Creating experiences that shape our kids’ faith
One year while I was growing up my parents attempted to enforce a “Thank You Jar.” Throughout the year, whenever something happened that me or my siblings were (or should be) thankful for, we were to write it down on a piece of paper and drop it in the “Thank You Jar.” A couple notes were…
Read MoreUgh! Our kids think Christmas is about presents!
With the holiday season here, I have been thinking a lot on how we are going to teach our kids the meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas instead of just getting all wrapped up in all the distractions the holiday season provides. Maybe I’m a little cynical after the 2012 elections and all the Facebook…
Read MoreShaping the stories my children believe
For the past year or so Dana and I have been realizing that the stories we believe really shape us, our decisions, our values, what we place our hope in, everything about us. Because of this, we’ve been trying to be intentional about what stories we expose our children to…
Read MoreDreaming of a discipleship vision for my family
For years I worked in churches and spent an enormous amount of time strategizing and executing the ministry’s vision for discipleship. Teams of us would think hard and deep about our vision, where God wanted to take us, and how He wanted to take us there. Teams of us…
Read MoreDownload a FREE Dave Ramsey audiobook for your kids
My sister pointed this out to me and I couldn’t help but pass it along! Through this weekend only, Dave Ramsey is offering a free kids audiobook download! No need to part with personal information, sign up for email lists, or anything like that. Just a plain and simple…
Read MoreModeling a deeper prayer life for my kids
My family makes it a habit to pray together before we eat and before bedtime. We also pray together before long car rides and sometimes over other random things. Our two-year-old loves to lead us in prayer now, and it’s so cute because she goes on and on and on and on…
Read MoreMemorizing scripture with your children, but where do we start?
Last Saturday we made a 12 hour drive from our new home in Cincinnati to my in-laws place here in Texas. On long road trips like that we let the kids watch DVDs in the car, mostly because it gives me and Dana a break from constantly digging out new snacks, picking dropped toys off…
Read MoreFREE virtual conference for pastors wives starts today!
Just a heads up for you guys: LeadingAndLovingIt.com is hosting a FREE virtual conference over the next 4 weeks specifically for pastors wives and women in ministry. It’s called The JustONE Conference and is completely hosted live online. It features 20 speakers sharing from their personal…
Read MoreOh man, what am I teaching my kids about church?!
I realized a few weeks ago that I’ve defaulted to teaching my kids two things about church that I would never intentionally teach them. Every Sunday we wake up a bit earlier than usual and I tell our kids, “Hey, it’s time to get ready to go to church!” It’s innocent…
Read MoreGiving attention to your family at the right times
If your spouse and kids were completely honest with you, would they say: “Our biggest struggle is the resentment we feel when you’re seemingly showing others more attention than us?” No one in ministry thinks to themselves, “Ya know, I prefer to build resentment in…
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