In this episode of Let's Parent on Purpose, Jay Holland talks to Josh Luecht, a veteran youth pastor, about how parents can get the most out of their youth pastors. Together, they discuss the role
If you're tired of putting out fires started by your tongue, you're going to really benefit from my conversation with my friend Aidan Till. Aidan preached recently at my church Covenant Fellowship Baptist Church from James
While it might be unrealistic to ever get to the point of disciplining without any emotion, we can at least strive to correct behavior without having a stroke. As author Dr. Kevin Leman puts it,
Sometimes it seems like a cloud of negativity hangs over our household. This week I share with you a simple change I made that helped change my perspective, as well as the reality, in my
How do you cultivate a culture of generosity in your family? Father and son Brad and Drew Formsma join me today to share how generosity has become a way of life in their household. Along
We live in a world that seeks to define women by their bodies or their tasks. They are either commodities to be exploited or pawns in someone's agenda. As a father, this breaks my heart.
Nearly 80 million people play the video game sensation Fortnite each month. Even if your children don't play, they are talking about it, learning the dance moves. It's not just a video game, it's a
Today's preteens are getting lost in the transition as they shift from childhood to adolescence. During this unique time, they are not quite one thing and not quite another. Author, speaker, and pastor Dan Scott
There are certain habits and practices that work like compound interest in your child's life. If you can learn to identify the everyday opportunities, you may not see radical returns on any given day, but
Many parents fear the influence of public schools on their children. But God is using students across the country to bring the light of the gospel to their peers. Chris Lane, Executive Director of First
Failure is a natural part of a child's life. They way we respond to their failures (and ours) will steer them towards egomania, paralyzing fear, or optimistic self confidence. Today I'll share how we can
One year, one week, and one day ago we celebrated my son's last dose of chemo. On this week's podcast I share the essay I wrote for that occasion, as well as thoughts from a
This is not the podcast you were expecting. Rather than talk about bedtime routines or homework strategies, I'm joined by Patrick Farley, who placed in the top 5 in the Florida State Teacher of the
I received a question about dating recently in an "Ask Anything" session with my teenagers at church. In this podcast, I review the set of questions I gave the group to ask themselves before getting
This guest post is from my friend Willow Sander of Protect the Heart Ministries, in conjunction with our podcast discussion on "Talking to your children about sex". “Hey, it’s time to talk!” Funny how that
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may
Everyone wants your 100% best. But it's impossible for everyone to get your 100% best. During a time in my life when my family was suffering because of my inability to set appropriate boundaries in
Last week I shared a really important concept called The Love Bank. While the concept holds true in every significant relationship in your life, it is especially critical for husbands and wives. The same premise
Be honest, are you in control of the technology in your home, or does it control you? I recently read a book by Andy Crouch called the The Tech-Wise Family. I was anticipating a guide
The only real problem I have with people is that they don't do exactly what I want when I want them to do it. My kids, being little people, are often guilty of this as
In the old Star Trek TV show (I'm dorky enough to know about but not dorky enough to watch) Captain Kirk sometimes employed a nifty little gadget called a Universal Translator. It worked by scanning
Parenting used to be so easy. I only had one kid. She was young. She was outnumbered. We were so smart. Then she started growing and getting complicated. Then her siblings arrived. Somewhere along the
There's a creeping disease that's infecting the hearts and minds of several generations of men and women. It's symptoms: anxiety, loneliness, depression, inability to enjoy activities, decreased attention span, and a distorted view of reality.
Warning: the next 600 words might have severe impact on your parenting and relationships. This is the week kids dread and parents dream about all summer-at least in my house. The first day of school
As of today, we are done with all chemo treatment. I can't believe I'm actually writing this. On April 14, 2014, our family's world was turned upside down when we were told our little 5
Have you ever made a promise to a toddler and then forgot, only to have them remind you 27 times? They don't forget. Yet when it comes to doling out consequences for behavior, we often
If you're normally a reader of this blog, can I ask you, for just one week, to Listen to this Podcast? I had the special, and extremely rare, opportunity to interview Dr. Samuel Thomas of
I find it strange that over 90% of the individual people written about in the Bible are men when far more women around the world pursue Jesus than their male counterparts. Godly moms are the
It's likely that those who need to read this most, won't. If you are a dad, please read this, even if you consider yourself a spiritual, physical, and financial giant. There are various gradients of
Too often a marriage becomes child focused. Not only is this bad for the husband and wife, it's terrible for the kids!
I love my kids, but one day, God willing, they're going to leave my home. And God willing, until it's time to go to heaven, there's never going to be a day when my wife
"A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan next week" General George S. Patton I am an obsessive planner. Some of them actually happen. Many don't. But I can say that I've managed
Today we will continue our discussion of the characteristics of Generation Z, the largest generation on earth, currently in elementary-high school. If you didn't catch last week's post, please read it first. Also, you're really
A gang or real live experts on Generation Z from our student ministry joins me for a discussion on the differences between Millennials and Generation Z With Davis Price, Chloe Reddick, John Klein, and Brock
This is going to be the first of a series of post on getting to know Generation Z. These are the kids who are currently in Elementry-High School. Moms and dads, you might have thought
This week on my Let's Parent on Purpose Podcast I interview Dr. Samuel Thomas of Hopegivers. Even if you've never listened to any of the podcast before, I urge you, please listen to this one.
Over the last few years I’ve noticed a pretty significant change in the way people are involved with their church. When I was a kid and young adult, “regular” church attenders were involved in Sunday
Has culture conditioned you and your family into looking at the church as just one more commodity to be consumed?
As I think about the raising of my kids, I realize there’s one dominating factor that influences my default parenting style more than anything else: My own childhood. I was born and raised in a
On this Mother's Day weekend, here are some thoughts on how my childhood, as well as that of my parents, has drastically affected my own parenting.
The following is a guest post from one of my favorite human beings. Davis Price is a graduating senior from our church, and one of the best people you will meet. In addition to a
In case you’ve been going about your life without spending too much time thinking about fictional events, there’s a new show on Netflix that’s the consuming teenagers. Or rather, teenagers are consuming it. 13 Reasons
13 Reasons Why is a Netflix series that is sweeping the nation. Especially if you have children over 10 years old you need to pay attention to some very scary things in this show.
A great question about when to baptize your kids leads to the thought: Are we training our kids for disobedience?
I’m not a runner, but sometimes I pretend to be one. As time goes on, the more I feel like I’m pretending. Perhaps you’ve been a runner at one point in your life, or maybe
Gratitude is hard work! Here are 3 ways to make it habitual.
In light of Easter Week I wanted to share something I wrote from the hospital room of my son three years ago on Easter Sunday. I pray it's an encouragement to you. Happy Easter, He
I wrote these thoughts while sitting in my son's room on Easter Morning in 2014, seven days after he began treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
When I was little, I loved Mad Magazine. (I know, shame on me). One of my favorite running bits in the magazine was called "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions". The title is fairly self explanatory,
In every tense situation there are two lessons happening. 1) What you say, 2) How you say it.
The funny thing about the most important parts of life is that they are rarely the most immediate. For instance, I'd like to lose ten pounds. But I'd also like to finish off that bottle
