I have fond memories of the Vacation Bible Schools that I attended as a child and that I’ve helped with over the years. My memories are filled with songs that still get stuck in my head, snacks, and sunburns. I also remember story after story of God working in the [...]
Intergenerational Relationships bring life to all of us. When God knits us together with someone in the body of Christ, those people become family. God gives us blood family, but also gives us chosen family. Hymns, Hard Candy, and Pot Luck Dinners In my personal devotional blog (BethMeverden.com), [...]
About two decades ago, while attending the National Youth Workers’ Convention, I heard a strong woman in youth ministry say that, when she and her husband discovered they couldn’t have their own children, they resolved to adopt the next generation of believers. Why has that stuck with me for so [...]
The Senior Pastor and the Reformation of Youth Ministry by Richard Ross We have featured books by Dr. Richard Ross before and there are reasons. This man loves Jesus, loves his family, and is very passionate about youth & family ministry. You can always count on Dr. Ross to [...]
Luke 7:1-10 (ESV) After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him [...]
We need to encourage our children in every way we can. The world is against them. The enemy is trying to distract and undercut them. We need to train them in the truth, but also intentionally encourage them to do the right thing and applaud when we “catch” them doing [...]
Easter is the most important holiday in the Christian faith. Hopefully you got the chance to take your family through “Celebrate: A Family Easter Guide through 7 Attributes of Jesus”. If you didn’t get the chance, you can still get the resource and go through it in your Family [...]
I love the D6 organization (D6family.com), so when I see a new resource from them, I normally buy it immediately or place it on my Amazon wish list. Recently they published a book by Julie Kurz that sounded awesome! I had not heard of Julie before, but the book went [...]
A Neglected Grace: Family Worship in the Christian Home By Jason Helopoulos I’ve been aware of this book for years but only recently picked it up. I am so glad that I did! Here, we have another example of a seemingly one-stop-shop resources for families wanting to learn about family [...]
Many people call Hebrews 11 the “Hall of Faith” or “Heroes of the Faith.” I love to study it, because I’m challenged to learn whatever I can from the people in the Bible – from their good decisions and from their bad ones. A good challenge is to see what [...]
Love from friends can encourage and empower. This kind of love is different than the agape love from God. This love in Greek is “phileo.” Phileo love is characterized by approval, kindness, sanctioning, welcoming, befriending, and fondness.1 I think of David and Jonathan when I think of this kind [...]
I met Dr. Williams a few years before he earned his Ph.D. In that first meeting, and in every interaction since then, Dr. Williams consistently has shown his heart for Jesus. Dr. Williams’ passion for family ministry, and thorough scholarship, comes through beautifully in his book on the practical theology [...]
“Love is a choice.” If you had been in my youth group in the early 2000s, you would have heard me saying that phrase a LOT! Many people are deceived about what love actually is. People think love is an emotion, a feeling. People think it’s something we fall in [...]
I’ve noticed over the last several years that men’s ministry has adopted a general theme of authenticity at all costs. Seems legit…right? Before I became a Christian, using foul language was a part of my daily routine. I took great pleasure in utilizing the worst of the worst four letter [...]
Let’s put a puzzle together. On the box cover is a picture of a big heart. There is a passage in Romans 12 that says, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” The NLT says it this way, “Don’t just pretend to love people, [...]
Who will my children become? Will they continue in the faith as adults? What if I did something wrong with them? What kind of spouses and parents will they be? Did I teach them enough? When we ask ourselves questions like this, especially as parents of teenagers, we have hope [...]
Though Lori has been active in ministry for many years, my first exposure to her came at one of Family Time’s first podcast recordings. From the moment I met Lori, I knew that she had a passion to help families in the name of Jesus. Lori’s years of training and [...]
For the last few years, I’ve spent some time journaling on the last couple of days of the year, processing what God taught me, and what I still need to learn. And, oh, there is still so much to learn. Last Year Last year, I wrote 2020 in big bubble [...]
The Hope of Christmas is the same as The Hope of Easter. It all rests on Jesus. Easter matters most because Christmas happened. Christmas is important because Easter happened. As followers of Jesus, we love to celebrate His birthday. We also love to celebrate time with family and time off [...]
There’s a great Christmas preparation resource for families on famtime.com! You’ll find it under the Resources tab and within the “Featured Family Activities” link. If you look at December’s activity, you’ll find the Christmas Quiz! I have used this activity with my children, elementary school Sunday school, and my youth [...]
When God gave me a passion for family ministry it was so exciting to learn about resources that others had benefited from for years. There were many times when I felt like I was late to a party. This was true when I first discovered Shepherding a Child’s Heart by [...]
There’s just something about the sights and smells of Christmas that floats childhood memories to the front of our minds. When I think about my childhood Christmases, I think about family get-togethers, even in big snowstorms, and sitting in front of our big radiator drinking hot chocolate, eating cookies, and [...]
If you’ve followed this month’s blog series, you’ve probably put the puzzle together that I wrote about being Thankful for: (TH)ings, (A)ctive life, and (N)o. So this week finishes off our (THANK)ful series with being thankful for… (K)indness. In Romans 2, Paul talks about us passing [...]
I don’t like to say or hear “no.” I do what I can to respond to my children with “yes” answers about playing things they like, connecting with people, and eating fun foods. I do this in part because I used to be a “No” mom. My default was to [...]
Snap-Crackle-Pop I’m middle-aged these days. My knees and ankles remind me about it when I’ve not exercised in awhile. I have snap-crackle-pop joints my first time back to High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) videos after a hiatus. I played a VERY short stint of sports growing up and I wasn’t active [...]
Any time I see the name, J.I. Packer on a book, I become instantly interested. If you have never heard of this man, google his name. Hop on to YouTube and watch some videos. I bet you’ll begin to see why I admire the legacy this man left for [...]
