Category Archives: Parenting

Celebrating Freedom

When we celebrate the 4th of July, we are celebrating not just a historical event, but a divine concept. As Americans, the concepts of free will and self-determination are part of our DNA, but freedom did not begin with the birth of the USA.  Freedom is God’s idea! Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy … Remember […]

What Do We Say To Our Kids?

It’s the month of June, a time of year when our culture asks everyone to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. This creates an awkward situation for Christians. We want to be loving and accepting of people who think differently, but our conscience will not allow us to celebrate something that the scriptures say is a sin. […]

What Are You Looking Forward To?

Debbie and I recently returned from a 36-day trip. (We combined two cruises.) This was by far the longest vacation we had ever done. We wanted to celebrate after completing 45 years in ministry and retiring from my Kid’s Pastor job at Living Word. It was a relaxing trip to Africa and Europe and we […]

How To Choose Happiness (When You Don’t Want To Be)

Well, we have officially entered into the Christmas Season. It is, after all, after Thanksgiving (or should I say Black Friday)? Either way we are on our way, whether we like it or not, toward Christmas. For some, this is a joyous, happy, exciting time. For others it may be a hard, somewhat painful period. […]

How I Got Rid of the Grinch in My Life

I used to work in retail at a big box store. It might sound strange, but I used to get pretty anxious when Christmas was on the horizon. In the world of retail, from Thanksgiving through January, the holiday season was a rollercoaster of emotions. Customers often got impatient, frustrated, and sometimes even argumentative. It […]

Are Your Kids Ready to Grow Up Strong in Christ?

In a world filled with complexities, Jesus’ command to “go into all the world and make disciples” may sound like a daunting task. But, when it comes to nurturing the faith of children, it’s all about embracing simplicity. To truly make disciples of the kids in our classes, we need to understand what it means […]

Boundaries in Ministry

Without question, the biggest challenge in ministry is creating healthy boundaries. Church, spouse, children, job, and friends all seem to blend together. “A boundary defines where you end and someone else begins.” Ask yourself these questions: The most basic boundary word is the word “No”. The demands of ministry are never-ending. If you are going […]

I got 14 new volunteers this weekend…

We hear a lot of talk today about partnering with parents but how do you do this if you have little exposure in the pulpit? The best way to partner with parents is to get parents involved with the children’s ministry program. In other words, use the KidMin Program to disciple the parents. I meet once a […]

How To Talk To Kids About Homosexuality

The worldview about homosexuality is changing. Homosexuality used to be a subject we did not talk about with kids. People understood it is important to protect the innocence of children, but things have changed. Here are some questions that Christian parents are asking: Admittedly, this is an emotional topic. There are strong opinions on both […]