Living harmoniously as a family is an ongoing, intentional journey. The beginning of that journey is marked by great anticipation and genuine excitement. A bride and groom have high hopes and great dreams as they start out life together. However, as in all journeys, unexpected challenges pop up, including the arrival of children, which requires the couple to cultivate valuable parenting skills—without a handbook! At each age, from preschool through elementary school, each child requires his or her parents to make adjustments along the way to keep the relationships harmonious. Just about the time parents get their arms around all of that, the teenage years arrive! This stretching and complicated time calls for even more adjustments and a greater willingness to change if the parents hope to sustain harmony in the home. Then, after all that adapting, a new set of challenges arrives—the children reach adulthood, with minds of their own. Can there still be mutual respect and meaningful relationships in the family? Can harmony continue between parents and their grown-up kids? Absolutely! The question is, how?
We know that we are all sinful and in need of salvation, but often, we fail to consider that we bear the specific “bents” of our parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. When we think about it, all of us must admit the direct link between the people we have become and the lives of those who formed our heritage—for good and for ill.
Start today to have more fun with your family. Treasure the moments you spend with them. Take time to laugh. Your kids will love you for it!
It's easy to become entangled in bad stuff. Instead of running from temptation, we often run right into it. Living life well requires making the choice to do what's right—regardless of what everyone else is doing.
Biblically, it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure their children are properly educated about both the biological and moral aspects of sexuality. Parents are to “bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”
Grandparents. What amazing gifts from God. Generation after generation He provides a fresh set of them...an ever-present counterculture in our busy world. They could be superb instructors, but their best lessons are caught, not taught.
Insensitivity is painful. It’s damaging to our relationships, and it grieves our God. To be thick is understandable. To be thick and tired of it is commendable. To be thick and tired of it but unwilling to change—is inexcusable.
This is grace at its best: when you’re able to say, “They have their lives. And that also means that my attention needs to be on my life.” Only One should be in charge of everyone’s lives...His name is Jesus.
Oh, the wonders of your child! Her heart is so tender and pure. His mind hums like a power plant with imagination and curiosity. Your task is to explore the hidden universe that lies within your child.
Family relationships are bound to strain at times and in many cases fracture, leading to feelings of failure and guilt, but there is a way to repair and rebuild damaged relationships—whether or not we’ve chosen them.
The primary struggle for Christian parents in this situation is coming to terms with what happened and how to relate to their child moving forward.
Insight for Living is committed to excellence in communicating the truths of Scripture and the Person of Jesus Christ in an accurate, clear, and practical manner so that people will come to an understanding of God’s plan for their lives, as well as their significant role as authentic Christians in a needy, hostile, and desperate world.
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