Good Character Never Goes Out of Style
What character trait best defines you? In the world of fast fashion and FOMO (fear of missing out), good character never goes out of style. What is good character? Good character is about your values and motives for making choices not just being a good person. A few good character traits are integrity, compassion, loyalty, respect, responsibility, and courtesy. When people hear your name or your child’s name mentioned, what character traits come to mind? Are they the ones you are proud of? Are there some you need to work on? 5 character trait quiz questions To see where you land on building good character, answer with your most honest answer. Speak to others (courtesy and respect) When the store clerk asks how you are doing Look down at your phone and ignore the question Say “Fine” Say “Fine” and ask the question back, making eye contact Help others (compassion and respect) When you are with friends and a stranger drops a whole box of colored pencils in a busy walkway Staring at your phone, you do not notice Walk by, then laugh about it with your friends Pause and see if the person wants help picking them up Leave…
God is my rock
How does your view of God affect how you live? God is my rock. My fortress. My strong tower. He is my hope and my strength. How you view God affects how you live. What does that mean? If I don’t trust God to be who He says or to keep His promises, then I think too little of God. As a result, I don’t rely on Him. Or maybe I think He’s only sometimes going to answer my prayers or only if I’m really good is He going to listen to me. When I think that, I make prayer and devotions all about me. I should make them all about God. When things get hard I need to remember to trust God to be who He says He is…my rock, my hope, my creator. He is strong, just, loving, and forgiving. And so much more! We can rely on Him. We can anchor to Him in the storms. God is my rock. Oh what comfort and joy that brings me in each season of life. I can have peace in the midst of storms and I can have a place of celebration in the midst of good times. My…
How to Answer the Questions Kids Ask About Life and God
How do I explain the basics of the Christian faith to my kids if I didn’t grow up in church? What do you do when your kids ask you big questions about life and God, but you struggle to even answer those questions yourself? A friend recently asked me this question. She wanted to know how to answer the questions kids ask about life and God. She knew what she believed but was hesitant to try to explain it to her kids for fear of messing up the answers because she didn’t grow up in the church and missed out on hearing all the familiar stories taught in Sunday School. Essentially, my friend and her kids needed to learn some basic theology (the study of God) and basic Bible doctrines (Bible beliefs) together. What you believe affects how you live so understanding and talking about theology with your kids is important to Christian parents. It doesn’t have to be as hard or complicated as it sounds. It can be reading and talking together at the dinner table or storytime. I actually get excited about the questions kids ask about life and God. It means they are thinking. It means they…
Psalm 71 – A Psalm of Hope
Who or what is your anchor? Psalm 71 is a psalm of hope. It reminds us of God’s constant help and our testimony of being anchored to the Rock. When our future seems uncertain, we can look back and see the certainty of God and we can rely on that certainty to continue in the future. Psalm 71 is a wonderful mix of problems and praise. We can choose joy in the midst of struggle. We can choose to anchor ourselves to God, our rock and salvation. Make Psalm 71 your prayer today. I’ve been studying and praying through this psalm. Here are some of my notes. God is our Rock Verses 1-3: Trust in God who delivers His people These verses describe the writer’s trust in God and his confidence in that trust. He is satisfied with God’s promises and boldly asks God, his Rock, for deliverance. Verses 4-6: Trust in God’s steadfast care These verses describe the troubles of the writer and proclaim his hope and trust in God. His confidence in God is encouraged by his experiences from the earliest stages of life. With this confidence in God’s continued care, he makes requests and promises continued praise.…
The Middle Years: Calming the Chaos
Have you ever wanted to get off the middle school roller coaster of life, either as a parent or a child? Parenting middle schoolers isn’t for the faint of heart! The middle years are a roller coaster of emotions for both the kids and the parents. Recently a friend asked for parenting advice for these volatile days with her tween. I’ll share advice in a 3 part series, but you can get started today with these nine tips for calming the chaos in the middle years. If you are new here, I describe the stages of childhood as the younger years, the middle years, and the launching years. I also try to keep each blog post as a short read and vary my topics often. This month will be focused on the middle years. Tips for calming the chaos in the middle years: Teach your kids the “why” behind the rules. How does this rule protect them? Allow your kids to discuss/ask for exceptions but teach them to respect your final authority. Point them to one or two acceptable people they can talk to if they feel they cannot talk to you (close family friend, youth leader, mentor, relative, etc.).…
