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10 Things You Can Do to Start a Family Devotional Tonight
One of our most popular posts of the last few months was also the longest. It was a transcript of a lecture I gave at the annual Bible Lectureship at Freed-Hardeman University. The post, which can be found here, shared many practical things to keep in mind for leading a family devotional. But maybe you are still on the fence. Maybe you know you need to start a family devotional, but you are still afraid of actually making that first step. Here’s the thing: it doesn’t have to be a giant leap! No matter the age of your children, there are several things you can do that will get the ball…
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Everyone Pitches In : Why Work Isn’t Bad for Your Kids
Last Saturday was beautiful. The weather was gorgeous, and we actually had a day at home. So, we took advantage of it all and planted our garden. We had prepared the ground earlier, but it still took about 2 hours to get everything in the ground. (Now if we can just keep it alive…) You may have noticed the use of the word “we” in that opening paragraph. That “we” was not just Leah and me. It was all four of us. The kids pitched in at times, too, and helped us get several different kinds of veggies in the ground. Now, some people read that and are considering calling…
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Friday’s Family Friendly Finds {April 25, 2014 edition}
This was a great week for family links. We are seeing some wonderful things across the web, and it was hard to narrow it down for a short list for you! We usually try to give you 4 or 5 family links, but this week, there are 6. Enjoy them all, along with our week in review, below! This Week’s Finds What to Say to Your Kids When Their Friends Get Everything They Want [We are THAT Family] Pretty Side Up [Life and Favor] When Your Spouse Annoys You [for the family]. Leah might need this one, since she has an annoying spouse. 🙂 5 Factors that Make Married…
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A Bad Marriage is Overlaid with Good Intentions
Okay, so the title of this post isn’t as catchy as “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” but it gets the point across. It is easy for a marriage to have a shiny exterior, where everyone on the outside thinks things are just fine. Under the smiles, though, there is rottenness and bitterness at every turn. Your marriage may not be that negative, but it could be headed that way. How? Too often we can talk about what we “intend” to do with our spouse, but we don’t do it. All those intentions, without action, could be rotting the inner strength of the relationship. Now, I’m not…
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How Leaving Things Unattended Can Kill Your Marriage
Her name was Sunandha Kumariratana. Due to a bit of an oddity in the law at the time, she was one of the queens of what was then called Siam. On May 31, 1880 she died at the tender age of 19. Her young age makes this tragic, as does her royalty. But what made her death even more tragic was that there were witnesses. No, it was not an execution or even a situation where people just could not get to her in time. Instead, on a boat trip to the royal summer palace, the boat capsized and two members of the royal family died, including Queen Sunandha. The…
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Not Everything is “Sexy” : How Our Speech Devalues a Beautiful Gift
Turn on the TV, and you’ll hear the word describing nearly any product you can think of. Walk down the corridor of a local mall, or eavesdrop on a conversation at a restaurant and you are likely to hear the word over and again. It is “sexy.” For years, we have been told that “sex sells.” But we aren’t just talking about advertising in this post. People across our culture–Christians and non-Christians alike–now feel like something has to be “sexy” in order for it to be a good product. I’ve heard cars described as “sexy.” Cell phones? Yes, you can get one in a “sexy” color. Go to the fitness club,…
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Book Review: Bad Dads of the Bible
Roland C. Warren is the former head of the National Fatherhood Initiative, which makes his insight into fatherhood important to read. This book is meant to be devotional level, but provides some very clear teachings for those who are dads and claim to be followers of God. The book shares the stories of certain men from Scripture–some of whom are heroes of faith and others who are not–who all had great weaknesses in the area of being a dad. From David’s household in the palace to Lot’s movement toward Sodom, eight different Biblical narratives are used as the basis for the chapters. I like the idea behind this book, but…
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Lads to Leaders & How the Church Goes All Out for Children
Over this past weekend, we were blessed to be part of about 10,000 or so people at the Opryland Hotel for the annual Lads to Leaders convention. Additionally, more Christians gathered in five other cities (Memphis, Louisville, Atlanta, Orlando, and Dallas) for Lads to Leaders, as well. It is always a highlight of our year to see all the great things that young people from all over the place do as they grow in their willingness to use their talents for the Lord. Each year, I see people talk about how these children and their talents give us hope for the church in the future. I agree. As I watched…
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Friday’s Family Friendly Finds {April 18, 2014 edition}
So, it’s Lads to Leaders week around here. We are so excited about this annual event, and the young people from Lebanon Road have worked so hard. We are proud of Mary Carol and Turner for the work they have done, and we look forward to seeing so many of you this weekend. Tonight, I will be leading singing at Lads to Leaders for the late night Delta Fountain singing. This is always a great highlight, and it is an honor to lead. We will sing from 10:30-11:00 tonight in the Opryland Hotel, and it should be wonderful, as always. This Week’s Finds They’ll Never be Little Again [Pulpit Perspectives]…
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7 Ways to Be Diligent in Daily Bible Reading
So often, we hear about the need to be regular and diligent in our Bible reading. From sermons to books to other outlets, we are often told that we should spend time daily in the reading and study of God’s Word. And, no matter how good our intentions might be, most of us will fall off the track sometime. It may seem like an odd time of year to write this post, since daily Bible reading articles usually come out around the turn of a new year. But why do we have to rely on the turning of a calendar to get into the Scriptures? Today’s post is not meant…
