Tag Archives: counseling

Discipline that Develops the Heart

By caryschmidt | August 28, 2010

Ten Biblical Principles for Winning Your Child’s Heart
How do you discipline your children? Here are ten Biblical principles for handling discipline biblically and in a way that truly develops the heart of your child.
Discipline that develops the heart…
1. Is Controlled and Premeditated—It doesn’t fly off the handle or out of control.
Proverbs 16:32, “He that is [...]

Posted in family | Also tagged adolescence, biblical living, family, parenting | Leave a comment

Becoming an Insightful Parent

By caryschmidt | August 23, 2010

Becoming an Insightful Parent
Discerning Your Child’s Needs and Responding Biblically
Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Do you understand your children? Do you know how to interpret their behavior? Do you understand warning signs and know how to respond? Do [...]

Posted in family | Also tagged adolescence, family, parenting, student ministry | Leave a comment

Ministry Idea: 3 Questions

By caryschmidt | August 22, 2010

Are you looking for a good way to get to know your students or those to whom you minister? Here’s a quick and simple way to get a glimpse into the heart and cause someone to think more deeply.
This past week, in our 12th grade Sunday school class and at our Single Life retreat, we [...]

Posted in ministry & outreach | Also tagged biblical living, college and career, student ministry, teaching | 4 Comments

The Road to Adulthood Gets Longer

By caryschmidt | June 16, 2010

New Data on the Growing Distance Between Youth and Adulthood
The New York Times ran a fascinating article yesterday entitled “The Long Road to Adulthood Is Growing Even Longer” by Patricia Cohen. The article reinforces a growing body of research, much of which I wrote about in Life Quest: Braving Adulthood with Biblical Passion. The point [...]

Posted in ministry & outreach, student ministry, uncategorized | Also tagged biblical living, college and career, family, parenting, student ministry | Leave a comment

Influence vs. Control

By caryschmidt | June 3, 2010

Sometimes we get mixed up in ministry. We forget that our responsibility is not control it is influence. God never gave us control of people, their lifestyles, or their choices. He created free will, and gives each individual responsibility for their choices. I fear, out of good intentions, some spiritual leaders cross the line and [...]

Posted in leadership | Also tagged biblical living, danger, leadership, local church, ministry | 3 Comments

Andrew Murray on Trials

By caryschmidt | March 6, 2010

This quote about trials from Andrew Murray found its way to me through Dr. Mark Rasmussen. Perhaps it will encourage you!
“First, He brought me here. It is by His will I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest.”
“Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to [...]

Posted in christian life | Also tagged biblical living, teaching | Leave a comment

7 Myths of Single Life

By caryschmidt | January 19, 2010

Seven Myths of Single-Life
Myths abound in today’s culture—through urban legends, chain emails, speed-diets, and beyond! Thanks to snopes.com, it’s pretty easy to run an email, a story, or a bizarre event through a quick research test to find out if it’s true or not.
So—do you have a “snopes” for life? Has it occurred to you [...]

Posted in ministry & outreach | Also tagged biblical living, college and career, dating, sunday school | 4 Comments

7 Big Parenting Mistakes

By caryschmidt | November 10, 2009

Here’s a short list of mistakes that all parents can make when it comes to seeing, understanding, and biblically responding to the spiritual growing pains of life. (This is as much to myself as to others.) Stop and think about it—and pray for godly wisdom in responding to the issues of your children’s hearts with [...]

Posted in family, student ministry | Also tagged adolescence, family, parenting, student ministry, teen life | 2 Comments

Struggling Teenagers? Don’t Give Up Early!

By caryschmidt | November 4, 2009

Have you had a student come through your youth group, graduate, and not mature spiritually the way you hoped? It seems no matter how we pray, labor, plan, or serve—there are some that graduate and drift spiritually.
What about trying to help a struggling student, only to feel like you’re spinning your wheels? Gauging by the [...]

Posted in family, student ministry | Also tagged college and career, parenting, student ministry, teen life | 1 Comment

Making God’s Will Less Confusing

By caryschmidt | October 19, 2009

Life is complex. God’s will isn’t. In fact, at any given moment, there’s a powerful question you can ask to determine if you are in or out of His will. It’s simply this:
“Did I follow God to where I am right now?”
The Holy Spirit will instantly resonate the answer in your heart—you will know it [...]

Posted in christian life | Also tagged biblical living, college and career, leadership, parenting, sunday school, teaching | 1 Comment

How to Help a Wounded Person

By Cary Schmidt | October 6, 2009

One of the most difficult circumstances of life and ministry is to try to help someone who has been deeply hurt. These are hard moments. More than anything, you want to take away the hurt, undo the pain, and fix the problem. But it’s just not that easy. Woundedness—regardless of how it occurred—requires time and [...]

Posted in counseling, featured | Also tagged biblical living, college and career, student ministry, teaching | 1 Comment

The Top Questions of Young Christian Singles

By Cary Schmidt | September 10, 2009

Throughout the year, our ministry to College and Career and Singles brings us into counseling, retreats, and venues where young Christian singles are airing really good questions. I have previously shared the details behind our Q&A times (both for teens as well as singles) and also the top 15 questions that teens ask.
Here’s the most [...]

Posted in counseling, student ministry | Also tagged biblical living, college and career, sunday school, teaching | 2 Comments

Defeating the Media Monster—Part 1

By Cary Schmidt | September 4, 2009

Media will eat your family alive, unless you tell it not to!

I have a deep inner aversion to living things that crawl, creep, fly, or slither around and find their way into places they don’t belong. They bother me. They creep me out. I just want them dead as quickly as I can make it [...]

Posted in family, featured, media & tech | Also tagged biblical living, danger, family, satanic, separation, social networking, student ministry, teen life, twitter | 1 Comment

Three Reasons to Get Good Advice

By Cary Schmidt | August 28, 2009

Isn’t it amazing how often people venture into major life-changing decisions without getting any outside, biblical advice. Why do we do this to ourselves?
Sometimes we fear that a counselor will have a private agenda and won’t counsel us honestly. At other times, we presume to know what our counselors will say, and rationalize it away [...]