A Single Sentence from a Season AheadGrace-filled homes recognize that individual growth can take years and leave room for "the imperfect and never finished."
Stories Shape FuturesKids gravitate towards great stories. So many of them follow The Heroes Journey. Classics like Moana or Toy Story are legendary kids movies because of how well they accomplish this. Stories in the lives of your kids, end up shaping and molding them. Stories capture their mind and heart. They are big and powerful. They create awe and wonder. They generate hopes and dreams. Stories aren't only fantasy. They are also the easiest point of leverage that we have to teach and connect with our kids. Stories are sticky. We tried to have a story filled home, though more often it felt like a correction facility. As adults, our lives are directed by the stories we grew up believing in and the the ideas we hold on to today. As parents, the stories we tell our kids reveal what we believe matters. Think about what you gravitate towards and end up sharing with your 3-13 year old... Stories of rags to riches. The types of people or actions you endorse in your stories are the characteristics your kids will find honorable and repeatable. The books you read together. Your stories chart a course for your children. The lesson: choose your stories wisely because your stories shape your children's futures. See you next Friday,
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Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2.5 min read Season: The Springtime (6 of 11) The Guarantee A few summers ago I found myself at the lake with some young dads. It was the kind of weekend where the conversation was rich and the fun overflowed. As we sat around in the living room, the topic of conversation steered towards raising kids. Some of it was about the challenges of kids entering middle school and others about adding a second kid to the family. One of the young dads asked me what it was like...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Springtime (5 of 11) First, Pull The Weeds My father loves to garden.... but I do not. We live next door to each other though, so I am the beneficiary of his green thumb. Gardening is a lot of ongoing work that I don't enjoy. There's something specific to do in every season, and the cycle never ends. It's not complicated, it's just so tedious. Pull the weeds. Water the plants. Fertilize the soil.Pull the weeds. Remove dead plants & plant new...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2.5 min read Season: The Springtime (4 of 11) Becoming "That" House Having a family culture where your teenage kids want to bring their friends over to hang out is easier said than done. Many (but not all) of my friends that I talked to over the years wanted their house to be a place where teenagers gathered. Whether kids showed up after ball games, came over for board games or just needed to crash for the night, having a welcoming teenage home is a goal for many...