents. Something that is helpful is to realize that we have the authority in our homes to set boundaries, and if we don’t set them, there are three powerful kids who will be more than happy to set them for us. By boundaries, we don’t mean control. Sometimes when we hear the word ‘boundaries’ we think restrictions and rules. Boundaries can be a negative thing, but it can also be positive…
Read MoreWhat does it mean to be intentional in our parenting? For us, as parents, we have the joy of watching our children grow up. We walk beside them through their entire lives and watch them grow from small babies into adults. This overarching view can help us keep things in perspective…
Read MoreMost believers can quote, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10), but what this verse is really saying is that until we know stillness, we don’t know God. Not only that, but if stillness is where we know that He is God then without stillness, we can easily start thinking we are…
Read MoreToday I noticed another attribute as I was playing with my youngest son. My son repeats what he hears me say; he does what his brother and sister do, and he even mimics a bird when he sees it take flight. I see his childlikeness in how he imitates everything.
Read MoreAbout eight years ago, I took my first trip to South Africa to teach on what I call “The Four Most Important Things”. If you’re familiar with that teaching, you know that number one on the short list is, “God is in a Good Mood.” There was a young man in that audience who reached out to me recently (8 years later) and shared with me how much his life changed from hearing that.
Read MoreSimon Sinek says, “The problems millennials are facing, and the challenges their employers are facing right now, are all a result of failed parenting strategies.” To say this another way…society is forced to correct (or adjust to) whatever parents mess up. As parents with younger children, I (and maybe you) need to quickly realize what this means for us.
Read MoreWatching my children always teaches me so much about the kingdom of God. I’ve written a blog before on the fearlessness of a child before they know they can get hurt. My son, Aero, has taught me another attribute of the kingdom lately that I’d like to share with you.
Read MoreI was on a plane recently reading a book called Screamfree Parenting. Towards the end of the flight, the guy next to me tapped me and said, “Do you think that’ll really work? For the rest of the flight, we had a lengthy conversation about what the book was saying, and what it wasn’t.
Read MoreLately I’ve been meditating on the scripture Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You”. We were actually singing a song about this in the car, so I was asking God to show me a way to convey this verse to my children.
Read MoreI had a great conversation with my daughter recently. As she was leaving my room, I hugged her and told her I love her. She looked at me and said, “Dad! You say that repeatedly (she just learned the word ‘repeatedly’ so she’s currently using it all the time).I told her, “For the rest of your life, out of all the things I say to you, ‘I love you’ is going to be the thing I repeat to you the most, because it is the most important thing of all.”
Read MoreOur love for Him is always a response to His love for us. “We love Him because He first love us.” (1 John 4:19) Jesus released forgiveness to us on the cross. He forgave us for everything first before we ever even loved Him.
Read MoreIn childlikeness, exploration is more important than our fear. Children are not afraid to keep pushing boundaries to discover places they’ve never been. They don’t let fear override their sense of exploration.
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