Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Those words of Jesus have haunted me for the last week. Parents, where your treasure is, there your heart will be. But we can also say, “Parents, where your treasure is, there your children’s hearts will be also.” What do you treasure, parents? I remember …
Over the last several months, several teenagers in our church have made difficult decisions to prioritize their commitment to Christ and his church over other opportunities in their lives. Some have chosen to prioritize church over special sports opportunities. Others have missed out on social commitments to choose Christ’s church. A few chose to not …
We are failing our boys, and the consequences are deadly. There was another mass shooting at a school this week. These have become all too familiar. We know what to expect. A young man found or bought a gun and used it to commit a terrible atrocity. The rush to politicize these events is always …
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you, but I am not a perfect parent. I’m not a parenting expert. But, I’m trying to get better and I have a chance to practice in the laboratory of our home every day. When you are a pastor, people have interesting perceptions about you. So, I want …
There was a time when we spoke of kids who did not have access to certain opportunities as “underprivileged children.” Rather than speaking of the underprivileged with compassion, the common parlance of our world today is to reverse the language. Instead of focusing on caring for the underprivileged (the alien, the orphan, and the widow), …
I want my kids to be tough. Not mean, not callous, just tough. When they skin their knee, I want them to rub dirt in it, and get back in the game. When life comes at them hard, I want them to bounce, not crumble. But, how can I help my kids to be tough? …
It’s 4:30 in the morning and you hear a noise. You are startled, but you don’t reach for a gun or a bat because you quickly realize that the noise is a voice. Not just any voice. It is one of your kids. “I threw up.” No alarm clock gets you out of bed as …
How is your parenting? This may be a good parenting week or one that you wish you could do all over again, but regardless of where you are in your parenting, I want you to know that you can improve. You may not be a great parent today, but you can be a better parent tomorrow.
Much of parenting is mundane. There are socks to be mated, ballgames to be attended, and homework that has to be done. You will wake kids up for school for at least 13 years. You will be tired and overwhelmed. But, if you persist in doing good, in leading them toward the Lord, there is a prize at the end.
There. I said it. I finally got it off of my chest. Parents, be warned. Jesus warns that anyone who “causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” Jesus’ …