Parenting
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Love Wins
Despite the title, this is not another article about the recent Supreme Court decision. For my personal beliefs on that issue, click here and/or here. If you struggle with your feelings toward our government and the direction our country is headed, I would direct you here or here. That said, despite all of the misuse of the phrase “love wins,” love does, in fact, win! Love wins in our marriages when a husband and wife follow the example Christ, given to us in Ephesians 5:25-33. Instead of a home where the battle for supremacy is waged at every turn, you have a unit functioning together in love: forgiving, supporting, encouraging,…
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#RediscoverNature : Kids Need to be Outdoors
We can read all the articles and books we want about raising our children, and the experts seem to disagree on a lot of issues. But there are certain things that nearly every expert agrees on. One of those things is that children need to be outside. When you think back to your childhood, what are some of your best memories of just being a kid? Nature Valley asked that of three generations, and put the answers in a short video. You must see this: (Video not playing? Click here to watch on YouTube.) If that doesn’t open your eyes, I’m not sure what will! Now most of us can…
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What I Wish the Church Knew about the Preacher’s Family
[Note: This week’s guest post comes to us from our friend Dale Jenkins. To learn more about Dale, check out his information following today’s article.] The apostle Paul wrote: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7 KJV). The New Living Translation says: “We ourselves are like fragile clay jars.” To Timothy he wrote that “… in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will…
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Cousins’ Camp 2015: “Discovering Who You Are and Whose You Are”
Cousins’ Camp 2015 is now in the history books for the Faughn family. Three years ago, I borrowed an idea from my friend Sheila Butt and launched our version of Cousins’ Camp. I had heard Sheila talk about getting her grandchildren together for activities, devotionals, and lots of fun things. I loved the idea, so I borrowed it and began our version of the camp. Our camp, which is held at our home, begins on Thursday and runs through Monday at lunch. We run it very much like church camp. I’ll never forget the first time after breakfast when I said, “It’s cabin clean-up time,” and they all got up and went to their…
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The Hypocritical Blanket
Almost every night, I say a prayer with my son and tell him goodnight. Though sometimes, admittedly, I rush through these last few moments before he goes to sleep, they are some of my favorite minutes of the day. Some nights we read a story, every night we pray. He says a prayer, then I say one. I tell him “good night” and “I love you,” then his lights go out. It’s a routine I hope does not end anytime soon. The other night, though, another step had to be taken. I was pulling up his blanket over him when I noticed I didn’t have hold of the sheet underneath.…
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4 Ways to Make Every Weekend Memorable for Your Family
[NOTE: This week’s guest post comes to us from David Dixon. To learn more about David, check out his bio after today’s post.] In 1981, the band Loverboy released a song entitled “Working for the Weekend.” It’s a catchy little ditty, but the sentiment of the song is a worldly concept that should not apply to Christians. In reference to early Christians who had given certain days of the year greater significance of holiness than other days, Paul gave the instruction that every individual should be “fully persuaded in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5 KJV). That is, we are permitted to assign a holiness value to individual days, but we…
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A Biblical Legacy of Faith
Since yesterday was Fathers Day, I decided to preach on what I consider to be a biblical legacy of faith. I thought I’d share some (but not all) of the things I talked about here. I chose Abraham as my example of such a legacy. I thought that was a good choice since Abraham is included in “Faith’s Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11. Specifically, I chose the events recorded in Genesis 22 as an example of his “legacy of faith.” In the interest of full disclosure, I need to point out that some of the thoughts that served as the basis for this lesson came from brother Neal Pollard and a…
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For Generations to Come
[NOTE: This week’s guest post is from Suzy Dodd. To learn more about Suzy, check out her bio after today’s article.] We have all heard the phrase “for generations to come” as it relates to the length something lasts. Think of things like a car, grandmother’s roasting pan, a recipe, or a story passed down from one generation to the next. However, do we really think of the actual meaning of the words “for generations to come?” This we know: there will, in all likelihood, be generations coming after us. Depending on one’s age we may think about having children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and possibly great-great-grandchildren. We daydream and ponder…
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Checkout Lines and Teaching Values
I stood in the checkout line at Walmart while the clerk finished scanning all of my items. All of the sudden I had a tremendous sinking feeling down in my stomach. For once, it wasn’t caused by watching the grocery bill get larger and larger. The feeling was caused by watching the people behind me in the line. I watched as an old woman rolled up to the line in an electronic riding carts. With her, there were two young women who appeared to be in their twenties, or possibly younger. There were one or two kids with them. Just as they walked up to the counter, a worker brought…
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5 Service Projects for Your Kids This Summer
“Yeah, school’s out!” …wait three days… “I’m bored!” First of all, I do not have a problem with kids being bored. It forces them to stretch themselves and use their imaginations to find ways to fill in the time. Not every moment of every day should be go-go-go for any of us. That said, summertime does afford good opportunities for children to give back to others. Because they have a little extra time, it is good for them to use some of that time to serve other people in ways that may take a little time. While there are countless ways kids can do this, today we share 5 that…
