Friends are an integral part of a happy and fulfilled life. We laugh with them, we cry with them, we play with them, we pray with them. As Charles Swindoll says, “I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full…
I’ve heard before that when feeling insecure in a new job you just have to “fake it till you make it.” But I seem to have mixed luck with my attempts—especially in my role as a parent. Mostly, I just end up exhausted when I allow insincerity to take over. I was able to…
Is your shopping done yet? Have you nailed the best deals on all of the supplies on your child’s class list? Is the smell of new athletic shoes and fresh clothing purchases permeating your house yet? While it all sounds so hopeful, if you’re house is anything like ours, there’s a slow, sickening churning of…
Be honest. Even if you didn’t say that out loud, you’ve thought it at least once! Yet, the primary “care-giver” really does have the need to leave home, leave town, and leave their child behind from time to time. Perhaps we need to leave our child behind (not in the sense that they’re taking off…
Splink 1: Power to Go Run a relay to introduce the idea of Paul and Barnabas being sent out to share the gospel. Send everybody to gather three items they would bring if they were going on a trip. Put these on a table. Place an opened suitcase on the floor on the other…
We all know disability draws the attention of others. I get it. I look, too. We often feel like everybody is Evan’s friend. (Mostly pretty girls. Evan has moves like Jagger. Be jealous.) People we don’t recognize will stop to talk to Evan because they know him from somewhere. Occasionally, they will tell us how they are acquainted with him. But…
One of the incredible things about a relationship with God is the way He has something unique to show us at every phase. Just like the same dad would respond differently to his three-year-old than his 13-year-old, our heavenly Father seems to respond in different ways at different times so we can better understand…
This week we are recapping our most-shared culture blog posts to-date in 2016. *The following is from March 14, and was excerpted from an online article posted on Science Daily. A new study on family technology rules is among the first to explore children’s expectations for parents’ technology use — revealing kids’ feelings about fairness and ‘oversharing’…
As a special-needs parent let me be clear that my overriding feeling is gratitude toward professionals who help kids and families with mental health challenges and developmental disabilities. I have a Ph.D. and my husband is an M.D. so I understand the challenges on both sides of this issue. However, I witness or hear from parents…
I’m not a huge fan of exaggeration, so let me say as clearly as I can, “The entire world changes when your kid gets a smart phone.” You think you know, oh you’ve read some articles or heard chit chat at dinner parties, but you have no idea what happens when your parenting goes digital. Up…