Moments with You

When Truett Cathy opened his Dwarf House restaurant in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville, Georgia, in 1946, he made a decision never to deal with money on the Lord’s Day. The Dwarf House was always closed on Sundays.((READMORE))

I was talking with a businessman recently who is involved in a Bible study with about a half-dozen men. These guys are all “well oiled,” financially speaking. But as I listened to him describe these men, I wondered what kind of Christianity they were modeling to their children.((READMORE))

Barbara and I often prayed that the Lord would supply healthy friends to come alongside our kids at school and at church—friends who could be good, steady influences on them. But we also learned four critical unvarnished observations about peers.  ((READMORE))

I told you yesterday about a schoolteacher whose exasperated words left a permanent mark on my young spirit. How true it is that our words—especially those spoken in anger or under pressure—have the power to wound deeply and linger long in our memories.((READMORE))

I suppose I’m hopelessly tied to my upbringing in the ’60s and ’70s, when there were a lot of radical movements in America. Today I find myself calling for radical parents who hold radical beliefs, who have radical purpose and who are committed to raising a radical generation that follows Jesus Christ wholeheartedly.((READMORE))

My mother, Dalcie Rainey, died just before sunrise on a Sunday morning after a gallant two-year battle with Alzheimer’s. She was buried that Tuesday. Then Barbara and I, after lingering behind to visit with family for a day, left early on Thursday and drove to Nashville, arriving just in time for the birth of our third grandchild.((READMORE))

Tommy was a National Guard Reservist called into action during the Gulf War. On the last Sunday before his actual deployment, the church he attended had a special time of prayer, sending him off with their promise of support and encouragement.((READMORE))

We women are awfully fond of admitting that we need our husbands to affirm us and to express their love and appreciation of us through their words and actions. It’s important for us to know—especially after children and age have done their demolition work on our bodies and our once-youthful appearance—that we are still desirable and lovely.((READMORE))

Everyone knows about the prestige of the Nobel Prize, an award given to those who make significant political, scientific and literary contributions to the cause of peace and human understanding. (It’s named, ironically, for the inventor of TNT.((READMORE))

Barbara and I have not been perfect parents. But when you have as many children as we do, God gives you a few hundred lessons along the way. And from our years of experience, we’ve come up with a list of five non-negotiables that all parents need in order to raise a family God’s way. ((READMORE))

Part of our job as parents is dealing with the sins of our children. Correcting misbehavior, admonishing them for mistakes in judgment and disciplining them for their own good make up a fairly big wedge on the parenting pie chart.((READMORE))

One of the biggest needs of your children—no matter what their age—is for physical touch. Regular hugs, kisses and hand holding all say to them, “You are loved.”

When your children are little, make sure they have lots of time in your lap to cuddle.((READMORE))

When you were growing up, did you ever get into a real tug-of-war? You know, the kind with a thick, scratchy rope? Two groups pulling against each other and, in between, a murky mud hole the size of Lake Erie?
There’s another tug-of-war taking place today.((READMORE))

Four children had left the nest, and we were down to just two at home. You would think we had the upper hand in this parenting thing. But as we discussed the different strains on our family and the constant tug-of-war between us and the influences of our culture, I looked at Barbara and said, “I think we are wearing down in the battle for our family.((READMORE))

It’s always dangerous to make assumptions. I am reminded of the businesswoman who found herself with an extra hour of airport down time. She bought a magazine, a coffee and a small package of cookies, preparing to pass the time as best she could in the crowded waiting area.((READMORE))

I think the human race has a problem with addictions. The well-known addictions to drugs, alcohol, sex and pornography have destroyed lives and families for generations. But there are other addictions, even within the Christian community, that are not as evil but are still addictions.((READMORE))

On the morning of our oldest daughter’s wedding, I sat on a picnic table near our backyard fire pit and wept. This was the very place where we’d shared hundreds of family experiences together over the years, but I knew my relationship with Ashley, who I called “My Princess,” was about to change—forever.((READMORE))

As a man, I like equations and formulas. Their logic rings true: 2 + 2 = 4. You can always count on that.

But while equations and formulas work when you’re trying to figure out how much deck stain to purchase at a home-improvement store, they’re not always reliable when it comes to romancing your wife.((READMORE))

Few things are more abhorrent to me than seeing women make sexual advances toward married men, either on television or in real life. We should recoil at this kind of behavior. But just because flirtation is often corrupt doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with making sexual advances toward one married man—the one you’re already married to.((READMORE))

I hope you’re already part of a church family—not as a spectator but as a committed, involved participant in a community of followers of Jesus Christ. But if you’re not, here are five things you should look for as you consider establishing yourself in a church.((READMORE))

“It almost seems as though our family has moved out of this house and another family has moved in.” That’s how one couple described the transformation that God brought about in their marriage after they attended one of FamilyLife’s Weekend to Remember marriage conferences.((READMORE))

As a particular three-month period of time approached, Barbara and I already knew it would be busier than usual. We had overcommitted and underestimated, which we’ve had a tendency to do. Everything would need to fall just right if we were to squeeze it all in without anybody suffering.((READMORE))

I’ve been doing daily radio since 1992, and I can recall only one time when I was weeping so hard I couldn’t speak. It was the day I interviewed Charlie and Lucy Wedemeyr.

At the age of 30, Charlie began experiencing the early symptoms of ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.((READMORE))

People have often asked about our philosophy of disciplining children. I guarantee we were not flawless in carrying it out, but I do believe the Lord showed us a scriptural pattern of discipline that bore fruit in our family.((READMORE))

I once asked Elisabeth Elliot, who for decades has been one of the most respected women in Christian culture, a very specific question: “If you had a group of wives who had all been married between 10 and 15 years—that difficult stretch when the honeymoon is long gone, when responsibilities are high, when the children are often plentiful and chaotic—what would be the best piece of marriage advice you could give them?"((READMORE))