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13 Ways Dads Provoke Their Children

May 1, 2012 in Parenting with 1 Comment

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:

Parenting a New Generation Giveaway

September 21, 2011 in Kidmin Resources, Parenting with 9 Comments

In honor of the Orange Conference registration, which starts tomorrow, I am giving away a free copy of Parenting A New Generation by Chap Clark provided by the fine people at Orange. I was hoping to have a copy to review to go along with this giveaway, but it didn’t arrive in time. What I can tell you is a little about the product. According to the Orange website, Parenting A New Generation is:

A Tool for Parents and Student Pastors to Understand and Lead Today’s Students

The world is changing, and so are today’s teens. Any parents who feels unequipped to raise a teenager in today’s world, and any student pastor who has ever felt overwhelmed with the alarming statistics, both know parenting and leading this generation can be challenging.

Continue Reading…

Seeds Family Worship Cookbook

July 18, 2011 in Parenting with 0 Comments

If you’ve read this blog for a while, it won’t come as any surprise that I am a big fan of Seeds Family Worship. We were honored to be a stop of the release tour of their most current album, and I’ve been a fan for a while now. Well, the guys at Seeds are “cooking up” something new and exciting, and they want to give you a chance to to get in on the action. From now through July 31, you have a chance to submit an idea or activity for the new Seeds Family Worship Cookbook.

The Cookbook will feature ideas, games, activities and lessons that you have used with your families to build Godly character at home. These could include ways to memorize scripture (can your two year old recite the entire book of Ephesians?), ideas on worshipping as a family (maybe you’ve created a Partridge Family type worship band and tour with the kids?), family activities or outings (did you and the kids uncover the lost tomb of Lazarus?), ways you’ve tackled difficult theological questions (did you figure out a way to explain the trinity to a five year old), or anything else you’ve done to instill God and the Bible into your kids. Seriously though, it doesn’t have to be earth shattering, if you have an idea that can help other parents, share it and let us learn from you. The best entries, along with your name, will be published in the Seeds Family Worship Cookbook similar to a church cookbook. If you have more than one idea, make sure you submit them all.

Why Yelling Doesn’t Work

December 3, 2010 in Parenting with 4 Comments

I love being a Dad. I really do! That said, I am not the perfect parent. I would like to be. If I am being honest, I would like people to think I am. I truly desire to be the perfect Dad, but I know that I am not. There is only one perfect Father and He created us all. Like everyone else, I get tired. I get irritated. I lose my patience. I react when I should teach. I punish when I should hug. I ignore when I should deal, and I end up apologizing to my kids for my reactions far more than I would like to. All that to say, this post is as much, if not more, for me than for anyone else. Everywhere I write “you,” I read “I.”

SO, LET’S TALK ABOUT YELLING! I think most parents yell at their kids – whether they are willing to admit it or not. I also think that we, as parents, are very good at coming up with reasons and excuses for why we do yell at our kids. The point of this article is not to discuss whether or not you should yell at your kids or the long-term impact that yelling may have on their lives. No, this article is address yelling at a much more practical level than that. My contention here is that we shouldn’t yell at our kids simply because:

YELLING DOES NOT WORK!

Surviving and Thriving as a Parent During the Teenage Years

November 15, 2010 in Parenting with 3 Comments

The following post was written by Reggie Joiner. Reggie is the brainchild behind the Think Orange movement and has published numerous books on the Orange concept – that parents and the church working together can accomplish more by their combined influence than either working individually. Reggie is a champion of kids both in Children’s Ministry and as a dad. He is a father who, like all of us, has been through the trials of trying of to figure out how God wants us to raise our kids, and he is willing to share what he has learned. That is exactly what Dad in the Middle has always been about, and we’re grateful that Reggie agreed to write this article to be published in our little corner of the internet. As the father of one teenager, and three more in waiting, I am personally grateful for his insights. Reggie writes more at http://orangeparents.org and http://orangeleaders.com and you can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/reggiejoiner.

Time flies fast from elementary to college age, so get ready to change your parenting habits. Every child seems to move in warp speed toward the teenage years.

I was caught by surprise when a new declaration of personal independence was automatically assumed the day my son got his driver’s license. It was as though I represented an oppressive and extremely unfair regime whenever I tried to enforce any rule. (Whenever I said no to one of my teenage daughters, she would go to her bedroom, close the door and play Britney Spears’ “Overprotected” over and over again for over an hour, loud enough for me and the whole house to hear.) I have to admit, it was difficult for me to transition from parenting children to parenting teenagers. I had worked with teenagers all of my life, but I had never actually had any living in my home. I am still a recovering parent of teens, but here are a few things I have recognized about this chapter of parenting:

10 Things I Love About Being A Dad

October 15, 2010 in Parenting with 5 Comments

It’s time for a simple post. Simple to read, and more importantly simple to write. God has blessed me abundantly in my life. One area is as a Dad. I love being a Dad. It is frustrating at times, and there are moments when I wonder whether I am really cut out for it, but when push comes to shove, I really like being a Dad. The hardest part of this post was limiting the list to just ten items. Here’s my list:

Hugs and kisses after a long day at work, or before bedtime, or just because.
The cute things they say that make you smile from ear to ear.
When God speaks through them into my life.
Hearing “I love you Daddy.”
Seeing their face when they open that present that they really want.
Having the opportunity to model God the father in their lives.
Cuddling on the couch and watching a movie.
Watching them grow and learn.
Listening to their stories.
Seeing the world through their eyes.

Thanks to Joshua (17), Jacob (9), Lyndsey (7) and Nathan (3). They are the inspiration for this post! This picture is from a couple of years ago. It’s amazing how hard it is to get pictures of all six of us together.