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Feature Friday (04/26/19)

I did not know how to repair a screen door to ensure it slide more smoothly. So what did I do? My screen door repair lesson began that day in the form of a YouTube video tutorial. Like so many others when I am unequipped to do a task, I turn to the old trusty teacher…YouTube! All I ever wanted to know (and not know) about how to fix my problem was addressed. It was easy, quick, and informational. The reality is I am not the only one who turns to YouTube on a whim. Teenagers are turning to YouTube not just for simple tasks, but classwork help, relational advice, and much more!

Gone are the days when teenagers asked their parents, peers, or other people for help. On average, teens spend more time watching YouTube than any other video platform — including TV, Netflix, and movies. So what can parents do to engage their students and discuss Youtube? That is where “The Ultimate Parent Guide to YouTube” by Bark can be useful.

If you have a college age, teenage, or any aged student in your home, classroom, or church and you care about them this is a must read with many helpful hints (like setting up restricted access). I hope you enjoy the article, pass it along, and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

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Feature Friday (03/30/19)

12:10am is a timestamp that will remain in my mind for the rest of my life. I found myself in a hospital room. I knew it was coming, but I never knew how it would feel. 12:10am was a moment in time that changed the routine, thought-process, and course of my life. 12:10am was the moment in time when I became a father. I was now responsible for the provision, protection, and maturity of another individual. It was this last one, maturity, that concerned me the most.

How would I help my firstborn son grow? What would be the indicators that I was succeeding at raising a man not just a boy in a man’s body? There are so many things to consider and stages along the maturing process it can be overwhelming at time. To this day I still question if he (and my other children) are maturing as they should, not just physically, but spiritually as well.

While physical maturity is pretty easy to spot via the external indicators of size, weight, and other aspects; spiritual maturity seems a bit more nebulous or difficult to define and recognize. This is a question I have asked repeatedly and still wrestle with from time to time: how will I know that my children are maturing spiritually? What are the indicators? Jim Putnam wrote a great concise article on this exact subject titled, “The Biggest Indicator of Spiritual Maturity Might Not Be the Thing You are Looking For.”

It is a great article and Jim boils spiritual maturity down to the irreducible indicator to help me, you, and others recognize the greatest mark of spiritual maturity. So whether we are raising children, leading groups, discipling individuals, or pastoring people this article will prove extremely helpful in clarifying and simplifying what we should be looking for in those we lead.

As always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

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Feature Friday (03/22/19)

Self-control. It’s funny how a desire that comes so naturally (control) can be so difficult when paired with the adjective (self). Control is something we desire so much in life. We want to control our schedule. We desire to control our workflow. We want to control results. The desire for control seems to come naturally to us, that is until what is needing to be controlled is our self. Nothing has taught me more about self-control than parenting.

I caught my son one day smashing to bits an older toy of his with a stick. My immediate response was, “stop”. But then I engaged and asked the obvious question, “Why are you destroying your toy?”. To which my son replied, “It isn’t working like it’s supposed to.” What was at the core of this situation? Control. You see my son in realizing he couldn’t control the toy as he desired, ultimately lost his control in the process. But I had to go deeper.

Why was he responding like this? What made him think it was ok to utterly decimate his toy in such a violent fashion? Why did he lose his self-control in this manner? So I asked him and the response I got crippled me on the spot.

“Dad, when you were fixing the lawnmower the other day and it wasn’t working, you started hitting it just like this“… Wow! Crippled. Humbled. Shamed. Yet accurate. It was at that moment I realized that if I wanted “The Simplest Way to Teach My Kids Self Control“, I would have to start with me.

This is the crux of the issue and heart of the article Jon Acuff writes over at Parent Cue. It’s funny and humbling how the age-old adage, “more is caught than taught” holds true in every form of daily life.

Enjoy the article and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

Photo by Trym Nilsen on Unsplash

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Feature Friday (02/22/19)

Losing! No one likes to do it. No one plans to do it. And I have yet to meet someone who enjoys it. However, it was a large portion of my formative years. For 4 years of my sports career losing was normative. Over 4 years of high school football my school accumulated records of 2-8, 0-10, 0-10, 5-5. My cumulative record for high school football was 7-33. Not impressive. But glad that I am not alone.

Losing is horrible, but when you have others with you it’s at least bearable, most of the time. The one time that losing is unbearable even on a team is when you are the one to blame for a loss. While I am not a proponent of saying one play or one player wins or loses a game, the reality is some plays or players role has a much more visible factor in winning and losing. Such is often the case for kickers in football. Such was the case for Cory Parkey of the Chicago Bears in the 2018-2019 NFL playoffs.

Cory’s situation is a rough one and yet I think much can be learned and gleaned from the scenario. Most vital life lessons and character qualities are forged in the midst of loss, not realized through victory. These qualities are the ones I want to teach my children, which is why I loved and highly recommend Dan Andros’ article “Why I’m Telling My Sons to Be Like Bears Kicker Cory Parkey“.

If you are trying to grow children with character rather than just winners, check out the article. And as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!

Photo by Ben Hershey on Unsplash

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Feature Friday (01/25/19)

It was Thursday evening. The kids had just gone to bed and I descended the stairs to assume the seated posture in my favorite reading chair. I sat down, grabbed my book, but before I could read the first word I found my mind reflecting on the day. So many activities had taken place, so many words exchanged, but there was one word that I could not get out of my head. It brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.

Earlier that day we had a celebration. Cupcakes were made. Presents were wrapped and unwrapped. Laughter and excitement had filled the air. It was a joyous occasion and it came around once a year. It was my eldest daughters birthday. And on that day I heard her say this word that was stuck in my head what seems like hundreds of times.

The effect of this word went in one ear and out the other most of those times. However, by the end of the day, the reality and weight of that word hit me like a ton of bricks. This word implies responsibility. This word shows a relationship. This word carries great value. That day I had heard my daughter call me “Daddy” or “Dad” multiple times. And when I sat in my chair that evening, in the quietness of my own mind and heart I felt the full weight of joy and responsibility that comes with that title – Daddy!

Those titles, those names do not just reveal my role, but they also reveal the needs of my daughters. That is why when I read just a few days later Dan Istvanik’s article, “Daddy to Dad to Father: A Daughter’s Needs” I knew I needed to share it.

Dan’s article is fantastic and was a much-needed reminder and challenge to me and whether you are a dad or not, I hope it reminds you not just of daughter’s needs, but how each one of us is ultimately children of an amazing Father who can meet every one of our needs.

Check out the article here and as always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day.

 

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Feature Friday (11/02/18)

It’s a constant struggle. Similar conversations over and over again. Simple instructions are given and clarified and yet still argument ensues. The action would take no more than a couple of minutes, but the discussion drags on for much longer. Ever have this type of feeling or interaction? Maybe as a parent with your children? A teacher with your students? A leader with those you are leading? Or even with your spouse?

As a husband, father, and leader the struggle always exists between simply getting others to do the things that need done and helping them want to do the things that need to be done. It is a difference of action and motivation. It is the difference between conduct and character. It is the difference between doing and being. But as a leader, I must understand one major truth…

Jared C. Wilson shares the insightful principle between action and motivation, conduct and character, doing and being in his article “Life in the Spirit Isn’t Just ‘Doing’ Differently, But ‘Being Different“. So if you want to know how to help your students, children, or other loved ones go from just doing to being, check out the article.

As always be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day! And I’d love to hear your thoughts or reflections on the article!

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