New Year, New Decade, New Resolve
It’s easy to get caught up in the daily chaos of raising children. And honestly, that can be a good thing sometimes. When we had our first baby, the pediatrician told us, “Don’t worry about setting habits right now. You are in survival mode—just do what it takes to get through the day.”
It might sound like weird advice, but it was some of the best parenting advice I ever received. It freed us to focus on just helping our child the best way we knew how, minute by minute and hour by hour. If you have a newborn in your house or are dealing with another major change or challenge, I encourage you to lean on God’s strength to love your child as best you can today. He will carry you.
3 Questions to Shape Better Dinner Conversations
I have four sons who range from ages fifteen down to three years old, so dinner table conversations can go in many different directions in our house (not to mention that boys—and men—are not always eager to communicate their deepest dreams and ambitions!).
But I’m working on finding better questions that will help shape these conversations, both at dinnertime and other times throughout the week. I want to suggest three questions that might help you engage with your kids over the table and “while you walk in the way" (see Deuteronomy 6:7).
The Joy Of Being A Dad
In the first moments of meeting my first child, I specifically remember thinking, “What a gift! What a miracle!” I was blown away by the way God uses nature and humans to create new humans—little miracles. “God, you made that little child through us...wow!”
But my second thought was, “Oh God, you are entrusting me with this miracle? Me? I can’t even be trusted to drive a car well, and you are giving me a boy?
3 Ways to Serve Your Family Without Adding More to Your Plate
Sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough hours in a day. After a long day at work or a stressful day corralling the kids, it can be difficult to muster enough emotional energy to serve those we love.
But what if you were able to serve those closest to you more effectively without adding anything to your calendar? What if all that was needed wasn’t more time, but simply a change in perspective?