On a business trip a few years ago, Rich encountered a special moment when he noticed an older business couple had brought along their two young granddaughters – maybe 6 and 8 – to help handout company literature at a business conference. Fond memories flooded back when he witnessed the true joy, tenderness and love that those little girls shared with their Grandma and Grandpa. This business occasion was just a further indication of a [...]
It’s graduation season! There are preschoolers graduating to Kindergarten, Kindergartners to Elementary School, Elementary to Middle School, Middle Schoolers to High School and so on. All graduations, to varying degrees, have commencement addresses. These speeches are designed to impart wisdom and encourage students as they move to the next chapter in life. There is one commencement address that has really resonated with our family. It has a simple message which is as applicable to the [...]
Parenting is a year-round process. However, we found that summertime seemed to be a really productive and effective time in our parenting. Maybe it was because many of the school year obligations and hectic schedules got dialed back and the excitement of sunshine, family vacations and barbecues filled our home. Whatever the reason, we used our summertime excitement as a special time of the year to “super charge” some of our parenting initiatives while enjoying [...]
Parenting is a process that has many seasons and phases. There were times in our own parenting when we could easily get stuck in a particular season or phase. Typically we would become comfortable in the strategies that were working and forget to look ahead to the upcoming season in our boys’ growth and development. Before we knew it, Trevor and Alex had outgrown our parenting! Three Key Areas To Watch Evaluating kids’ freedoms and [...]
To your children, God looks and acts like you. They will come to define God’s love based on how they have experienced your love. Their self-worth will be based on that definition, a love that finds the right balance of words and actions to coax and mold appropriate behavior and effort. Their life is a divine journey of discovery guided by you. And for those parents who understand the depth of this blessing, they recognize [...]
About a year ago, we were invited to be a part of a parenting program where we would record video segments and offer parenting advice to young parents – much like these Tuesday Letters. After a couple months of recording and producing a couple video segments, we submitted them for upload on their website and mobile app. To our stunned surprise, our initial video discussing toddler obedience, was rejected by their content committee and we [...]
As a parent, if the long-term goal is to raise a child whose inner life is one of abundant positivity, a joy that expresses itself in family relationships, friend relationships, a relationship with God, and a desire and ability to serve others in work and community, your parenting efforts must assist in developing a psyche strong enough to engage in a full life. Recently Dave was interacting with a young man in his mid-20’s over [...]
As parents we are often faced with having to discuss difficult topics and issues with our children. Whether it’s school violence, a family illness, the loss of a beloved pet or a death in the family, the depth and breadth of such topics can leave parents overwhelmed as to how to navigate these challenging waters. From our own experience, we’ve found that these tough topics are best addressed in three distinct ways: In the moment, [...]
Zig Ziglar said children spell love T-I-M-E. We remember how hard it was when our boys were young to carve out time for them as we juggled work, housework, working out, errands, quiet time, kids’ activities and the list goes on. We did a lot of things with and for our kids, but the truth is that’s not the same as giving them time. With the spring activities gearing up, it’s important that kids know [...]
Have you ever considered why some of the simplest outings with our young children can go horribly wrong? How difficult can it be to have coffee with friends…Right?!?! Our friend Rachel is a busy mom of three boys, who just wanted to get coffee with a friend one day. Here is a wonderful story of what happened and what she learned from her frustrating and embarrassing experience. Children run amok over lattes as I recall [...]