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.
Family Friday: Don't Stop Telling Stories
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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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Power-Decade Parenting
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 Cold Days (4 of 12) Family Controversy In our family, girls are allowed to get their ears pierced at age 12 and not a moment sooner. Are we crazy? Possibly.Are we an outlier? Likely.Do we have a reason? Definitely. How much thought have you put into the appropriate age for a girl to have her ears pierced? If your answer is not much, then you're in the majority. For most families, there is no thought at all, which is totally fine. I am sure...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2.5 min read Season: The Cold Days (3 of 12) The Proximity Problem On Christmas day this year, our family had a Clark Griswold moment. We enjoyed a bit of nostalgia when I grabbed the old video camera and watched some early-stage home movies. The big kids were 2 & 3 years old. Everyone in the living room smiled, ooed, and laughed as we re-watched the chaos of our young family. When kids are little, life is full of piles: toys, clothes, and bodies too. Wrestling on the...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 2 min read Season: The Cold Days (2 of 12) One Piece At A Time One of the biggest challenges of power-decade parenting is that your life is pulled in a thousand different directions. Being intentional to build connection and character with your kids can feel like a losing effort. The ability to focus on one child at a time seems as impossible as wrangling your squirming toddler to get their diaper on. In my early parenting days, I got overwhelmed and in my own head...