The Anxiety of (Perpetual) Yearbook Day

In his book Permission to Feel, scientist Dr. Mark Brackett cites research of interviews with 22,000 teenagers about their feelings related to school and 3/4ths of the words were negative: tired, bored, and stressed topping the list. He also cites a report by UNICEF that says American teenagers rank in the bottom quarter of developed […]

8 Reasons We Have Delayed (Even Further) Getting Our Daughters Phones

Four years ago, I wrote a post about the wrestle of giving a kid a phone, of social media among teenagers, and what Kaye and I were planning our approach would be with our daughters. Kaye and I were in the midst of reading and researching and talking with other parents. Our daughters were 10 […]

5 Reasons Why You Should Get Away with Your Spouse Every Year

This November Kaye and I will celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary. We took our honeymoon to a family friend’s condo in Missouri (we were college students with very little money). The next year we went to Cancun, which was our wedding gift from my parents. After those two trips, we decided we would not stop […]

Should You Share Criticism You Receive With Your Spouse?

I was in a meeting last week with a group of senior pastors, and we were asked to force rank the pain of criticism by groups of people. Whose criticism hurts the most? There was some discussion about the force ranking, but we essentially landed on this order (the top being the most painful and […]

5 Dangers of Being Deprived of an Involved Father

In their latest book, The Boy Crisis, Warren Farrell and John Gray highlight stats and research that point to the pains of boys growing up deprived of an involved father. They also offer wisdom and counsel on how to invest in your sons. Though I don’t have sons, the research reminded me of the great […]

How Kaye and I Work to Enjoy Our Marriage

Marriage should not be merely endured; it should be enjoyed. Marriage between a husband and wife is a reflection of the greater marriage between God and His people.” I am grateful God delights in us, sings over us, and rejoices in the relationship we have with Him (Zephaniah 3:17). He does not merely tolerate us. […]

Steve Jobs the Father and our Eternal Father

A few months ago, Lisa Brennan-Jobs released her memoir, Small Fry, about growing up as Steve Job’s daughter. It caused me to reflect on my own parenting and also my Christian faith. Lisa is an incredible writer and the story is incredibly sad. When she was born, Jobs arrived a few days later and insisted […]

Your Marriage Is Your Most Important Ministry

Last week Kaye and I celebrated 22 years of marriage. Over dinner we talked about the journey the Lord has taken us on together, what we enjoy about each other, and how our marriage has made each of us better. Though our marriage is not perfect, it is healthy and I am so grateful for […]

The Cure for Dysfunctional Families

Some Christians long for “the good ole days” when family values were celebrated in our culture. We complain about the shows on TV and wish there were more sitcoms focused on the perfect lives of nuclear families, whose problems can be resolved in thirty minutes or less. But the truth is families have always been sinful and dysfunctional. Because of sin, families have always shifted blame, reversed roles, and rebelled against God. It was true after the Fall, and it is still true today. Parents and the teenagers they parent both know this to be true.