Family &amp; Relationships

The Essential About Opinions

by Mark A. Taylor Any parent of young adults knows two things: First, you”ll always be a parent. Just because they”re out of the house, you don”t stop worrying about their health and their choices and their future. Just because they”re earning a living, you don”t stop wondering if they have enough money. Second, and more important, the parent of young adults must keep his opinions to himself””or at least state them in a gentle way that earns a hearing. Grown children don”t respond well to lectures from their parents, especially when they passionately disagree about the issue at hand.

May 9, 2010

Enrolling Our Kids in the Jesus Mission

By Janet McMahon A look of disappointment, frustration, and surprise came over his face. He cried. We had just told our 13-year-old son we were leaving the only town he had ever known to move to another city and begin a brand-new church. The days and weeks that followed were full of questions, not just from our 13-year-old, but all three of our children. “Why?” “When?” “How?” “Are you sure?” At the time our kids were 16, 13, and 7, and moving kids attending high school and middle school seemed less than ideal. No doubt my children are the No.

May 9, 2010

How Churches Can Help Families

By Paul Alexander I”ve heard hundreds of sermons on marriage and family living. But one stands above the rest. Thirteen years ago the pastor of the largest Christian church in our area came to Hope International University and spoke at our chapel service. He had been asked to speak on the most important thing he could think of to prepare people to go out and serve the church and impact the world for Christ. He told us he had considered talking about ministry, trials, devotion to God, and other topics. But ultimately, he said, the most important thing he could

March 14, 2010

Friendship Matters

By Kelly Kastens Fifty years ago in a subdivision that was still under construction in Fairfield, Ohio, 12 women began to gather once a month to play bridge. The card playing was fun and getting out of the house for the night was even better! I have vivid memories of these get-togethers throughout my childhood because one of these women was my mom. I especially loved it when it was “our” turn to host. I helped clean the house, set up the card tables, and prepare the food. I was allowed to greet everyone and help fix beverages, and then

January 6, 2010

All Work and No Play?

By Mark A. Taylor “The brain in its relaxed state is more creative, makes more nuanced connections and is ripe for eureka moments.” In other words, according to author Carl HonorÃ©, boredom can be good, especially for children. That”s one of many golden points in Time magazine”s November 30 cover feature, “The Case Against Over-Parenting,” by Nancy Gibbs. HonorÃ©, who wrote Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting, says boredom gives children “space to think deeply, invent their own game, create their own distraction.” That usually takes the form of play, the kind of play not stimulated

December 13, 2009

The Point of Christianity 4: Reconciling Male and Female

Â by Douglas A. Foster The first article in this series began with a question: “What is the point of Christianity?” My one-word answer was reconciliation. From the first sin in Genesis to the throne scene in Revelation, reconciliation is at the heart of God”s dealings with humanity. Â If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,

September 16, 2009

Put on Your Shoes

By Mark A. Taylor Claudia Cain ran into the house to moan about the latest crisis in her young teen life. Her dad, Doyle Cain, minister at the local Christian church, took her into his arms to let her cry and give her comfort. And then he said something that at first seemed strange. “Oh, Claudia, just put on your shoes.” He soon reminded her of the story in Acts 12 that tells how the angel miraculously released Peter from prison. “That angel was powerful enough to break through that cell and tear off those chains, but he still told

August 12, 2009

Serving for a Lifetime

By Mark A. Taylor We began editing this issue the week I was celebrating my 36th wedding anniversary. And I couldn”t help thinking how the advice of Randy Gariss and Paul Williams apply to my marriage as well as my ministry. Stick with a ministry for the long haul? Difficult. Stick with a marriage for a lifetime? Some would say impossible. Indeed, this summer”s tabloids have been filled with news of failed marriages, with conservative politicians as well as reality show stars confessing affairs and vowing to move on to the next chapters in their lives. Time magazine took note

July 5, 2009

Strengthening Families: Community and Church Working Together

Â By Nancy KarpenskeÂ Exhibit A: snapshot of a teenager and an older person talking while eating at a fast-food restaurant. Exhibit B: snapshot of that same older person dropping the teen off at his home, stopping for a few minutes to talk with the teen”s mom. Exhibit C: snapshot of that same older person now in the principal”s office with the same teen, serving as an encouraging presence in a “check-up” meeting. Exhibit D: wide-angle photo, large conference room. The participants” name tags identify them as representatives of agencies from across the county: employment services, department of health, probation

