Let's Parent on Purpose: Christian Marriage, Parenting, and Discipleship

My good friend (and top 5 finisher for the Florida State Teacher of the Year) Patrick Farley joins me again for a very helpful explanation of philosophy and methods behind Common Core.  As a parent, I’ve mostly been frustrated with my inability to help my 4th grader do math homework.  As a Christian, I’ve heard concerns that Common Core is designed to destroy my children’s moral foundation. Patric...

One year, one week, and one day ago we celebrated my son’s last dose of chemo.  On this week’s podcast I share the essay I wrote for that occasion, as well as thoughts from a dad with one full year of no treatment and no relapse under our belt. Here’s my original essay: We are done with chemo, and I’m a little bit afraid. As of today, we are done with all chemo treatment.  I can’t believe I’m actu...

This is not the podcast you were expecting.  Rather than talk about bedtime routines or homework strategies, I’m joined by Patrick Farley, who placed in the top 5 in the Florida State Teacher of the Year awards for 2018.  We talk strategies for helping you establish solid communication and rapport with your child’s teacher.  Listen and share with others to learn how to communicate concerns, resolv...

There’s one thing that can rob you of your joy no matter what’s going on in your life.  You can live in a house on the beach with a million dollars in the bank, yet be absolutely miserable.  This Joy Killer is a cancer to the soul and a destroyer of relationships.  Listen to today’s podcast to find out what it is and what you can do about it.

I know, this sounds like the most manipulative, self-help title I can imagine.  But the principles are totally Biblical.  Going a little further in my reading of Dale Carnegie’s classic  How to Win Friends and Influence People , I was shocked to realize that Carnegie’s strategy for getting people to like you is simply a practical working out of God’s command to us in Philippians 2:3-4 Philippians...

I recently found a copy of Dale Carnegie’s classic  How to Win Friends and Influence People in the bargain rack at my local bookstore.  Honestly I had very low expectations.  And I was very wrong.  The book is largely an exposition of the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” As I’ve worked through the chapters I realize that the principles given in this book, if appli...

Your church family can inspire your household towards deeper faith in Christ and years of meaningful service.  It can also sow doubts about Jesus, hurt your marriage, and stir seeds that lead your children to abandon the faith. On today’s podcast I talk about choosing a healthy church for your family. If you’re already happily nestled in the church of your dreams, I want to encourage you to listen...

Have you ever been driving along and experienced an accident, or even a near-miss accident?  Things happen so fast, your body essentially takes over before your mind knows what’s going on. Do you remember how you felt in the moments after you got through the event?  As your brain begins to comprehend what happened, your adrenaline is still pumping, and suddenly your emotions catch up with the real...

We all go through significant times of crisis in our lives. For some it’s in response to a major event, for others it can be a drawn out season of chronic challenges. On today’s podcast I want to share some perspectives on self-care while going through crisis.   As a parent or a spouse, you might find yourself dealing with the fallout of traumatic events in your loved one’s life.   Some of these t...

I received a question about dating recently in an “Ask Anything” session with my teenagers at church.  In this podcast, I review the set of questions I gave the group to ask themselves before getting into a relationship (which, by the way, should not be until late in their teenage years at the earliest). Whether you’re a teen or an adult, if you’re considering entering a dating relationship, you s...

In a recent “ask anything” segment with my teenagers, I was asked “how do I removed myself from toxic relationships without being the bad guy?” This excellent question assumes that we know a toxic relationship when we see one.  Unfortunately, that’s not always true. We discovered principles from six verses in Proverbs 20 that gave us clues on the types of people to avoid: The Manipulator Unequal w...

Occupational therapist Diane Corson from the Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services provides very practical strategies to help children with Sensory Processing Disorder cope at home and in public.  Although these tools are specifically designed to help SPD children, many of them can be employed with great benefit to your other children as well!

Diane Corson, an Occupational Therapist with the Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services , joins me for two fascinating podcast as we look into the world of children with sensory processing disorder. As promised, here are Diane’s notes from our talks. Be sure to check out LPOP 71 and LPOP 72 for our two part discussion. Even if you don’t have children with sensory processing disorder, 1) you know...

Home runs are few and far between in parenting. But MASSIVE change can take place if you just keep making contact. This week’s podcast gives you tips on how to make best use of the natural times of contact in your home: Morning routine, drive times, meal times, and bedtime.

People vastly overestimate what they can do in the short-term, but vastly underestimate what can be accomplished over the long-term. This week’s podcast gives tips and ideas on how to set small goals with your kids this summer that can redeem some of that free time and start them on long-term pathways to accomplish big things. Set SMART Goals! Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely Here’s...

I’m revisiting my very first Let’s Parent on Purpose topic ever, and I need to remember this perspective just as much today. 12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the...

Your systems are perfectly suited to give you the life that you now have.  Your children’s routines are perfectly suited to give you the current level of chaos or order that you’re currently experiencing.  All of us have routines with our children.  Some of those routines weren’t designed, they just happened.  And most of the ones that just happen put the extra burden on mom and dad.  On this week...

What happens when we tell our children that Jesus will fix all of their problems?  How do we damage their faith by not preparing them for adversity?  This week we talk about the danger of presenting the gospel as a tool for life enhancement rather than salvation from our sin.  

We want God to transform all of the frustrating things in our family and lives in an instant. But Scripture shows that God is in the habit of driving out enemies from the Promised Land little by little.

A parent recently asked me to address the topic of contentment with children.  That’s the source of this week’s podcast.  Listen to hear my thoughts.  I’ll give you a hint: it’s not going to come by giving them everything they want!  Listen and share with any of your friends who might be struggling with the same issue.  I talk about how we can Create perspective Take responsibility for others Live...

Some kids are miraculous makers of mountains out of molehills.  It can be incredibly frustrating as a parent.  In my podcast this week I share how to create some emotional resiliency using a tool called a Drama-meter. I learned about the Drama Meter from a book I highly recommend by Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevathan called Are My Kids on Track.  You should definitely pick up a copy....

29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 ESV  As a dad who has never seen, but still believes, here’s how I feel blessed and hopeful as a parent: Easter is the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus.  The resurrection is the validation of everything Jesus said and did: It means that His teachings are...

This might be more confessional than instructional, but here are my thoughts as the parent of two different special needs kids. I was asked to do a podcast giving advice to parents of special needs kids, that went something beyond “cut yourself some slack”.  After spending 20 minutes talking about my own experiences, maybe I can can offer double the wisdom: You are not alone. Cut yourself some sla...

  This guest post is from my friend Willow Sander of Protect the Heart Ministries, in conjunction with our podcast discussion on “Talking to your children about sex”. “Hey, it’s time to talk!” Funny how that phrase does not startle us as parents as much as this one: However, eventually the time will come. Unfortunately, in our fast-paced culture the need for that “talk” will come sooner than most...

Thank you Willow Sanders of Protect the Heart Ministries for joining me for a fantastic discussion of safeguards and protections we parents can instill for our children. Below is an incredibly helpful guest post by Willow that goes along with our discussion. Eyes, Ears, Hearts and Souls I don’t know, in my head the preschool song “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” came to mind as I searched for how...