joys of parenting
You’ll Be Known By Your Fruits
“As the sunlight of Your Presence shines upon me, it nourishes me so I can produce fruit in Your Kingdom.” – Jesus Listens, October 31 There’s no greater compliment than receiving a positive remark about my children, especially if I was not present for the incident that spawned the remark. To me, how one’s children turn out—the good, the bad, and the ugly—is the overriding indication of how one parents. Matthew tells us, “You will know them by their fruits” (7:16, NKJV). Like trees bearing life-giving fruit, raising compassionate, faith-filled humans takes the right rootstock (that’s you, Mom and Dad), the right amount of time (it’s a marathon, not a sprint), and the right consistency (small daily actions). Wary of giving parental advice I’m wary of giving anything resembling pa...
Thriving in the Empty Nest
“My times are in Your hands, so my best response to the circumstances I face is trusting in You. You’re training me to feel secure in the midst of change and uncertainty.”– Jesus Listens, August 28 The empty nest arrived as a harsh surprise for my wife and me. We were so busy preparing our youngest daughter to leave for college and managing our new “adult” child relationships with our other two kids that we didn’t talk about the empty nest. We were not prepared for what hit us. As we dropped off our daughter at college, we got back in the car to make the five-hour drive home. Periodically, I looked over at my wife, Cathy, and I would see a tear falling down her cheek. “Are you okay?” I asked. As she wiped her eyes, she mumbled, “I know it will be okay, but for some reason I have two deep e...
