Raising the Strongest Generation
The Youth Worldview Ministry of Connection Pointe Christian Church
Family & Relationships
Family & Relationships offers biblically grounded guidance for building healthy relationships at home and in everyday life. Explore articles on marriage, parenting, singleness, friendship, communication, conflict resolution, and cultivating a Christ-centered household. You’ll find practical wisdom for forming strong families, nurturing faith in children and teens, and navigating challenges with grace, truth, and hope. Whether you’re seeking encouragement, direction, or tools for discipleship in the home, these resources help you love well and reflect the character of Jesus in your closest relationships.
Mustard Seed Marriages
Every marriage begins as a mustard seed—a small, yet potent commitment between two souls. . . .
March 1, 2024
Marriage Happens Every Day!
The Significance of Happenings Leading to Happiness
January 1, 2024
The Practice and Art of Surprise: Marriage Practitioners
By Rudy Hagood My wife, the unbelievably beautiful Osharye, recently shared an article titled, “We’re Talking About (Marriage) Practice.” In it, she reminded us of the cultural phenomenon from 2002 when basketball star Allen Iverson famously said, “We’re talking about practice . . . not a game . . . we’re talking about practice.” (If you haven’t read it, you might enjoy doing so before reading this.) Osharye’s words got me to thinking about the areas of our marriages that are underdeveloped due to a lack of, well, practice. One area where we could become proficient is in the art
November 1, 2023
Fighting for Relationships: Striving for Unity in Politically Divisive Times
By Ben Cachiaras Shortly before his recent unexpected passing, my friend, Christian Standard editor Mike Mack, asked me via email: “How can we love one another in a culture where there is so much sharp disagreement? . . . Would you write something on the challenge of fighting for relationships?” Before his untimely death, the burden on Mike’s heart—and likely many of our hearts—was to see Christ followers navigate the nasty culture wars, the lack of civility, and the political polarization to live out faith in God-honoring ways. “How do we disagree without hating?” he asked. Indeed, some people now
September 1, 2023
‘We’re Talking About (Marriage) Practice’
By Osharye Hagood Practice is a key principle to having a “winning” marriage. Back when we were learning to drive a car, or playing on a sports team, or perhaps learning to dance, we underwent the repetition of practice. This perspective has been extremely helpful for me in my marriage to Rudy. I wake up each day with the desire to have a great marriage, and I understand this can only happen over time, with practice, by the power of God. Please hear me when I say, the gift of love does not equate to a world-championship marriage. It takes practice.
July 1, 2023
No Perfect Parents . . . Just Real Ones
By Rudy Hagood We all know that parenting our kids is hard. Yet, I think we forget that when we were kids, we were just as hard on our parents! I want to speak with you parent-to-parent. Osharye and I are not perfect parents, and our kids are not perfect, and as much as it pains me to say it in print, our grandkids—even though they are perfect to us—are not perfect either. (Ouch, that last admission hurt!) So, let us find comfort in our perfect heavenly Father, who heals and covers our many imperfections! Paul wrote, “For this reason
Indiana Church Hosts Annual Weeklong Summer Camp for Foster Children
Wilkinson (Ind.) Church of Christ hosts a one-week camp for foster children each summer. The Royal Family KIDS camp exposes the kids to the story of Jesus Christ while showing the children unconditional love. . . .
May 10, 2023
‘Mom, I Love You’: How Four Little Words Transformed My Life
In Celebrate Recovery, making amends is one of the final steps. This step demands a person seek forgiveness from anyone they’ve hurt or offended, as well as grant pardon to those who’ve hurt or offended them. I still had one last person to pardon . . . and she had hurt me most. It was my own mother. But to understand the end, let’s start from the beginning. . . .