June 28, 2009

Finding Forever Families

Â By Kathy AlexanderÂ On November 17, 2003, a newborn baby girl was left on a road near the gated entrance to the Yangjiang Social Welfare Institute, a government-run orphanage in Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, China. The orphanage staff tenderly picked up the tiny baby wrapped in a simple towel and named her Yang Xiao Jing.Â “Yang” is the surname given to every child who comes to the Yangjiang orphanage, and “Xiao Jing” is the name the staff selected for this particular arrival. For record keeping, however, she was classified as Baby No. 315. Xiao Jing began her new life

June 28, 2009

Caring for America”s Orphans

By Brian Mavis It began for my wife and me with a simple nighttime prayer with our young daughters: “God, take care of the orphans.” We always imagined kids in Africa when we prayed that, and eventually we sponsored a couple of kids from Kenya. But that prayer kept doing its work on us, and it led to an obvious question for us: “Are there orphans in America?” Â Orphans in America? Surely there were some, a child here or there who had lost her parents. But if God wanted to use us to help answer that prayer and to

June 28, 2009

Embracing the Ministry of Adoption

By Sonja White READ THE SIDEBAR: “An Adoption Story” by Sonja WhiteÂ Â The arc of international flags on the front lawn of RiverTree Christian Church in Massillon, Ohio, might remind some of the United Nations. But for RiverTree”s congregation and the community, the flags celebrate children. Each flag represents the birth country of the 150 children who have been adopted by a family involved in the church”s Born in Our Hearts adoption ministry. Born in Our Hearts is an adoption and foster care ministry dedicated to raising the awareness of children in need of adoption and helping families through the

June 28, 2009

An Adoption Story

By Sonja White READ THE MAIN ARTICLE: “Embracing the Ministry of Adoption” by Sonja WhiteÂ Â Every adoptive family has a story and a journey. For Greg and Julie Nettle, their story began on December 1, 2001. Greg explains, “We had good friends who had decided to adopt [a child] from Kazakhstan. It was a difficult time for our country following the events of September 11th, and our friends had to leave their two biological boys with grandparents to complete their adoption in Kazakhstan, a country just 500 miles north of Afghanistan. At the end of their three-week trip,

June 24, 2009

Born of the Heart

The 747 lumbered toward the runway at New York”s John F. Kennedy Airport. The preceding plane did not exit the runway quickly enough, however, and the Air India flight had to “go around,” as the air traffic controllers say. We waited another 20 minutes to see our daughter. Jael Neisha arrived at 2Â½ months of age. She weighed 5 pounds when she was born in Calcutta. But for no discernible reason she began to waste away in the Indian orphanage. When Jael finally emerged from the U.S. Customs arrival gate, her wrinkled face was covered with sweat. She was quite

May 6, 2009

Interview with Glen & Shirley Liston

By Brad Dupray Glen and Shirley Liston raised their five sons while serving Christ in the ministry of the local church. Five times they sent a son off to Bible college and five times they saw those sons ordained into the Christian ministry. All five sons serve in located ministries. Now Glen and Shirley are preparing to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this summer with a family reunion near Brazil, Indiana, where they served the church while they were raising their boys. The Listons are now retired, attending and volunteering at New Hope Christian Church in Manvel, Texas, where their

March 1, 2009

Mexico Family Camp: Families Building Homes, Homes Building Families

By Gayla Cooper Congdon In his book, Ordering Your Private World, Gordon MacDonald encourages families to make memories rather than investing in the accumulation of things. This was the premise that sparked a discussion 15 years ago with my longtime friends from Pacific Christian College, Dean and Amy Mathis, to impact families by taking them on a short-term mission trip. We recognized we lived in a culture where a constant spiritual battle was waged for the family. We noted all the factors that made it difficult for families to connect. It begged the question, “How much quality time do families

January 11, 2009

The Power and Potential of “˜Not-Thank-You”

By Ethan Magness Â My boys have a regular bedtime ritual. After a story (if there is time), a bath, teeth brushing, donning pajamas, a cup of water, and lights out, the boys and I pray. If I get rushed, there are some steps we can skip, but if I try to skip prayer, I am usually in trouble with my sons. Everyone gets a chance to pray. My youngest (3.75) is on a bit of a strike right now from praying aloud, but my oldest (6) loves to pray. Our evening prayers are mostly thank-yous.Â Lately we”ve been talking

June 29, 2008

Growing Compassionate Kids

By Jan Johnson Now and then in quiet moments, we dream for our children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews. We wonder how we can help them become adults who know God and who build loving relationships. How can God”s love shape them into compassionate people in a self-absorbed culture? What will help them learn to offer cups of cold water to the thirsty? Can they set aside the pull of materialism to make a difference in the world God so loves? BEING INTENTIONAL IN DAILY LIFE Time pressure thwarts our efforts. What with doctor”s appointments, soccer games, and homework obligations,

January 16, 2008

Mark A. Taylor