First, I must thank you from the depths of my heart for so many of you who have written, messaged, or somehow contacted our family expressing love, support, prayer, and encouragement. We have been overwhelmed by your kindness, and are grateful beyond words. A few moments ago, I spoke with a doctor and received confirmation [...]
Dear Family and Friends, I apologize in advance for the long post, but I want to share some recent news in our lives that the Lord is unfolding. This past Wednesday, after a series of appointments and a CT scan, we received word from my doctor that I have a probable case of lymphoma. We [...]
This is part two of this article. You can read part one here. In the first four practices we’ve seen these principles: Regularly ask for the filling of God’s Spirit, pray together consistently, resolve conflict immediately, and play together abundantly. Let’s move on: Step Five—Grow and Serve Together Continually. Local church is huge for healthy [...]
Brokenness is standard fare for families in today’s culture. Many homes are literally broken apart, while many others are broken from within. In fact, brokenness has become the norm. In today’s American family, strife, contention, anger, and resentment are quite common. Weak marriages, frustrated parents, sin ravaged home environments, argumentative teens, neglected children—this is the [...]
A couple times a year we host an anonymous question and answer time for teenagers. They respond well. You can read about these in past posts: Getting Teens to Air Their Questions and The Top 15 Questions Christian Teens Ask. We did this Q&A time again recently, and I was surprised how many questions were [...]
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 [...]
Part two of an article on discerning Your Child’s Needs and Responding Biblically. You can read part one here. We’re discussing “reading” your children—understanding and interpreting their behavior and needs in the light of biblical wisdom. In our last article we said it begins with understanding God’s Word and asking God for wisdom. Then praying [...]
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 [...]
This post is for family and friends just to share a bit of God’s blessings from our vacation. Last night we returned from a couple of weeks of great memories, rest, and unforgettable experiences, and our hearts are full for the time we were able to spend with family and friends. Here are some highlights:
I can’t believe how quickly decades pass! As I write, I’m sitting on a red-eye flight, starting our 20th family vacation—our first without Lance. My mind goes back to what seems like a moment ago. I’ve been here before. It was in a hotel room in Palm Desert, California about 13 years ago—our last night [...]
As promised, here are a few short thoughts about how to respond to your teenager after teen camp, especially in regards to their spiritual decisions. Begin with the long-term perspective—Our view of spiritual decisions is often just too short. Every good decision of life begins with short-term challenges, but also bears long-term results at a [...]
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 [...]
If you and your family haven’t gotten into taking bike rides yet, be sure to get it done before your kids get too big! I confess—I waited too long. A few years ago I bought myself a bike and had a grand vision of getting all five of us cruising around Lancaster’s “beautiful” east side [...]
A Story of the Power of Local Church Ministry Opening scene—a young family of five is running late to church on a Sunday morning. Three lost, long-haired, little boys (all younger than seven years) sit quietly in the back seat of the car, while a frustrated mom and dad debate over “why” they are late. [...]
Learning to seize the teaching moments that may never return… On a breakfast date this past week, Haylee asked me, “Why did you choose to like Mommy instead of another girl?” Wow! What a cool question! And what a wide open door. That’s like someone asking a Christian “Why did you choose Christianity over all [...]
