The Mall, Body-Image, Manipulation, Our Futile Quest. . . And A Sobering Video. . . .
A few years ago an advertising exec pulled me aside after sitting through one of our “No Parent Left Behind”seminars where I spend some time unpacking how marketers tap into our unfulfilled desires in order to dupe us into buying…
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Youth Workers and Homeschoolers. . . .
This might be the topic that sets me up for the most pushback. . . but bear with me here. I’m writing this because of the one questions youth workers have been asking me more than any other over the…
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Teen Suicide. . . A Helpful Infographic. . .
A recent cluster of teen suicides in Palo Alto, California has brought what continues to be a disturbing and alarming trend front and center for those love and care about kids. The developmental and situational pressures that are part of…
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Messed-Up Parenting. . . and What Might Be My “Book of the Year”. . .
I watched a fight take place in an airport concourse a couple of days ago. It’s the kind of fight that’s becoming so common that we’ve all seen it happen in one public place or another. “It’s” those parent/child confrontations…
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Kids, Sports, and Perspective. . .
Last night, Ohio’s Gilmour Academy girl’s basketball team had a playoff game. . . which they won. . . big. They beat Northeast Ohio Prep by 107 points. Yep. . . 107. . . that’s not a typo. The final…
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Getting Love Right. . . .
Happy Valentine’s Day. As I was eating my breakfast this morning in a hotel lobby, I was reminded that this is the weekend we celebrate love and fill the pockets of the folks at Hallmark. A fifty-something husband enthusiastically called his…
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What To Pray For Your Kids. . .
On several occasions in the past, I’ve mentioned how my prayer life has been deepened through the use of a variety of printed prayer books. One of these resources that I treasure the most is Scotty Smith’s Everyday Prayers: 365 Days…
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Exercising Selfie-Control. . . Or Not. . . A Helpful Infographic. . .
I’m not sure I’ve seen what used to be called a “candid” photo posted on social media for a long, long time. Oh, I know they’re there, but they seem to become scarcer and scarcer as we primp, pose, and…
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Framing Love, Sex, and Marriage. . .
Later today, I’ll be doing something in a more organized and formal manner for the first time. Up to this points, my discussions on this particular issue have come in personal conversations or in response to on-the-spot questions during seminars.…
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Culture. . . Why It Matters. . .
For the past two weeks I’ve been spending concentrated time discussing things that matter with people who know these things matter. Once again, I was on the campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (a very special place to me!) where I…
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Teen Cyber-Security. . . A Helpful Infographic To Share With Parents
As part of our Digital Kids Initiative here at CPYU, we are always looking for good resources that inform and equip parents to lead their kids into a life-time of safe and God-glorifying interaction with technology. Today, we ran across…
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Teens and Substance Abuse. . . Pop Culture Attitudes. . .
Kids and substance abuse. . . I’ve been thinking about this dangerous and deadly mix quite a bit over the last few weeks. At the beginning of December the folks at the Institute for Social Research released the latest data…
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