You’ve heard about Sabbath. You may even be intrigued about the idea of celebrating Sabbath yourself. A day of rest? Who wouldn’t be intrigued? But families with little children can have a hard time finding a rhythm for Sabbath that will work. This week, Stonebriar Community Church’s Elementary Ministry Leader shares some tips for...
Holy Week Family Experience
Holy Week allows us an opportunity to reflect upon the shift in Jesus’ life as He moves toward His sacrifice on the cross. Starting with Palm Sunday when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, Holy Week leads us through the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, His crucifixion on Good Friday, and ends on Easter Sunday with...
Freedom To Follow Christ
In this week’s return to the Parenting Pathway Podcast, Family Ministries Pastor Dave Carl invites Elementary Ministry Leader Barbara Deatherage to share her struggle to overcome a lifelong battle with legalism and redefine what it means to be a follower of Christ....
Find Your Family’s Unique Rhythm
“Rhythm is embedded in our bodies and in our world.” Eugene Peterson Family life is made of rhythms, and with the rhythms come rituals and traditions, created by each family to observe and celebrate. This week on the blog, Elementary Ministry Leader Barbara Deatherage helps us take a step back and consider the...
Mom . . . Where Does Your Help Come From?
How often have you fallen into the mom-comparison trap? Are you judging your own mom cred? Do you look across the street and see the mom of four doing creative art projects with her perfectly clean and dressed children, while you look around and realize it's almost noon and your two kids are still...
Celebrating Lent With Your Family
A long time ago, an enormous group of people found themselves on one side of an uncrossable river looking longingly to the other side. They had traveled a long time to get to this place, but there was no bridge, no ferry, and no way to get to the other side. Until GOD! God...
How to Pray for Your Child
When I think about praying for our kids as they go back to school, so many things pop into my mind. I can pray for: Good grades Good study habits Good behavior with teachers and friends Good friends But I wonder if this is really what I need to be praying for them. Is...
Can We Know Our Kids’ Spiritual Gifts?
When my four kids were little, my husband and I liked to try to figure out what their spiritual gifts might be. Two of them seemed to be really easy to discover. Melody was our outgoing, persuasive (bossy) child. By the end of elementary school, she was well-known in our neighborhood as a peddler...
Mom . . . I’m Bored
There’s no doubt—winter can be long. Seemingly endlessly long. It’s cold outside and often gloomy. Sometimes drizzly and damp. So, what’s a mom or a dad to do when shut in the house with a bunch of bored kids? There’s only so many times you can visit Chick-fil-A so they can play on the...
7 Ways to Root Out Ingratitude
If you are around young children for any amount of time, you will know that they are born into the world with an egocentric nature. One of the first words they learn is “mine.” And “mine” is almost always followed by an exclamation mark. Selfishness and ingratitude are just two more things parents are tasked...
Jell-O and Thunderstorms
I can’t remember a time when I was afraid of thunderstorms. Instead, I remember delighting in scanning the stormy sky for the lightning and counting the seconds until I heard the thunder. However, I have a feeling that at one time, in my preschool past, I may have been afraid of the boom and...
Legacy of a Grandfather
Over the past two weeks, my tiny family has been through seismic events, including the near death of my mother. While God chose to give my mom more time on this earth, things looked very different just a few short days ago. As I prepared to say farewell to my mom, I kept thinking...