Yesterday morning after our church services a boy came up to me and said, “Can I talk to you for a second?” I told him to give me just a second and I’d be more than happy to talk. He was about the same size as my 10 year old and I wasn’t sure I [...]

Still trying to decide what to get your kids this year for Christmas? How about getting them something that will last a lifetime? Some of the best gifts my parents gave me weren’t gifts that came from a store, but gifts that came from their lives. Here are a few gifts my parents gave me [...]

I love being a dad. One of the greatest accomplishments in my life is that I am the father of four amazing boys. One of my new struggle as a parent has been letting a son go into the Army, not because I didn’t want him to go, but because I won’t see or hear [...]

Remember those cliches that came out of your parents’ mouths that made your skin crawl? If you are like most of us, you probably swore to yourself that you would never say “those things” to your kids. I can vividly remember thinking to myself, “I’m NEVER going to use that phrase with my kids,” but [...]

I’d like you to meet Canon. He and his family went with us to Honduras. Canon just turned 12-years-old and was a “go getter” in Honduras. The picture fits him perfectly … everywhere he went he had his backpack FULL of things to give away to others. He brought stuff from home like baseball caps, [...]

From the way I heard it, the sweet little curly headed girl couldn’t have been more than 8 years old. She hadn’t grown up going to bible class or church, but now that her parents were going to church, she was loving it. One of her favorite parts of her new bible class was the [...]

When it comes to marriage, Lea and I struggle with the same things you struggle with. We often find ourselves taking one another for granted for the sake of less important things. Things like busyness, work and hobbies will always crowd a marriage for time, but I think the biggest challenge for any marriage, including [...]

It’s never easy letting your children go, but I did just that with my oldest two weeks ago. I have no doubt that I felt a little what Hannah must have felt when she took her little Samuel to the temple to leave him with Eli the priest. It must have been so hard for [...]

Let me share with you one of my best ministries. It takes place every Wednesday morning in the elementary school library. Before school starts I have about 30-40 children who show up for a devotional. We sing songs about God and then have a Bible story. Each week I bring an object in my “red [...]

I’ve got four boys so I’ve never experienced what it’s like to have a little girl. I see them and think they are so precious and sweet. I’ve often pointed out little girls to Lea and said, “I want one of those.” Her response is always the same, “You’ll have a granddaughter someday.” My weakness [...]

Last Friday I drove 3 hours to attend a funeral. I’m usually not much for funerals, but this was the father of my friend Dee Green. The funeral was a typical funeral till the end. When the preacher was finally through preaching, Dee got up and spoke about his father. I was amazed at the [...]

What does a 7 year-old boy think of his mom and dad separating? I just can’t get over Danny Sims post today. It ripped my heart from my chest. Please take a minute and read Danny’s post today by clicking here: A Heart-Breaking Line!

One of the big stories lately has been the new “no spanking laws” that are trying to be passed. Recently someone asked what I thought about disciplining children. I am no expert, but I know the Bible is full of verses about disciplining children. Here are a few things I think are important… DO understand [...]

Still wondering what to get your kids this Christmas? Here are 5 perfect gifts that will really last a life time. THE GIFT OF A GOOD MARRIAGE: I wish as parents we’d realize that a vital marriage between you and your spouse is the best gift you could ever give your kids. It’s better than [...]

In a recent post I did about raising kids I mentioned a story that has always been one of my favorites. The story is called, “The Parable of the Lawn.” I ran across it this past week and thought I’d share it today. It has always been a great reminder to me for what’s really [...]

When Connor was little, he was SO strong-willed. Actually that hasn’t changed a lot. As a three year-old, we tried everything on our strong-willed child, including Dobson’s book, “The Strong Willed Child.” The book only worked when I spanked him with it Lea and I would often tell him to do something, and he’d just [...]

You’ve heard of the 23rd Psalm from the KJV or NIV. This is the 23rd Psalm from the “sweet” or “precious” version. Then he said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” ~Jesus

VBS is all about kids and this week has been great. We’ve had about 285 each night. Tonight will be our biggest crowd. We won’t be competing with little league baseball and other community activities tonight. I love VBS because it’s one of the ways we reach kids. And I love the fact that the [...]

A new tool called Baby Signs is helping babies learn to communicate with sign language before they can talk. The video below is a 13 month old little girl who is learning to read. Do not underestimate the learning potential of your baby or the babies in your children’s ministry at church. From this video [...]

Ran across this in my notes. Don’t have a clue where it came from, but it made me laugh. Thought it might be a good change of pace after a couple of days of serious discussion. Blessings … Trey —————————————————- If you can pass the following tests, you may be ready to have children.MESS TEST: [...]

Nothing is more important to me than raising my 4 boys. And as a dad, I don’t want to be “just a father,” I want to be an “unforgettable father.” So how can I become an unforgettable father? Where do I go to find an example of an unforgettable father? What can I say to [...]

I’d like to focus some posts this week on families. We’ll be covering a few things like parenting, marriage, and traits of healthy families this week. I want to start the week off with a powerful video. Since we are such visual learners it makes videos, such as this, a great teaching tool. Watch, think [...]

I’d like you to meet Jax (or “Jaxion” if you ask his mom). Jax , is the 11 month old, only son, of our youth minister Nate and his wife, Kristin. Jax likes to talk. In fact Jax likes to talk a lot. He doesn’t really use any words, but he can babble with the [...]

Just like it takes good ingredients to make good food, it also takes good ingredients to make good children. There are so many negative things battling for our children’s lives these days. Television, friends and negative things of this world are just a few things that are constantly influencing our children. I know not all [...]