Reggie Joiner Good Advice In a pivotal moment in a movie most dads would probably rather not admit we’ve seen, the Prince of fictional Genovia has this advice for his daughter, the Princess (yes, as in Princess Diaries). On her sixteenth birthday, her father writes these words: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather…
Carey Nieuwhof I’m going to guess you wish you had a little more courage as an adult, and maybe even as a parent. We all do. Fear isn’t just an emotion, it’s also a habit. Same with courage. Courage is a habit, and habits start young. Very young. So how do you raise a courageous…
Kendra Fleming Confession: I lay awake at night and worry about my kids. It’s true. I know that worry is a waste of time. I know that worry shows a lack of faith. But sometimes . . . I worry. I have a child about to graduate from high school and is still undecided about…
Dr. Jim Burns One of the ironies of parenting is that we have to give our kids freedom to fail in order for them to grow up. If you over-parent your teenager, your actions are shouting to her that you don’t believe she can succeed by herself. We must go through the process of releasing…
Tim Walker There’s something about becoming a parent that activates anxiety in many of us. For me, it happened when we were leaving the hospital with each kid (I have three). Adding an additional passenger or two or three to our ride increased the stakes tenfold. I became hyper aware of not only my own…
Leah Jennings This year, Creed Campbell would have celebrated his 14th birthday. His mom, Stephanie, should’ve been struggling through teenage angst by now, the miscommunication that comes with being a teen parent, and the “Mom, you just don’t understand!” proclamations from behind a closed door. She should have her group of girlfriends, also teen moms,…
GinaMcClain It was late Sunday evening in June. Driving down the highway, my husband started slowing down. “Why are you stopping?” I’m clearly annoyed. It’s late and I’m ready to crash. In less than twelve hours I embark on a week long summer camp with a gaggle of kids. “It’s not me,” the hubs says,…
Holly Crawshaw Nothing has the potential to affect the course of your kid’s life quite the same way that their friendships do. Self-help guru Jim Rohn puts it this way: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” And you may be thinking . . . Who, Timmy? My…
Leah Jennings Sometimes, my inner dialogue can be pretty negative, and this is coming from someone who believes wholeheartedly in the power of positive thinking. I can’t seem to help it—it’s so easy to slip into negative thought patterns once they start. Recently, I got so fed up with my thoughts, I started reading a…
Mike Tiemann One of the things I admire the most about kids is the way they live in the moment. They don’t have to be responsible for things like retirement plans . . . coordinating the calendar . . . or figuring out what’s for dinner. Can I be honest and tell you that’s one…