In the days when our children were little, I used to jokingly wish we could afford to hire a maid once in a while to help with routine household chores. Well, that maid never made her appearance. Instead, we decided to hire our own boys. Why not pay them to do work that we would be willing to pay someone else to do? Suddenly our live-in mess-makers became live-in maids […]
Read More →Category: Raising sons
Grumbling
“Do all things without murmurings and disputings” (Philippians 2:14). Children grumble. So did the Israelites. Children (and parents) who grumble are grumbling against the Lord. Sometimes, like the Israelites as they faced the Red Sea with the Egyptians at their backs, our children grumble because they are afraid. We can challenge them with our questions and instruction: “What are you afraid of?” “Is God strong enough to take care of […]
Read More →Helping Our Children Confess
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Galatians 6:1, ESV). Yesterday, as I read the first chapters of Joshua, an account brought back memories of the “old days” — the days when it was obvious that one of the kids had done something naughty. The evidence was all […]
Read More →Don’t Give Up!
Tomorrow our second-born son celebrates his 26th birthday! He is the son who made me wonder if I wanted to be a mother anymore. 🙂 He is the son who was toasted at his wedding by one of the men in our church, who smiled as he said that years earlier he would have voted Joseph, of any of the little boys in church, most likely to end up in […]
Read More →Against Tolerance…
Those of you who have children online, children who follow blogs — do you know what they are reading? The internet and social networking make it much more difficult to know our children’s “friends” and the people who are influencing their thinking. People “come into” our homes through the internet that we may never “meet”. And just because a blog is written by someone who claims to be a Christian […]
Read More →How to Use Plants Grown Up and Polished Cornerstones (video)
We decided to spice things up and deliver today’s post in video form! People often ask us, “Where do I start?” after they buy Plants Grown Up or Polished Cornerstones. If you already have one of these books on your shelf, we hope this will help you get the most out of it! In this video, we show how to get started using Plants Grown Up and Polished Cornerstones, including […]
Read More →Encouraging a Thankful Heart
A thankful heart is a heart that is ready to obey. It’s so easy for children to be unaware of the many ways their parents serve them. We need to help them learn to be thankful. Sit down with your children and make a list of all the ways their daddy serves your family. Talk together, ask them leading questions, and give them some suggestions. Assign one of the children […]
Read More →Helping Our Children Run the Race – Setting Goals
“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:15). We’re running a race. So are our children. The beginning of a new year is a good time to reevaluate our goals. Are we running in the right direction or are we distracted by lots of good and not-so-good things along the way? New Year’s has traditionally been the time […]
Read More →We plant. He makes it grow.
This week we are switching our schedule. Tuesday’s posts will be a bit more irregular. We may skip a Tuesday here and there, in the interest of carving out more time to work on new Doorposts products. Project posts and posts directly related to child training will now be posted on Thursdays. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalm […]
Read More →It’s Daniel’s Birthday!
“A wise son maketh a glad father…” Proverbs 10:1 Today is Daniel’s birthday! Daniel is the guy who runs Doorposts. He’s the guy who makes my computer behave. He’s the one who knows how to get pictures onto WordPress so we can post them on this blog. He’s the son who first introduced me to motherhood – and survived. He is the firstborn who hurled me into God’s accelerated sanctification […]
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