family

Tend Your Own Garden

This morning, I sat on my porch before there was enough daylight to read my Bible. It is unseasonably cool. 65 degrees and breezy. There, I sat with my coffee and my dog enjoying the beauty of creation. The birds sang. The dog ran. The porch lights behind me flickered just a bit. Then, I …

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5 Steps Toward A Healthier Marriage Today

Marriage is one of God’s sweetest gifts to humanity, but if your marriage is unhealthy today it can seem more like a curse than a blessing. Healthy marriages are built over time on a foundation of God’s word and mutual trust. However, just because it takes a long time to build a healthy marriage, doesn’t …

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Book Review: The Tech-Wise Family

Occasionally, a book is not what I expect it to be. Andy Crouch’s new book, The Tech-Wise Family is not what I expected. The book was recently recommended to me, and since I’m preaching a series on the family right now, I decided I should at least take the time to look into Crouch’s suggestions for how …

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Tools of the Trade: Parenting

I love tools. Home improvement projects are just excuses for me to add to my tool collection. But tools are much more than collectors items, they have particular purpose. Good tools help us to accomplish tasks more effectively and efficiently. I have found tools helpful in all areas of my life where I have responsibility. Figuratively …

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Couples-Driven Accountability

Are you spending time in God’s word? Are you loving your wife as Christ loves his church? Are you being patient and loving toward your children? This is a short example of some of the questions an accountability partner may ask me. Accountability is a good thing, but accountability is only as good as the …

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Men, You Only Fail When You Forfeit

“I want to lead, but I don’t know how.” This is a common refrain from men I encounter. They have a desire to lead in their home, but they are intimidated. They do not know as much about the Bible as their wife or they are uncomfortable praying out loud or they are afraid that …

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Fantastic Four

Tim Challies reminds us to tend to our own families before we seek the approval of others. What if all the blog readers are impressed but my wife is entirely unimpressed? There are many pastors who are loved all around the world but who have earned very little respect in their own church. There are …

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A Look at 30

Yesterday was a big day, I celebrated the 30th anniversary of my birth.  Somehow that sounds better to me than to say that I turned thirty.  Either way, regardless of how you slice it, I’ve been on this earth for thirty years and have thirty less years to go than I did on February 3, …

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Friday is for Family

Today is Friday, and that means family time for me. If you haven’t been on your family vacation yet, you probably will be doing so soon. Why not maximize this family time together? Last year, C.J. Mahaney wrote a great article about leading family vacations for the joy of the family and the glory of …

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