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
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 - 3 min read Season: The Long Summers (7 of 11) Defeating Discouragement Let's be honest: Everyday life as a power-decade parent is tough. You provide for physical needs.You slow down for emotional needs.You create fun and memorable moments.You attempt to bring calm to the total chaos. And yet, your kids give practically zero demonstration that they are "getting it." Rare are the signals that maturity, gratitude, or change is happening at all. It's enough to make a mom...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Long Summers (5 of 11) Where Does It Come From? At various times during our power-decade of parenting, my wife or I said one of the following statements to our kids. Somewhere between 3-13, our kids heard us say these and dozens of other statements a lot like it... "Hey, sweetie, I want you to go to the window and order the snow cone by yourself this time." "Buddy, it's time for you to hop out of the car and head to the soccer tryout for your...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Long Summers (5 of 11) 👶🏼Wait, You're Pregnant? It was exactly 21 years ago this week when my wife and I found out some surprising news. It was the summer of 2004 and our oldest daughter was 6 months old at the time. My wife walked in with a baby in one hand and a positive pregnancy test in the other. I couldn't believe it. We weren't trying to get pregnant, but little did we know she was already 2 months along with our son. We had 7 months to...