About two decades ago, while attending the National Youth Workers’ Convention, I heard a strong woman in youth ministry say that, when she and her husband discovered they couldn’t have their own children, they resolved to adopt the next generation of believers. Why has that stuck with me for so [...]
We need to encourage our children in every way we can. The world is against them. The enemy is trying to distract and undercut them. We need to train them in the truth, but also intentionally encourage them to do the right thing and applaud when we “catch” them doing [...]
Easter is the most important holiday in the Christian faith. Hopefully you got the chance to take your family through “Celebrate: A Family Easter Guide through 7 Attributes of Jesus”. If you didn’t get the chance, you can still get the resource and go through it in your Family [...]
Many people call Hebrews 11 the “Hall of Faith” or “Heroes of the Faith.” I love to study it, because I’m challenged to learn whatever I can from the people in the Bible – from their good decisions and from their bad ones. A good challenge is to see what [...]
Love from friends can encourage and empower. This kind of love is different than the agape love from God. This love in Greek is “phileo.” Phileo love is characterized by approval, kindness, sanctioning, welcoming, befriending, and fondness.1 I think of David and Jonathan when I think of this kind [...]
“Love is a choice.” If you had been in my youth group in the early 2000s, you would have heard me saying that phrase a LOT! Many people are deceived about what love actually is. People think love is an emotion, a feeling. People think it’s something we fall in [...]
Let’s put a puzzle together. On the box cover is a picture of a big heart. There is a passage in Romans 12 that says, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” The NLT says it this way, “Don’t just pretend to love people, [...]
Who will my children become? Will they continue in the faith as adults? What if I did something wrong with them? What kind of spouses and parents will they be? Did I teach them enough? When we ask ourselves questions like this, especially as parents of teenagers, we have hope [...]
For the last few years, I’ve spent some time journaling on the last couple of days of the year, processing what God taught me, and what I still need to learn. And, oh, there is still so much to learn. Last Year Last year, I wrote 2020 in big bubble [...]
There’s a great Christmas preparation resource for families on famtime.com! You’ll find it under the Resources tab and within the “Featured Family Activities” link. If you look at December’s activity, you’ll find the Christmas Quiz! I have used this activity with my children, elementary school Sunday school, and my youth [...]
There’s just something about the sights and smells of Christmas that floats childhood memories to the front of our minds. When I think about my childhood Christmases, I think about family get-togethers, even in big snowstorms, and sitting in front of our big radiator drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies, and [...]
If you’ve followed this month’s blog series, you’ve probably put the puzzle together that I wrote about being Thankful for: (TH)ings, (A)ctive life, and (N)o. So this week finishes off our (THANK)ful series with being thankful for… (K)indness. In Romans 2, Paul talks about us passing [...]
I don’t like to say or hear “no.” I do what I can to respond to my children with “yes” answers about playing things they like, connecting with people, and eating fun foods. I do this in part because I used to be a “No” mom. My default was to [...]
Snap-Crackle-Pop I’m middle-aged these days. My knees and ankles remind me about it when I’ve not exercised in awhile. I have snap-crackle-pop joints my first time back to High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) videos after a hiatus. I played a VERY short stint of sports growing up and I wasn’t active [...]
Recently our fridge broke and leaked into our basement. The leak happened behind our fridge because our floor slants, so we didn’t see it. The broken fridge warped and destroyed the floor beneath. We spent a month sorting out all the details in our first insurance claim. We got a [...]
It can be scary to think about our children being soldiers in a war, but it’s our reality as believers. We are all in a war. Our thoughts are extremely important. What we think becomes our beliefs and our beliefs become our words and actions. “Out of the overflow of [...]
I don’t know about you, but it comforts me to know my children are prepared for the battles they are in because of the full armor of God and Him fighting with them! I realize I must show them how to use the armor. Each day on the way to [...]
Let’s continue the conversation of fighting like Jesus does. Last week we read, “ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does,” 2 Corinthians 10:3 Verse 4 of 2 Corinthians 3 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of [...]
“These are tough times to raise children in this world.” It’s true that there are so many things our children must deal with that we never did. They face integrity decisions at an early age. Deception rages and disillusion deceives due to loss of moral standards spreading all around their [...]
September 26th is National Situational Awareness Day. It’s a great time to teach your children to be aware of others. BIG IDEA Serving others includes being attentive to them and how they feel. KEY SCRIPTURE Matthew 7:12 MATERIALS None needed PREPARATION 1. Make 5 changes to things in the room [...]
September 20th is National String Cheese Day. Here’s an activity your family can do to celebrate in a snacky way! BIG IDEA We can support and encourage people by standing up for them. KEY SCRIPTURE 1 Samuel 17:17-18 MATERIALS supplies to make your cheese stick snack PREPARATION 1. Choose one [...]
September 12th is National Encouragement Day. Here’s an activity your family can do to encourage one another. BIG IDEA We should encourage each other as a family. KEY SCRIPTURE 1 Thessalonians 5:11 MATERIALS Enough Sticky notes for each person to give to everyone else in the family, markers PREPARATION 1. [...]
