Parenting Articles

Our culture loves creating scapegoats. When the economy goes bad, we point fingers at the President. When kids don’t make high enough grades, we blame teachers. When a marriage crumbles, it’s always the other person’s fault. When we feel afraid, hurt, or disappointed, a scapegoat is never far out of reach. We do the same t...

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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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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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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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In fall and spring a ritual takes place among millions of 14-24 year olds that has nothing to do with school. For one hour every Thursday night they tune in to watch a group of castaways that have been left on an uninhabited island far away. They watch these ordinary people on Survivor form alliances against one another, compete...

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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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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 recently had the opportunity to lead our Wired Generation workshop for a group of elementary school parents. We talked about risk behavior for teens and tweens concerning cell phones, gaming systems, email, and online blog sites. Afterward the most interesting comment was from a mom who remarked, “I thought I had a few...

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