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.
Teach Your Kids “Me Last” in the Age of “Me First”
Have you ever played rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to go last—or to see who gets to sit in the backseat?
My college roommate would yell, “Backseat!” every time the two of us rode with another diver. He also had the unique custom of tipping the ice cream server for his milkshake at Baskin Robbins. He explained, “Think about it...you tip the bartender, and all they do is knock the top off of a bottle. The person making your milkshake spends so much more time with your order.” He was a strong, yet empathetic leader in college and continues to be one now. I think that growing up in a household of four kids taught him that life was about much more than him—and these lessons have had a great deal to do with his success.
Teaching Your Kids the World Doesn’t Revolve Around Them
One Sunday morning on our way to church, my son asked, “Where are we going?”
“We are going to church, buddy,” my wife replied.
“Why are we going to church?”
“Well, we are going to church to worship God and be with our church family.”
“I don’t want to go to church to worship and be with church family.”
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?