Category: From Mark

Subtle ways we create girls who worry about how they look.

You know I am all about honesty. So let’s get it out there. Some little girls (and boys, but they don’t seem to be affected by this as much) are really cute and some, well, are not. Sure, all children are “little kid cute.” I know, sugar and spice and all. But no matter how much I tell my mind not to do it, without thinking my brain tells me, “that little girl is really cute.” And no thought comes to my brain for other little girls. (Of course as someone who works with children, after you get to know a child you think of them as being synonymous with their personality, not their looks, but not at first.) Continue reading Subtle Messages Sent To Our Little Girls

If parents could just change this one area of their relationship with their child, they would win the hearts of their sons and daughters.

Parenting is hard. In my crazy head I imagine parenting is like being one of those chain saw artists. You have a crude log that you have to saw away and end up with a beautiful carving. But if I tried it I would end up with sawdust. Some times parenting feels like we are tasked with using a chainsaw to produce a beautiful piece of art. Parenting is not easy. Rather it seems nearly impossible to completely get it right. So here is a simple way to help you on your parenting journey.

Call it a parent hack. A trick. A magic bullet. Call it what you want. But honestly, for many parents this one change will help stop fights, create a calmer home and get you and your child on the same side.

So what is this change? Continue reading Win Your Child’s Heart By Doing This

Some days it is hard. Very hard.

As a parent of 4 and someone who worked in Christian organizations it was easy to find myself buried in an avalanche of “have to’s” and “emergencies.” On the parenting front I wanted to set goals and have objectives to keep the greater purpose and long term outlook in the front of my thinking so I could love, teach and respond to my children with those goals in mind.

But somehow having to survive always took precedence! Maybe a better way to put that – the “Survival Lion” would outrun, crush and eat the “Goals Antilope.” Continue reading Are You Raising Kids or Godly Men and Women?

I have three daughters and three granddaughters. There is something special about girls. While I find boys fun and adventurous and enjoy roughhousing, those girls can melt my heart faster than fast. Their ability to notice the little things in life, their inner strength but at the same time often so sensitive, I just love them!

But for us men, and women can get caught up in this as well, we are especially impressed by the sight of physical beauty. Our default is to notice and then subsequently comment on physical beauty that catches our eye. But as fathers and grandfathers (and mothers and grandmothers) we need to resist the natural tendency to make our daughters think that their real beauty comes from the physical. Continue reading Keep Your Daughter’s True Beauty Shining

Can I be honest? Many Christian boys seem to think their p*nis (modified spelling so as not to be flagged by search engines) is a bad thing. It is a body part that causes shame and embarrassment and is taboo to speak about in front of one’s parents. All the while he is subjected to a constant source of crudities, jokes, jeers, etc. among his peers.

He gets advice about his body from peers, the media and school, but almost total silence from parents and the church. He is generally only told to “stay pure for marriage” but the thought that his p*nis could be very purposeful in God’s design and even part of God’s earthly example to help mankind understand a very spiritual matter is never discussed. Continue reading What Every Christian Boy Should Know

I was 11 or 12. I had never had an adult so blatantly insult me before. Not ever. I did not tell my parents what he said until I was an adult. To this day it still bothers me to think about the words spoken to me that day.

My dad was big into baseball. I heard the stories growing up. He was the sandlot league leader in homeruns and often led his team in batting average. We heard the story of one gentleman who would watch my dad’s sandlot games and as soon as my dad hit a homerun this gentleman would get up from the stands and say “I have seen what I came to see!” then walk home. Military service ended my father’s sandlot career but he kept his two bats and glove and they were a constant reminder to me of his “glory days.” My father coached little league for 2 years until his second child arrived. This only added to his legend. My dad’s team never lost a game while he was coaching. Their only two losses happened when my dad was away.

So you can imagine the pressure. Continue reading Are Organized Sports Always Good For Children?

It is just such a shame.

People keep dying, but they don’t have to.

This is becoming as bad as drunk driving.

I have watched moms do this in school zones when dropping off their kids. I have watched tradesmen do this in their trucks. Even I have done it! But we need to stop. Continue reading Why Do People Keep Dying?

As a children’s minister, elementary school teacher and school administrator for 30 years, I loved special, fun days. I love costumes. I have dressed up for spirit days, for reading incentives (yes, even dressing up as Junie B. Jones) and more.

I also love a party. I love when children are excited and having a great time. So from my personal perspective, Halloween has so much going for it. Fun and anticipation, kids dressing up in adorable costumes, parents spending time with their kids, candy everywhere – what is not to like about this great party? But, try as I may, I just can’t get myself to like this holliday. Honestly, I have tried. I read and thought through some articles on Focus on the Family and other Christian parenting sites. I read the articles by oddly dressed Youth Ministers telling me how Christians have to be relevant and should take the good of Halloween and if some of this holiday offends you, then leave out the bad. (If it offends me – not if it is offensive to God?) But in the end all their arguments could not drowned out the Scriptures that just keep coming back to my mind. Continue reading Do You Struggle with Celebrating Halloween?