Should We Pray for Our Kids to Suffer?
In their best-selling book The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff tell us that one of the cultural lies we and our kids have been led to believe is this: “What doesn’t kill you will make…
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Building Strength and Resilience in Kids
A recent news story about concrete serves as a metaphor for nurturing our children and teens into long-term spiritual growth and vitality. Scientists have long-wondered why the ancient roman pantheon and other roman buildings constructed of concrete have remained intact…
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Safeguarding Our Kids
Our friend, counselor Julie Lowe, has written a brand new book for parents that addresses many of the safety issues our kids and families face in today’s world. The book is called Safe Guards: Shielding our Homes and Equipping Our…
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The Need to Read
I recently ran across a bit of very interesting research regarding the effects of regularly reading to a child in the home. Researchers at the University of South Australia found that early primary-aged children who had suffered abuse or neglect…
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Suffering and Growth
A couple of years ago I watched an interview that got me thinking about a huge mistake we oftentimes make as parents. The interview was with former major league pitcher Jim Abbott. Abbott is best known as the guy who…
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The Danger of Safetyism
It’s very easy to get swept up into the spirit of the times. Because we live in the midst of culture, we can easily live into the values of that culture without taking the time to consider whether those values…
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Building Resiliency in Kids
Do you remember your own middle school years? For most of us, it was brutal. Some things never change. Young peers can create, find, and point out all kinds of negative things in ways that are now sometimes defined as…
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Episode 133: “Anxiety, Stress, and Fostering Resilience” with Marv Penner
Download the podcast as an .mp3 by clicking here. RSS FEED – click here. Access from iTunes. FURTHER RESOURCES Resources, links, or other helpful tools mentioned in the podcast: Marv Penner The Coalition for Youth Ministry Excellence Episode 97: “Stop…
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Lack of Sleep
A lack of sleep is a documented contributor to stress, anxiety, and depression. It makes sense that if God created us for a rhythm of work and rest, interruptions to our rest cycle will wear us down and wear us…
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