How does a child know when they are accepted as an adult? In our modern world, young people are often left to figure this out on their own. Many never do. I’m joined

Six years ago I started a simple habit of writing five lines in a daily journal. Today I share six insights I have from this practice as I try to encourage you to

There is a general principle that states that 70% of our learning comes from experience, 20% from the people in our lives, and 10% from formalized instruction and book education. Today I reflect

Whether you are surviving a middle school lunch room or trying to navigate the adult relationships in your life, there will always be mean people. Based on an excellent sermon on the same

Great marriages don’t happen without intentional work. There’s a saying: “your habits will determine the direction and quality of your life.” In the same way, your marriage habits will determine the direction and

Some couples naturally communicate very well with one another. But for most, it’s a learned skill. If we are not intentional with our communication, one day we might wake up next to someone

Every marriage has conflict. It’s how you handle the conflict that determines the direction and quality of your marriage. My guests Nathan and Amy Oliver outline specific steps you can incorporate into your

This is the first of a four part series on building blocks for a healthy marriage. Before getting into communication and conflict techniques, it’s important to remember that a healthy marriage must have

A few years ago I began to craft my ideal week. While it never goes according to plan, the practice has radically increased my fruitfulness and decreased my stress. Today I share with

I’m frequently asked about  which Bible Translation is best for children or teens. Today I share an overview of the differences between translations as well as thoughts on what Bible might be best

Lisa Appelo went to bed married one night and woke up a widow and single mom to seven children the next morning. Her story of navigating raw, tender grief stands as a testimony

The teenage years can feel incredibly unstable for both parents and adolescents. Today I share three pillars that can help your teen have a stable self concept even as their bodies, brains, and friends keep

The teenage years are a time of radical change. But it’s not just our teenagers who must go through change. Parenting styles and roles rapidly evolve as our children move closer to adulthood.

This year our family has been stretched and scattered. We have experienced significant disorientation as we walk through a leukemia relapsed. To combat the disorientation, we are developing a new practice of a

How do you measure a good day? What are the things you can control when everything feels out of control? As we walked through a month of ICU hospitalization with our son for

Sometimes I feel the pressure to fix all of the broken things in my family and friends. It’s especially paralyzing when you cannot see what God is doing. In this devotional form John

That’s exactly what our family has been experiencing as we live in a rental house for a couple of months. The conclusion: we are just fine. It’s led me to think about how

There are few fears more gripping to a parent than the thought that one of their children might get sick… really sick. Sick to the point of real suffering. Sick to the point

One of the common feelings shared by our children is "I feel like I don't fit in.” The truth is this feeling doesn’t go away just because we become adults. I've been thinking

Fear of failure as a parent can paralyze a mom or dad. In my new “What if…?” series I look at the reality of our parental failure through the lens of the gospel.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 74 percent of adults in the United States are overweight. After 10 years of marriage and five pregnancies, Amber Lia, a former college

Pastor and author Jonathan Pitts joins me once again, this time to talk about the growth and adjustments from his newly blended family. We discuss setting-but also adapting-expectations, the mix of grief and

Parenting doesn’t stop just because your children turn 18. But it sure can be confusing! Willow Sanders joins me to talk about the transitions from boss to coach to advisor that a parent

Family worship is one of the most transformative habits a family can have. It’s also very intimidating to most moms and dads. Dr. Rob Rienow, founder of Visionary Families, helps simplify the process

When Stacy Callender was a young mom she felt burdened as her children entered public school. This burden led her to join a Moms in Prayer group that changed the trajectory of her

It’s a challenge to balance boundaries and freedom, adventure and responsibility when raising a boy. My guest Monica Swanson shares here experience of raising boys who are sensitive to the things of Jesus

Sometimes our worst fears in parenting do come true. When Daniel and Kelly Crawford were pregnant with their first son Abel, they learned that he had a life limiting diagnosis. Directed to find

When Steven and Mary Beth Chapman took their 11 year old daughter Emily on a mission trip to Haiti, it changed the trajectory of their family. A burden to adopt started with Emily

Kids and teens are more stressed than ever. As our world bombards them with social media, bad news, and inescapable connectedness, researchers are finding depression and anxiety rates are higher than ever. Author

Our culture is obsessed with influencers and leadership, but parents often forget that their primary opportunity for leadership and influence is in their own household. My guests Jeff and Terra Mattson talk with

Sometimes our expectations for our families are just way beyond reality. My guest Lisa Clark reminds us that we are all just sinners raising sinners, still in the process of transformation by the

We want our home to be a place of peace and stability, but sometimes external and internal dynamics make this extremely challenging. Virgil Tanner and his wife Joy have parented their children on

The pornography industry makes more money than the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL combined. Porn is hunting for every member of our family, and the effects on the body of Christ are devastating.

More than any other period in our lifetime, the world seems to be swirling in chaos. On top of that, many of us have personal crisis or perpetual responsibilities that leave us traumatized.

  If we want to change our families, we can do so by concentrating on one habit at a time. Today I brainstorm several potential family habits to consider for 2022, and encourage

When charcoal is grouped together it burns hot and does its job. When you remove a briquette from the fire, it goes cold. In this short devotional I give a simple explanation for the importance

People are different, and because of that, discipleship does not always look the same. It’s not a step by step process, and just because our children have “caught” one area of discipleship we

As we get near Christmastime, it's a wonderful time of year to review a perpetual quandary of our modern age: How to we teach our children contentment when they are surrounded by unrelenting

We’re entering the season filled with awe, wonder, gratitude, and dread. It’s that time of year where we get to spend time with family we love. Sometimes, we get to spend time with

At some point every single one of us is going to experience a Category 5 crisis in our life. When our worst fears are realized, we face the challenge of processing what we

As we celebrate 250 episodes and nearly five years of the Let’s Parent onPurpose podcast, my friend Jenny Price interviews me about my favorite things, serving through suffering, and keeping our family on

We spend a great deal of time lamenting the messes in our lives: our homes are cluttered, our bank account stressed, and our commitments overwhelming. But the mess is often indicative of the abundant life

One of the greatest fears shared by moms and dads around the world is their child becoming addicted to drugs. While the motivations for using and abusing alcohol and drugs have largely stayed the same,

One of the most common conversations I have is helping parents determine what to do when their child doesn’t want to come to church. The reasons are as varied as the child, and we want

Nontraditional families are the new traditional family. In the United States, most of Europe, and many other countries, blended families outnumber“traditional” ones. The challenges of a blended family are magnitudes higher than what most couples

Seven years after his initial diagnosis for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, my son Elijah has relapsed. In this episode I share the details of how we found out, an explanation of leukemia and treatment, as well