Recently our fridge broke and leaked into our basement. The leak happened behind our fridge because our floor slants, so we didn’t see it. The broken fridge warped and destroyed the floor beneath. We spent a month sorting out all the details in our first insurance claim. We got a [...]
Recently, I was scrolling through social media and began seeing a quote by D.L. Moody repeatedly shared by many of my friends. It was the typical situation of one of us finding a quote that we liked and then agreed with the statement by sharing it. My friends were quoting [...]
It can be scary to think about our children being soldiers in a war, but it’s our reality as believers. We are all in a war. Our thoughts are extremely important. What we think becomes our beliefs and our beliefs become our words and actions. “Out of the overflow of [...]
Let’s continue the conversation of fighting like Jesus does. Last week we read, “ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does,” 2 Corinthians 10:3 Verse 4 of 2 Corinthians 3 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of [...]
“These are tough times to raise children in this world.” It’s true that there are so many things our children must deal with that we never did. They face integrity decisions at an early age. Deception rages and disillusion deceives due to loss of moral standards spreading all around their [...]
I met Dr. Williams years ago through a recommendation from a mutual friend. I was in an early season of exploration in family ministry and I was hungry for guidance. Our first meeting was over a Zoom call in which I asked him too many questions. However, he was gracious, [...]
September 26th is National Situational Awareness Day. It’s a great time to teach your children to be aware of others. BIG IDEA Serving others includes being attentive to them and how they feel. KEY SCRIPTURE Matthew 7:12 MATERIALS None needed PREPARATION 1. Make 5 changes to things in the room [...]
September 20th is National String Cheese Day. Here’s an activity your family can do to celebrate in a snacky way! BIG IDEA We can support and encourage people by standing up for them. KEY SCRIPTURE 1 Samuel 17:17-18 MATERIALS supplies to make your cheese stick snack PREPARATION 1. Choose one [...]
September 12th is National Encouragement Day. Here’s an activity your family can do to encourage one another. BIG IDEA We should encourage each other as a family. KEY SCRIPTURE 1 Thessalonians 5:11 MATERIALS Enough Sticky notes for each person to give to everyone else in the family, markers PREPARATION 1. [...]
Here again I find myself recommending one of the few books that I’ve read more than once! Two amazing Christian leaders, Dr. Richard Ross Ph.D. & Dr. Ken Hemphill Ph.D., collaborated to produce, for churches and families, a seemingly one stop shop on the topic of family ministry. After reading [...]
September 9th is National Teddy Bear Day! Here’s a fun Family Time Activity you can do as a family to teach your children about comfort this week! BIG IDEA God comforts us so we can comfort others KEY SCRIPTURE 2 Corinthians 1:4 MATERIALS your favorite stuffed animal PREPARATION 1. Find [...]
AFTER Hannah dedicated her son to a life of serving God at the temple learning from Eli, she rejoiced in God. She praised Him. She called Him her horn, which is a symbol of strength. Without God’s strength and provision, she would have never been able to entrust her son, [...]
By this time, you have likely entrusted your children to teachers to begin the new school year and are a couple weeks into your new routine. Let’s think about Hannah and her courageous step of entrusting her son into God’s hands. She made the commitment that if God gave her [...]
There are many more things to learn from Hannah and her parenting journey. Last week we talked about her longing for a child and the importance of our children knowing they are gifts in our lives. Today, let’s talk about what she did about her longing. Sometimes when people long [...]
Chris Shirley was one of the reasons I returned to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for training in family ministry. He serves as the Associate Dean of the Jack D. Terry School of Educational Ministries and is a professor of educational ministries. His expertise includes, but is not limited to, family [...]
It’s back-to-school time again. The first day of school used to be one of my favorite days of the year when I was in school myself. I loved the smell of new crayons, the feel of brand-new clothes, seeing all my classmates again, and being in my new teacher’s class. [...]
You know when you are drinking a milkshake and there are just a few last drops left in the bottom of the glass? That’s what the end of July feels like to me. You’ve got to get your straw and savor it! So why not pick one or a few [...]
A few years ago, my wife started noticing that I had the ability to fall asleep basically anywhere! Also, when I would fall asleep in random places, I often looked pretty funny. So, in good humor, my wife started documenting these random sleep moments and the funny faces I would [...]
If you don’t teach your children what the Bible says, who Jesus is, and the life and eternity God wants for them, they may never learn. If you rely on your church’s children’s and student’ ministries to teach your children these truths, you are at the mercy of ministry scheduling. [...]
Deal with the Dilemma of Distance Thanks for joining us again as we work our way through the Legacy Coalition, “My Declaration” for Grandparents to unpack key ideas in being a grandparent who will guide their grandchildren to know and love Jesus by example. In our global society with technology [...]
In continuing my study through Jenna Hallock’s book, What is Family Time? Exploring God’s Plan for Engaging in Biblical Home Discipleship, the second chapter talks about the beautiful partnership that can exist between parents and those other people in our children’s lives who invest in their spiritual growth. One of [...]
When I was initially exposed to prominent family ministry voices, Brian Haynes came highly recommended to me. At that stage in my growth, I was like a sponge. I loved reading as much as I could in this new (to me) world of family ministry. Authors like Brian were blowing [...]
I have been going through Jenna Hallock’s book, What is Family Time? Exploring God’s Plan for Engaging in Biblical Home Discipleship. There are some awesome things I’d like to highlight. The entire book is so good and I highly recommend it! It is short enough to read in one sitting [...]
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. Hebrews 3:13 What is the last compliment you paid your daughter? Stop for a moment and really thing about it. A compliment many parents pay their daughters [...]