Last week, we looked at some ways we can easily allow our children to disobey. This sparked some good questions, which will be addressed in next week’s post. Before we talk about teaching obedience, it’s important to consider why obedience is so important. Here, as in many aspects of Christian parenting, we should look to the example of our Heavenly Father. Why does God ask us to obey Him? How […]
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No parent wants disobedient children. But it’s surprisingly easy to let our children get away with disobedience. It’s easy to allow outward obedience accompanied by whining, complaining, or grumpy looks. It’s easy to allow a child to correct us, debate with us, or tell us how she will obey on her own terms. It’s easy to resort to cajoling, reasoning, manipulating, distracting or bribing. It’s easy to issue threats, give […]
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We need to handle God’s Word with care as we discipline our children. In our last post, we considered the need to give our children the hope of the gospel when we correct them. If we only take them to the Bible to show them how God says to live, we’ve missed our prime opportunity to tell them how they can live that way. They’re not going to obey God by […]
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Have you ever looked in the mirror an hour or two after dinner only to discover that a portion of your meal is still stuck in your teeth? You probably took care of the problem as quickly as possible (while reviewing in your mind how many people you had smiled at since you ate). You rinsed your mouth. You brushed your teeth. The mirror helped you see what was wrong […]
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Sometimes I take care of the kids for a few hours while my wife goes out. Other times, when she’s sick, I step in to help do some of her work and keep the household running. That’s what I’ve been doing the past few days. How she ever has dinner ready AND the house clean when I come home at night, I don’t know. It never happens when I’m in […]
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As a dad of four children ages 1 to 5, sometimes I’m tempted to think these early years are unimportant. But I know that’s not true; the way we treat a child from age one to five will have a huge influence on how the rest of his childhood and his life will turn out. These early years of life are likely the most critical and formative ones. Here are […]
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I’ll admit right now that I’m a goal-setting junkie. This time of year is always exciting and full of new possibilities! Setting goals has always been an important part of my life. Growing up, I enjoyed reviewing the past year and setting new goals with my parents during our Christmas break each year. Now my wife and I have our own goal-setting tradition, and I can hardly wait for this […]
Read More →My wife and I are launching on a new Bible study. We’ve often tried to read through the Bible from beginning to end in a year (sometimes we make it, sometimes we don’t), but this time we’re reading through the Bible looking for insights relevant to parenting. I’m already excited about what we are finding. You notice new things when you’re reading with a different perspective! Israel’s early history as […]
Read More →I hear a child’s frustrated crying in the kitchen. I go to investigate, and I find my 2-year-old son pushing with all his might against a chair, angry that it’s not moving. He has plans, but something has gone wrong. Soon I realize why he’s upset. The back of the chair has run into an open cupboard door and stopped his movement. But his head is down, his brow is […]
Read More →(Post by Daniel Forster) “Home life is a school as much for training parents as children” – Andrew Murray This is actually one of the top reasons my wife and I are committed to homeschooling our children. Both of us finished homeschooling a long time ago, took some college classes, and read hundreds of books, but we’ll never be done learning. I know God has more lessons for us to […]
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