There may be times when your child comes home from school and tells you about someone who is making their life miserable. As a mom, I know you want to go scratch that person’s eyes out. But let me tell you a story of how my mom reacted to a situation like that and how it helped me learn something that I still rely on today. When I was in sixth grade, a seventh-grade girl who was part of the popular crowd repeatedly made mean remarks to me. She would look at me and say things like “I hate you” ... [keep reading]

One of the devil’s plans for young people is to get them to compare themselves with others, judge themselves as deficient, and then seek to be someone they were not created to be. Young girls compare themselves to other girls and see them as having prettier hair, nicer clothes, a better house, greater popularity, higher scholastic achievement, or more talent and beauty. Young boys look at other boys and see them as taller, better looking, greater athletes, having more friends, more hair, more ... [keep reading]

A few years ago, the Atlantic published an article listing 12 things parents should never do to their children if they didn’t want to mess them up forever. The top of the list? You should never “threaten to leave your kids behind.” But what if you do? That would be bad, right? What could make it worse? Blaming the child. That’s what could make it worse. And that’s what Mary did to Jesus. Like the Christmas comedy Home Alone, the mother of the Christ and the adoptive father entrusted ... [keep reading]

Commit to continually deepening your understanding of Christianity There is absolutely a time and place for giving your kids third-party resources to aid in their spiritual development. But there is no replacement for you. When you can’t answer their big questions, you’ll leave them wondering if all this really matters, given that you seemingly haven’t given your faith as much thought as they have. Make spiritual space in your home By spiritual space I mean dedicated time for your ... [keep reading]