I have my meals planned this week. But rather than posting my plan (it's just pasta Monday, fish Tuesday, meatless on Wednesday, frozen leftovers on Thursday), I thought I'd post my rationale for eating together.  When I was out walking recently, my daughter Katie said to me, "You know what I like about our family, Mommy? We eat together. It's...... >Read More

Tags: attitude problems, better parenting, character develoment, Culture, dinner, eat together, Family, FamilyLife, FamilyLife Favs, menu planning, parenting essentials, plan ahead, quality time, Shelia Wray Gregoire, teenages, teens, values, World

1 Comment »

One of the most difficult parts of marriage is agreeing how to discipline. When one parent is more lenient, and one is more harsh, often parents fail to back each other up, and instead form emotional bonds with the kids. Here's a situation that happened in our family recently: One of our daughters, who had been very compliant, hit puberty,... >Read More

Tags: better parenting, communication, different discipline styles, discipline, Family, FamilyLife, parenting, parenting essentials, resolving conflict, sheila wray gregoire, spouse, teens, values

1 Comment »

Every now and then, an idea explodes through our collective consciences, challenging our notions about how life works. It happened in the fifteenth century when Galileo argued that the earth was round. It happened in the eighteenth century when upstarts in North America decided they wanted to govern themselves. And I hope, for some of you parents,...... >Read More

Tags: better parenting, character development, children, consequences, fail, Family, FamilyLife Canada, FamilyLife Favs, guide, parenting essentials, parents, Shelia Wray Gregoire, succeed, teach, teenagers, values

No Comments »

There was a video on CNN yesterday that stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t footage from Thailand, or election coverage.  It is a video of a little 5 year old girl  sitting in front of an image of 5 cartoon children. The children are all wearing the same dress and the same expression, only the color of their skin... >Read More

Tags: beauty, better parenting, character development, Family, family issues, family values, in the news, parenting, parenting essentials, racism, Self, social issues, World

36 Comments »

I was intrigued by an article from O, the Oprah Magazine today that talked about raising sons to be good husbands. The article talks about raising boys and the men they become and gets into quite a discussion about how we raise girls differently than boys. Before we launch into a massive debate on gender politics, I think we can... >Read More

Tags: better parenting, character develoment, daughter, Family, parent, parenting, parenting essentials, raising boys, son

1 Comment »

As I drove up to my parent’s house this weekend, I pulled up short. Was I in the wrong driveway? I double checked the number and no, this was the right house.  But there were smiling jack-o-lanterns hanging in the tree out front, another one on the door and even a couple of pumpkins peeking out of the bay... >Read More

Tags: better parenting, Family, family values, Halloween, neighbors, spiritual growth, trick or treat, witness

11 Comments »

A few things have converged in my son Jack’s life over the past couple months. Back in the spring, he and I began reading Take Your Best Shot by then-nine-year-old author Austin Gutwein.  It is the story of a boy who decided he didn’t want to wait until he was all grown up to do something big for God. Jack... >Read More

Tags: africa, basketball, better parenting, change, character development, children, difference, Elisabeth K. Corcoran, Family, kids, parenting, parenting essentials, spiritual development, spiritual growth, teenagers, teens, values, World

No Comments »