Biological parents, step parents, grandparents, friends, teachers, coaches, mentors... we all have the same challenge: Our teens need our leadership and guidance through their most volatile season of life, but we'll only be influential in their lives to the degree that they feel safe around us, heard by us, and unconditionally loved by us.
Read MoreDuring the pandemic, more kids than ever are staying in touch with friends with technology. We’ve received a significant number of parents asking us about what apps their younger kids should be using during these unusual times. We’ve been giving lots of advice and we finally documented it in this blog post where we’ve profiled three possible solutions:
Read MoreAs stress happens in your brain, it will turn off the relational part of your brain and send it into problem-solving mode. You and your husband may have different ways of solving the problem but because your brain has “turned off” the relational mode, it’s difficult to appreciate his strategy. You both just want the problem to stop! Whatever the challenge, remember that relational problems need relational solutions. Wait, pray, and talk through things once you are in a good emotional state and can see your husband as a resource and a teammate.
Read MoreMy past involves drugs, promescuity, sneaking out at night, shoplifiting, and a myriad of other dumb decisions I made, mostly in my teens. So when the “have you ever” questions pop up, they’ve learned Mom almost always says yes and Dad almost always says no (the dude has never even had a cavity, come on!).
Read MoreHand the phone to one of your parents promptly at 8:00 pm every school night & every weekend night at 9:00 pm. It will be shut off for the night and turned on again at 6:30 am. If you would not make a call to someone’s landline, wherein their parents may answer first, then do not call or text. Listen to those instincts and respect other families like we would like to be respected.
Read MoreThe bottom line is, if you don’t have the discussion with them, their school will, their peers will and culture will. They start forming their belief system at a very young age, so be sure to beat them all to it! I determined to be the FIRST VOICE that speaks into the issues of gender identity, sex, God’s design for marriage, pornography and more with my kids.
Read More92.5 million. That’s how many times just one porn site was visited each day last year in 2018. EACH DAY! It’s devastating and straight-up frightening. Pornography and explicit imagery have become a custom of modern culture and, tragically, our kids are being targeted. What is now being called a public health crisis, the porn industry is fighting for the minds and hearts of the next generation.
Read MoreRaising a daughter has very little to do with dressing them up and putting bows in their hair, it has more to do with molding the next generation of daughters for the advancement of God’s kingdom here on Earth. Your little girl will go from studying all that you do and all that you say, to a reflection of how you raised her. A large part in how you disciple (train, discipline, raise, and love) your daughter will determine the magnitude of her attitude towards God, her husband, her children, other people, and her calling. God has prepared a path for your daughter to walk down, which can only be walked down by her. You can not walk down this path for her, you can only prepare her for it. Here are two practical ways that we can do this for our daughters.
Read MoreWe live in the days of mass advertising, entertainment, and the internet. Sexual images and information saturate every form of media. While it’s good to shield kids where we can, we can’t nurture some “Little House on the Prairie”-type fantasy that they won’t be exposed to them.
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