Growing up, I had a best friend named Anthony. Anthony wasn’t always my friend though. In fact, Anthony and I began our association as two high school kids who wanted to fight one another. Anthony used to make fun of me at football practice and would rally other guys to sing degrading songs about my […]
Parental Pardon
One of the most shocking revelations I ever had about my parents was that they’re real people. When I entered adulthood, I realized they don’t know everything. When I took on more adult responsibilities, I realized I didn’t either. As my world shifted, the questions rained: Did this mean my parents really knew what was […]
FOREVER FORGIVENESS
“Forgive and forget” (Common proverb). “To err is human, to forgive, divine” (Alexander Pope). None of these clichés help the healing when someone is hurting at the hands of another. However, part of our Christian walk is changing our heart and letting go of the hurt that we feel. In this, we have the Holy […]
Allowing God To Move
How do we learn to be disciplined in what we set our hearts and minds on but always be open to what God wants to do in us and through us each day? It’s so easy to put expectations on ourselves for what we should be spending our time on. However, this can sometimes make […]
Keeping The Faith
With the closing of this parenting series, comes perhaps the most crucial part. Now that you have children, what are some of the best ways to continue the faith in the family? It seems like a simple enough question. I think we as Christian parents might assume our children will accept our faith and that […]
DISCIPLINE & THE BIBLE
In a poll taken on ChristiNet.com, the largest Christian portal, 85% of those believed it was in their rights to spank their children. Most quoted the “spare the rod, spoil the child” (Proverbs 13:24) verse as support for their stance. Many of those also said that spanking is okay “as long as it is done […]
NATURE VS NURTURE
Nature versus nurture It’s one of the oldest debates in history. Are we just born with a set personality, intelligence, and tendencies or does our environment around us and the way we are raised shape all of that? In the Genes? For example, do we inherit most of our personality, intelligence, and disposition from our […]
HOW TO KEEP THE ROMANCE ALIVE
So now that you’ve thoroughly fallen in love with your baby, how do you keep the love fires burning between you and your spouse? I know firsthand as a new parent, the last thing on my mind after a day of feeding, changing diapers, and cleaning bottles is, “How could I be more romantic towards […]
ARE YOU A CULTURAL CHRISTIAN?
I wasn’t born a Christian but I definitely feel like I was born in a church. Growing up I spent a bare minimum of three nights, an afternoon and a morning in a church activity of some form or another. That was my normal. Sometimes on special occasions we would spend every night of the […]
HOW DO YOU LOVE YOUR ENEMY?
As I write on the topic of loving my enemies, I can’t help but think about the times when someone’s words or actions have purposefully hurt me. More often than not I’ve been called words like ugly, or disgusting, told I’m not talented enough, or that I didn’t deserve the grand prize in life. This […]