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If you are like many parents, the teenage years hit your home like a tornado. In your child’s opinion, you went from being a Zen Master of all things related to life and morphed into their own real world version of Homer Simpson. This child who once was the source of such joy and affirmation in your life now causes you to perp...

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Each summer tens of thousands of families plan trips to sunny destinations in order to relax on the beach, squish sand between their toes, and get a tan. While there is nothing wrong with waves and sand castles, a growing number of families are choosing short-term mission trips for their next adventure. Chances are good that you...

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Sitting down for a regular healthy family meal can be a real challenge for working parents. Add to that having a teenager in your home who has an ever-changing schedule and a family meal can seem nearly impossible. But the benefits of those few minutes together as a family is too good to pass up.   Improves Your family Heal...

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More than 80% of high schoolers and 50% of middle schoolers carry a cell phone. We all know that the thing they spend most of there time doing with the phone is texting. The average teen sends/receives an average of 2400 each month. As a parent, you’ve probably had a talk with your teen about it, yelled about it, or rolled you...

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I love art museums. My wife and I have gotten to visit some of the finest museums in the country. I feel peaceful and unhurried when I walk along the long hallways of giant paintings of masters from long ago. When I look at a classic painting I see definition, purpose and meaning. Whether its an etherial seascape or a couple of...

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The average American family will spend $765 on immediate family this year for Christmas. If you are like most parents with teenagers, you might as well tack on a couple hundred dollars extra. As they get older, the gifts get more expensive because they are inevitably tech related. Whether your kids are 6 or 16, here are a few t...

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The hope we all have for our children is that they will use technology in a way that is honoring of themselves, those around them, and their faith. Many times we feel like trying to keep up with all the screens in our teens lives is like trying to beat back the ocean waves with a broom. You take all of the appropriate steps t...

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I recently watched the Hatfield and McCoys miniseries from the History Channel. The acting was superb and the storyline was compelling, but it left me with a feeling of unease. The conflict between the two families started over a supposed stolen pig, but after generations of fighting the two families couldn’t even remember the...

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Growing up a kid in a Christian home in the 1970s, the one day each year I was trained to fear was Halloween. It was the Devil’s day after all–the one day out of the year that evil was at its peak, mayhem was rampant, and somehow Satan’s “power” was able to supersede over that which was good. As a m...

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Learning to love one’s neighbor requires a willingness to live as part of the community. If you read part one of this Halloween post, then you know this was never easy for me when it came to Halloween. For me to embrace the idea of celebrating Halloween with my neighborhood meant that there would have to be an act of love ...

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