Memorizing Scripture
What was the last Bible verse you memorized? Memorizing anything can seem tedious and even though memorizing scripture is the most important thing you could memorize, it can seem the most difficult. This blog post is a guest post about memorizing scripture from my oldest daughter, Jessica. She is the best memorizer I know. Let’s look at why memorization important and get some practical tips to get into this spiritual discipline. The first reason to memorize scripture is because God says to do so. In Deuteronomy 11:18, God tells His children to “lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between our eyes.” Since 2 Timothy 3 tells us that “all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” we can assume that God’s command to put His word in our heart and soul is for all of scripture and to all of His children. Also, memorizing scripture helps us to avoid sin as is stated in Psalm 119:11. It helps us to know what is wrong by…
Get Up, Get Dressed, and Make Your Bed
Does your morning routine involve getting dressed and making your bed? Get up, get dressed, and make your bed. Starting your day with a little bit of productivity will boost your sense of accomplishment and give you momentum for whatever is next on your to do list. It doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally spend half my day on my computer in my pj’s writing a course or creating a slide deck for my summer tutoring. Or that I judge people who take sick days and binge-watch tv in bed. But in general, getting up and getting dressed is a good way to start your day. While I’m giving advice, let me suggest you also make your bed. It will look nice and you will feel accomplished. That little bit of productivity will carry over to your next task. It’s just about putting a little care and thought into your day. It’s setting the expectations for your day. It’s wanting to look good for your spouse or to set a good example for your kids. A little mascara and a little lip color go a long way. I’ve gotten lazy. It’s time to step up my game again. It’s time to…
Cultivate Gratitude
How do you cultivate gratitude for God’s blessings? Cultivating gratitude should be a regular occurrence for you, not just a November activity. Read through Psalm 103. Pay attention to all the ways David expresses his thankfulness to God. Consider writing your own Psalm of thanksgiving and gratitude. You can mirror David’s psalm if you want. This might make a good activity for your household as you recount God’s goodness to your family. God is good all the time! All the time, God is good! Both gratitude and ingratitude reveal the state of our hearts. Gratitude is not a natural tendency. We have to cultivate it. We can begin by listing the things we are thankful for. We are commanded to thank God for his blessings in all circumstances. When we grumble, we are telling the world that we do not think God is good ALL the time. When we are grateful, we show that we know He is good and His will is perfect. Above all, the most important thing we have to be thankful for is our salvation that came at the cost of Christ’s life of the cross. Do you know Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do…
15 Parenting Books
Ever wish you had a quick list of helpful books for raising a child? Here are 15 parenting books! This list is not comprehensive nor will you agree 100% with every chapter in each book, however, it’s like a recipe. You take the basic ideas and tailor them to your family’s needs or what’s in the pantry that day. I find it much easier to modify a recipe than to make one up, wouldn’t you agree? No book list should ever replace solid Biblical truth. The best parents are those who understand that solid parenting skills come from the unchanging truth of God. They also reach out to like-minded others who are just a few steps ahead of them. A friend recently asked me for some parenting resources, and I literally went to my bookshelf and pulled off a few favorites. These are parenting books I have read or used over the years. I ask that you use discernment in whether or not they are the best resource for you. Whether you are a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, or a favorite friend, I hope this list will be helpful. It’s divided into 3 sections, and I’ve included Amazon…
Be Honest
Do you know that honest feeling of relief you get when you just tell someone the truth? “Be honest” is one of the few rules I have for my tutoring clients. I’d rather a child tell me they didn’t turn in their homework than lie to me about the teacher losing it. Being honest allows us to get to the heart of the matter, such as lack of motivation or feeling overwhelmed by the amount of overdue work. Honesty is a character trait that we should strive for, but we also need to strive to create relationships that cultivate honest conversations. Being honest is hard work but being known as a person of integrity adds much to your character. We tend to want to hide the truth when things are not going as planned or when we think we will disappoint people. Being honest in a relationship builds trust. Our homes, offices, and classrooms can be spaces where it’s safe to tell the truth. Spaces where we reach out to one another. Where telling the truth is honored and help and hope are offered. Spaces where condemnation and criticism drip from the lips of those in attendance do not value…