September 9th is National Teddy Bear Day! Here’s a fun Family Time Activity you can do as a family to teach your children about comfort this week! BIG IDEA God comforts us so we can comfort others KEY SCRIPTURE 2 Corinthians 1:4 MATERIALS your favorite stuffed animal PREPARATION 1. Find [...]
AFTER Hannah dedicated her son to a life of serving God at the temple learning from Eli, she rejoiced in God. She praised Him. She called Him her horn, which is a symbol of strength. Without God’s strength and provision, she would have never been able to entrust her son, [...]
By this time, you have likely entrusted your children to teachers to begin the new school year and are a couple weeks into your new routine. Let’s think about Hannah and her courageous step of entrusting her son into God’s hands. She made the commitment that if God gave her [...]
There are many more things to learn from Hannah and her parenting journey. Last week we talked about her longing for a child and the importance of our children knowing they are gifts in our lives. Today, let’s talk about what she did about her longing. Sometimes when people long [...]
It’s back-to-school time again. The first day of school used to be one of my favorite days of the year when I was in school myself. I loved the smell of new crayons, the feel of brand-new clothes, seeing all my classmates again, and being in my new teacher’s class. [...]
You know when you are drinking a milkshake and there are just a few last drops left in the bottom of the glass? That’s what the end of July feels like to me. You’ve got to get your straw and savor it! So why not pick one or a few [...]
If you don’t teach your children what the Bible says, who Jesus is, and the life and eternity God wants for them, they may never learn. If you rely on your church’s children’s and student’ ministries to teach your children these truths, you are at the mercy of ministry scheduling. [...]
In continuing my study through Jenna Hallock’s book, What is Family Time? Exploring God’s Plan for Engaging in Biblical Home Discipleship, the second chapter talks about the beautiful partnership that can exist between parents and those other people in our children’s lives who invest in their spiritual growth. One of [...]
I have been going through Jenna Hallock’s book, What is Family Time? Exploring God’s Plan for Engaging in Biblical Home Discipleship. There are some awesome things I’d like to highlight. The entire book is so good and I highly recommend it! It is short enough to read in one sitting [...]
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13 What is the last compliment you paid your daughter? Stop for a moment and really thing about it. A compliment many parents pay their daughters [...]
From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:16 When my family goes to the beach, each of us has a part in getting settled in a good spot on the beach. Each person [...]
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15 As you and your child face those cultural “waves” together, you are teaching him how to face them head on, and assess the best [...]
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:14 In the midst of all sorts of waves of teaching and cultural upheaval, our [...]
If I am not intentional with my children’s summer (fall and spring) breaks, the time flies and screen time wins. Here are some ideas I have used with my children to use our time together well during the summer months: 1. Pick a theme for each month of your summer. [...]
We covered the importance of tending to and guarding our flocks as shepherds in our homes. Today we’ll cover the importance of being an example to the flock in our homes! 1 Peter 5:2-3, says “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not [...]
Last week we talked about the importance of tending to our flocks as shepherds in our homes. 1 Peter 5:2-3, says “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; [...]
In 1 Peter 5:2-3, Peter trains the elders in the scattered early churches to “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to [...]
In the last 2 posts, I shared a Discipleship Map helping us train our children in the next steps in their faith. I gave you the opportunity to answer these questions: 1. Has my child ever accepted God’s gift of salvation through Jesus? 2. Does my child know how to [...]
We are working through a Discipleship Map in this 3-week series! In the last post, we answered the question: 1. Has my child ever accepted God’s gift of salvation through Jesus? I shared some options based on your answer to that question for each of your children. Please go back [...]
Discipleship Map – Starting with the Gospel 4/21 Parents and grandparents are often at a loss when it comes to discipling their children. There’s a process I have gone through with teen as a student minister and with our children that I learned in youth ministry training in college. It [...]
What would your life be like without knowing the truth of Jesus’ Resurrection? Without the resurrection, there is no hope. As parents that’s a pretty scary thought. Why have children at all? If you have them, what hope and purpose do they have? If this life is all there is [...]
Intentional Life: Empowering your children to Live for Jesus 3.21 Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is [...]
Intentional Freedom: Helping your children avoid captivity 3.21 In addition to telling our children the truth of the Gospel, we need to live our lives as though we have been saved. According to Galatians 5:1, we must stand firm and stay free. If our children look at our lives and [...]
Intentional Freedom: Helping your children avoid captivity 3.21 In addition to telling our children the truth of the Gospel, we need to live our lives as though we have been saved. According to Galatians 5:1, we must stand firm and stay free. If our children look at our lives and [...]
Intentional Invitation: Sharing the Good News of Jesus with your Children 3.21 I published the Good News of the Gospel on the home page of my personal website. A friend texted me about a week after I sent her the site to tell me her daughter accepted Jesus using the [...]
In our short study of Colossians 3:1-14, we have talked about setting our hearts and minds on things above, getting rid of whatever is in our earthly nature, and recognizing our place as royalty to help us act like royalty to help our children do the same. We talked [...]
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 What has God forgiven you of, friend? If you are like me, you would rather not answer that question. I’d prefer to answer with “everything” or [...]
Let’s continue our personal check up in our relationships with our children. Colossians 3:12 says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” What does it look like to get dressed in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience as preparation [...]