Imagine a foster family shows up to your weekly Bible study with a couple extra kids in tow. You, half-jokingly, call the family crazy for adding more kids. "Are you trying to start your own sports team?" you joke. Then your curiosity sets in and you proceed to ask lots of questions: "What happened to their [...]
I'm traveling to Seattle to speak at the Refresh Conference this week. I'm looking forward to the trip for several reasons. I've never been to the Pacific Northwest, some friends moved to Seattle last year and I haven't seen them since they moved, and I'm looking forward to presenting my assigned topic; Building Healthy Relationships [...]
Would you love to have a simple parenting tool you can start implementing right away that will help you build trust with your kids? There is one simple word that can make a huge difference... "YES!" An easy way to begin giving our kids more yesâs is to make a Yes Jar. Large open mouth [...]
One of the tools we teach in Empowered to Connect is having parents embrace the privilege of saying âYesâ to their children. Day one of our 2016 spring break was a day of saying yes at our house.
Finding ways to connect with your kids can be hard. Connection jars can give you a quick and easy way to add connecting activities to your everyday routine. Set a certain time each day and allow each of your kids to pick an activity from the jar. Spending just 5 minutes each day connecting with [...]
Today is Motherâs Day. It's the day we set aside to celebrate moms for all the hard work and loving attention they give to their children throughout the year. While it is a day of celebration and honor, it can be a day of conflicting emotions for some of us. Ten years ago I became [...]
I donât consider myself a lazy person.  I am up early, I rarely sit down, and I always have a to-do list a mile long. I mean who has time to be lazy when you are a parent?  Yet I find myself parenting lazy.  I find myself saying ânoâ to my kids out of laziness.  I [...]
Let me start by saying that I believe most people mean well. But good intentions are just that, good intentions and nothing more. It is amazing what complete strangers feel the liberty to say. Some of the things Iâve heard as an adoptive dad have made me smile, grit my teeth, want to yell, and [...]
Every year we try to get a picture by the Christmas tree in our church. This year we decided to stop trying to capture the "perfect" picture and  instead capture the family in its natural state. Enjoy!
I love Thanksgiving. It might just be my favorite holiday. I didnât grow up recognizing a national day of thanks and so I look forward to celebrating this year again. I love the way it smells, the weather is usually perfect, and thereâs football to watch. You could accuse me of being an idealist, but [...]