All tagged Parenting

The Key to Good Parenting: Know You Are Loved (On Parenting, Part 2)

How do we reflect God’s character at home with our kids? How do we continue to bear fruit of the Holy Spirit that our kids have the privilege of eating? (By they way, all fruit have seeds. When you bear the fruit, seeds get left behind for more of the same fruit.) Could it be that the best kind of responsibility flows from being loved?—and not from being yelled at? Can we really use gentleness to fight fire? Is it really possible to quell rebellion with patience and grace instead of anger? I believe this is where the gospel—the real-life example of love on display even to the uttermost—has something to say to how we parent.

Telling your child this is scary but so rewarding. (On Parenting, Part 1)

I remember the beginning of the unraveling. It was a few years ago when our oldest was four. She wanted a banana at bedtime. I said no. Back in those days, I was of the opinion that if I had said “no” it was unchangeable. “The father hath spoken the irrevocable NO.” But four year olds don’t get that, so she kept asking for a banana. Using my brilliant parenting logic, and channeling the spirits of my parents and their parents and hundreds of generations of parents down the line, I said...