But much like the “Sex talk” the “Racism talk” can be equally or more painful to cover with our children. Talking with your kids about racism, is the very first step in creating change in our society. And much like you do not want your kids to learn about sex from their peers or...
Hunger Nextdoor
This is the face of hunger in your community. For too long I had felt that food pantries, SNAP food programs, and food donations drive were to help people in other places. But every community in this country is home to families who struggle with food insecurity including rural, and suburban communities, not just...
Don’t Tell Them, “It Will All Be Fine”
In the daily crush of stay-at-home orders, quarantines, gloves, masks, updates on the number of infected and deaths, school at home, and so on, there is great temptation tell our kids that "everything will be okay." But in our effort to soothe their fears, are we setting them up for a crisis of faith?...
Serving and Growing TOGETHER as a Family
Once upon a time, there was a family—a mom, dad and three precious children, who lived in a beautiful house in the suburbs of North Dallas. Life was fairly normal for this family of five, until one day during dinner, the father shared a passage from the Bible in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 with his...
Gratitude Treatment for Anxiety and Depression
Over Thanksgiving break, I read the following statistics in the weekly Culture Translator by AXIS.org. “According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 1 out of every 3 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 will experience an anxiety disorder. Whether the culprit is social media, lack of sleep, increased scholastic pressure, or...
Learning to Like Your Kids
I think we can all agree that there are times when we LOVE our children, but maybe don’t LIKE our children. I won’t lie to you, it’s a bit weird to admit this in public, but I have caught myself on several occasions saying to my sons, “You are making it really hard for...
This Change Is Not Random
In part one of this discussion, we talked about change (Change is Inevitable… Direction is Optional). In the second, we talked about the direction our Family Ministry is heading and has been heading in for some years now (This Change in Direction Is Important). But I have left the meat for last. I want...
Ten Life Skills We Need to Teach Our Kids Before Next Summer
We are wrapping up a great summer of Vacation Bible School, camps, mission trips, midweek adventures, and general fun. Summer is a busy season in our Family Ministry, and we get to spend a lot of time with your kids and our own. After doing a study of all these kids in their world...
Parenting a Child (with ADHD)
I was a great mom before I had kids. Think about it. Weren’t you? I witnessed things in stores I would “never” let my child do. I observed relationship struggles between teens and parents I knew I’d “never” have because I had more self-control. And for goodness sake, my baby would always wear stain-free...
The Benefits of a Gap Year
“You’re off to great places!” Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so… Get on your way! —Dr. Suess When I first began as a student ministry pastor, I quickly encountered the problem we have all come to recognize as “graduating from church.” Statistics varied wildly, but everyone seemed to agree there was...
Serving Together: Teaching Our Kids to Live Missionally
Life was over. I had lost all purpose. As I crossed Lake Ray Hubbard on I-30, I saw the opportunity to exit, drive across the overpass, and drive my SUV down the hill in front of Bass Pro Shop into Lake Ray Hubbard and end it all. The date was July 18, 2008. I...
5 Ideas to Improve Your Family Dinner
Like most Americans, my family has a hard time getting everyone to the table on the same night, at the same time to have dinner together. And when we do get there, it is not uncommon to hear grumbling about the no phone rule, or the big salad instead of spaghetti, or the awkward...