I said I will always love [my daughter] Hannah, but I didn’t always like Hannah,” shares Rhonda. “Anything I asked her to do, she wanted to do the opposite. She was angry at life. She was not a pleasant child at all. “The emotional outbursts—it was hard. I had to come to a place where I would have to say to her, ‘You need to go into another room; we can’t talk about this … [Read more...]
Single-parent families: The mission field in Sunday pews
In the early days of my being single again, friends said, “Call me if you need anything.” But I didn’t call anyone for several months. Why? Because I had so many needs I didn’t know where to begin. Then one Saturday morning, a flat tire forced me to into the unfamiliar world of car maintenance. My husband and I had settled into traditional roles: I took … [Read more...]
Parenting God’s way
Bad kids? Or bad parents? Sometimes it’s both. This week’s Care Issue helps you equip parents to improve their parenting skills so that they can solve their parenting problems—and stop causing new ones. Plus, learn how to prepare deacons and small group leaders in your church to give better parenting advice, because parenting experience doesn’t always equate to parenting … [Read more...]
Equipping your leaders to give good parenting advice
One opportunity your ministry leaders (elders, deacons, small-group leaders, etc.) probably will have at some time is the opportunity to advise distressed parents. Unfortunately, the advice they give might not be appropriate. People tend to give advice based on their own experiences. Thus, experienced parents tend to share what worked in their households and assume these … [Read more...]
3 surprising reasons kids misbehave
Caleb eats too much, plays roughly with other kids, and in general can’t control himself. Jesse is emotionally delayed and can’t get along with kids his own age. Iris has every toy and gadget available, but she craves adult attention. Sometimes it is difficult for us as church leaders to help parents when we don’t know the reasons kids misbehave. Sometimes it is the child’s … [Read more...]