Dear Christian Parent, I get it. I really do. The thought of your precious child growing up and facing sexual choices and temptations isn't always a pleasant thought. The thought of having to prepare your child for those choices also might make you cringe. But if you don't prepare them, who will? Is any child ever served well by their parents being sheepish, embarrassed, or aloof about the subject of sex? No. Of course we should never talk about sex like meat-headed teenagers in a locker room—being brazen or crude—but neither should we shirk our responsibility to disciple our children well in the area of ...Read More
Foods Easy Baked Fish with Lemon Butter Sauce
This easy baked fish with lemon butter sauce will have you feeling like a chef from the comfort of your kitchen! I have to admit, the first time I was faced with the task of cooking fish for dinner I was a little apprehensive. At the time I was completing my internship as a cook for an orphan camp in Buryatia, Far East Russia. The main cook told me we were having fish for dinner. I was to prepare it. Until then, my experience with fish was canned tuna. But this meal was not to be so easy on me. There on the makeshift counter was a pile of freshly-caught fish. Whole fish. I had no idea what I was doing. Patiently ...Read More
Talking To Kids About Sex: 3 Things Christian Parents Shouldn’t Do
The crowded room of parents was the predictable mixture of excitedly curious, silently awkward, and nervously giddy. I was leading another seminar for Christian parents talking about how to do sex education at home. As usual, I was approached afterward by several parents who had more specific questions, but I wasn't quite prepared for one woman's comment. She said, "I really enjoyed your talk, but I just got really nervous when you used the p-word and the v-word." I looked at her with a blank stare for a few moments, and then said (probably with a dumbfounded look), "Do you mean 'penis' and 'vagina'?" She ...Read More
Homeschooling Objections to Homeschooling: “My kids won’t be prepared for college.”
Homeschooling, for some parents, is a scary educational option. When they think about the task of educating their children, intellectually preparing them for "the real world," and especially making sure they're prepared for college, many parents would much rather leave this task to the professionals. We live in a culture with many vocational specialists, and the field of education is no different. People go to school for years to get degrees in Elementary Education, Educational Leadership, Early Childhood Education, High School Education, Special Education, and the list goes on. This is one reason why many parents ...Read More
Essential Oils and the Occult: What Christians Need to Know
I sometimes have to wonder if the devil is laughing at us. Ever since my wife started talking about how she uses essential oils, we occasionally hear from Christians with grave concerns about essential oils and the occult. Occultists and pagan religions have used oils for millennia for their health properties. Therefore, they argue, if we use essential oils for same reasons, aren't we engaging in cult practices? While it is worth doing your homework about essential companies you buy your oils from, I do not believe avoiding essential oils for spiritual reasons is a mature Christian attitude (you ...Read More
Strawberry Coconut No-Bake Cheesecake Trifles
For our family, summertime eating includes strawberries. This strawberry coconut no-bake cheesecake trifle recipe is a delicious way to use some of the many strawberries we pick every summer! Strawberries for days! My husband and I took our boys strawberry-picking a couple days ago, and it was fan-stinking-tastic! We found a nice u-pick farm about 30 minutes from our home and spent a couple hours gathering strawberries—71 pounds of strawberries, to be exact. My boys love strawberries. When I buy a container of strawberries at the store, they are usually gone before the next time I open the fridge. But with ...Read More
Training the Next Generation in Godly Stewardship
What comes to your mind when you hear the word "stewardship"? I used to associate that word strictly with finances. Though I probably realized on some level that the applications reach further, I neglected to flesh out what that looks like in real life. I've learned in recent years that stewardship is one of the most life-changing principles for Christ-followers living out our faith. So if stewardship isn't just about managing our money, what is it? Simply put, stewardship is recognizing our blessings and managing them well for the glory of God and the good of others. Stewardship starts with an ...Read More
6 Steps to Choosing the Best Homeschool Curriculum for Your Family
If you're new to homeschooling, you are probably feeling pretty overwhelmed about now. There are so many choices for homeschool curriculum out there. Some good, some not so good. Some Biblically-based and others not so much. Just because you're a veteran homeschooler doesn't mean you escape these feelings. My family is entering our 7th year of homeschooling, and we're changing things up a bit since our oldest is officially entering the "middle school" age. That means new curriculum and time to start thinking ahead to his *gulp* high school years. When we first started homeschooling, I let my inner teacher get the ...Read More
