Remembering childhood
All but one of my kids are adults now. As I look back at my life as a parent, the thing that sticks out in my mind are all the times that I said, “Enjoy your childhood while you can. [...]
In strong families, it’s all for one or one for all.
One of the nine characteristics researchers say make for strong families is family loyalty. That’s where family members view themselves as being a part of the family “team,” and they are willing to make personal sacrifices to help their team “win.” [...]
Is your glass half empty?
While I’m a pretty positive guy, I do tend to be a “glass-half-empty” person. The reason? I like to prepare myself for bad news. “Good” is great, but I hate bad news. Bad news makes me so uncomfortable—I can’t even [...]
Change can be painful.
Have you ever experienced this? You call your family together and announce that you going on a family vacation, or buying a new house, or you’re having another baby. After the initial excitement, your kids get ornery and out of [...]
It’s time for family devotions!
There are times I feel like a failure when it comes to being a spiritual leader in my family. I KNOW that I need to do family devotions, but, more times than not, I don't. Our men's group at church [...]
An empty nest? What am I gonna do?
It’s nearly Christmas, and you realize that next year your last child is going to be off at college and there won’t be anyone around. Decorating the Christmas tree is just going to be you and your husband—or maybe just [...]
This isn’t a good time of year for some.
You’ve heard the song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” right? It’s true for some, but not for others—especially for those divorced or for some foster parents. It can be terribly lonely. As a stepparent, it was the [...]
Christmas traditions make fun families
I love Christmas. Yes, I know it’s about the birth of Christ. That is so important. We can’t lose sight of it. But, I also love the family traditions that come with it. Our family traditions? Hunting down a real [...]
Let’s go Christmas caroling?
One of my favorite Christmas memories was on my front porch. A friend’s family was responsible. I’m told, every year, they bundled up their kids, baked cookies, and went Christmas caroling door to door. I loved it when they came [...]
I have three kids, but one I just don’t understand.
It seems like in every family there’s one kid that just makes us wonder. Do you know what I’m talking about? You know, maybe you’re a family of extroverts, and little Alex is quiet and in a world all his [...]