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2020-02-26 to 28 Pictures: Charleston, South Carolina

One of the few upsides of having to cancel our Spring Break trip last March at the onset of the pandemic is that we are "stuck" with a rather large voucher from one of those discount airlines. Last autumn, Tricia and I spent a weekend in Savannah, Georgia and had a...

A John 3:16 Craft for Kids

John 3:16 is one of the most well known and reassuring verses in the Bible. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.John 3:16 (NIV) The following is a little craft I threw...

2020-03-01 Pictures: Lyndsey’s College Signing Day

This afternoon Lyndsey made it official, signing her letter of intent to play college basketball for the Hiram College Terriers starting next year. While she made the decision and committed to Hiram before Christmas, she has been looking forward to this day since her...

2020-02-13 Pictures: Lyndsey’s 18th Birthday

I am little behind on posting photos. These are some of my favorites from a couple of weekends ago when we got a chance to celebrate Lyndsey's 18th birthday. It's hard to believe that my little girl is officially an adult. It was nice to have the family all back...

What is DOCTRINE?

Introduction I love working with kids, and I love teaching them hard concepts in ways they can understand. To that end, for years I have been working on a dictionary of theological terms for kids and teens. In sharing those definitions, there seemed no better place to...

If You Want It Done Right

In all likelihood, you know how the phrase ends: If you want it done right, DO IT YOURSELF! This is a bit of a mantra for me, and frankly, something that I struggle with daily both in leadership and in my Christian walk.  In theory, this is easy to accept. ...

What Does God Hate?

This is the little and humble post that started it all. I happened to be reading through my Bible, and this passage impacted me so much that I posted a little blurb about it on Facebook. That was July 28, 2008, and I've been writing and sharing ever since. (Maybe...

13 Ways Dads Provoke Their Children

As parents, we sometimes find ourselves focusing on verses like Colossians 3:20:

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. [Colossians 3:20 ESV]

Unfortunately, all too often we forget the very next verse which says:

Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. [Colossians 3:21 ESV]

As parents (and specifically as fathers), God commands us not to provoke our children.  This past weekend at church, our pastor preached on this and promised to share a list of 13 ways parents provoke and discourage their kids.  As I read the list today I was convicted by a number of those things:

  • Playing favorites (specifically comparing one child to another)
  • Being overly critical
  • Making them feel unwanted
  • Excessive discipline
  • Inconsistent discipline
  • Rules without relationship
  • Failing to adapts to their current stage of development

At some point in my parenting (maybe as recently as last night), I have been guilty to these to some extent.  I am grateful for God’s grace that forgives me and tells me that, in Him, I can do better as a man and as a father.  I would encourage you to read the whole list and grade yourself on each item.  If you feel led, comment below on where you’ve failed, and let’s begin to hold one another accountable to this command.  Here is a link to the complete listing.  Thanks to Pastor Steve Benninger of New Life Church Gahanna for putting this together.

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1 Comment

  1. Lyn Leahz

    It’s wonderful to see someone address this issue. Parents seem to focus on the children obeying them part of it, but sometimes we forget that our children are human beings with needs and feelings. It’s so easy in the world we live in today to get lost in the middle of all of our stress and forget what’s most important.