May 1, 2023
Unity: God’s Beautiful Original Intent for Marriage
By Rudy Hagood God desires so much more for our marriages than just staying together. God’s original intent for marriage is found way back in Genesis—before sin came into the world, and well before “honey-do” lists and such sayings as “happy wife, happy life.” The secret sauce of Christian marital union is the power of God binding us together in an intimate union that includes Yahweh. And when two become one, the One (God) empowers the two. Marital unity is restoration of the paradise God created in the beginning. It’s part of the reconciling work of God. It is the
March 1, 2023
Good + Grace = Great (Marriages)
By Rudy and Osharye Hagood There is something wonderful about a perfect gift. When God created vegetation, day and night, wild animals, crawling things, he declared each of those things to be “good.” Yet God outdid himself when he gave us a spouse. God even got an “amen” from Adam, who said, “Now this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). In his own image, male and female, God created them, giving them dominion (care and management of, concern for, and rule over the earth), and God declared it “very good.” Husbands and wives are
January 1, 2023
A Cheeky Article on Travel Baseball
By Tyler McKenzie I have three young children, ages 7, 4, and 2. With each passing milestone, my desire to see them grow in Christ deepens. As the pastor of a church made up largely of young families, I’ve found this to be a desire many parents share. At our church, we call it being an “intentional parent.” However, I have also found these same parents feel just as strongly that they are doing a bad job at it. When I ask what the problem is, their answers are the same, “Tyler, I just don’t know how.” I ain’t buying
January 1, 2023
Marriage Beings and Humans Being
By Osharye Hagood When it comes to marriage, the truth is we are humans being. (Yes, you read that correctly.) And when we get married, we become “marriage beings.” While our marriages are intended to be divine expressions of God’s perfect love, and while we may at times feel the goosebumps of love and the perfection of our loving commitment—please hear me—all marriages are unions between human beings, and all humans sin. So, our mistakes and missteps should be seen as, well, expected. Blunders are as natural as breathing, and errors are as common as ears. Why? Because we are
December 23, 2022
An Aluminum Tree, a Phonograph, and ‘Snowballs’
Christmas childhood memories can blur together, but one specific Christmas—I think it was 1966—certainly left a lasting impression.
December 21, 2022
‘It’s Christmas Time in the City’
"All my Christmas memories are framed by the city where I both spent my childhood and where my wife and I raised our daughter," Steve Carr shares in today's Christmas remembrance. "And for me, nothing says Christmas in Cincinnati like the live Nativity display at Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park."
December 20, 2022
The Christmas Program
In the 1996 Christmas program, Margie Redford's parents included a note to family members that encouraged them to "Greet each morning with this prayer: 'Lord, what are You and I going to do together today? I’m reporting for duty.'" The Christmas programs were a family Christmas tradition.
November 1, 2022
God’s Love Language in Our Unions
By Rudy Hagood Have you ever considered how unthinkable it is that we have intimacy with the Spirit of God within our marital unions? The prophet Malachi asked this simple rhetorical question: “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?” (Malachi 2:15, English Standard Version). Your marriage is not simply between two people, but three, since it includes the third person of the godhead. For this reason, I want to talk about the health of our marriages by talking about how we engage God. Since our marital unions consist of three people, knowing
September 1, 2022
Your Spouse Is Not the Main Thing
By Rudy Hagood I can hear it like I’m still sitting in her living room. My mother-in-law, Mama D., was saying, “Keep the main thang, the main thang!” Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord” (English Standard Version). Well, bless the name of the Lord and let the church say Amen! Yet, a word of caution for both husbands and wives: Your spouse is not the main thang! Yes, we should be “very married.” Yes, the best gift we can give our kids is a great marriage. And yes,
July 1, 2022
Current Trends in Dating, Marriage, and Parenting
By Kent E. Fillinger When I was young, whenever a boy and girl played together on the school playground, the other kids typically would tease them by singing “The Kissing Song”: “[Boy’s name] and [girl’s name], sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage!” The order prescribed in that song is being followed less and less these days. The purpose of this article is to explore recent data on dating, marriage, and parenting to help church leaders better understand current trends to help shape future teaching and ministry possibilities. DATING
July 1, 2022
Very Married: The Gift to the Divine Gift
By Rudy Hagood (with Osharye Hagood) Long before Jeff Bezos launched Amazon, God was sending precious gift packages from heaven all over the globe. God delivers sparks of life we call children. Kids are “divine gifts” of the breath of life delivered to the living. Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” (English Standard Version). Wow, what an unthinkable gift! In my gratitude, I want to be a blessing to God, the gift-giver, while also striving to give the best gift I possibly can to my kids. Yet, what
