"I have talked to men who are much later in their lives who regret starting so late to put aside any finances for the future. This is a scary thought, but...there seems to be a much more important investment that many of these men have missed: lost time...We have an average of fifty thousand hours with our kids until they are essentially off and running on their own...So, by the time our children are ten, we have seen more than thirty thousand of these hours come and go. I don't want to live in fear of looking back and regretting lost time. I don't want that for you either." This article is an important reminder of the value of every hour you have with

your child.

"Even the most well-intentioned adults can say some pretty hurtful things, can't they? In their effort to help us become what they wanted for us, the adults in our lives either said or did something that reinforced the idea that their love and adoration for us was based on our performance...So, how do we encourage our kids to live up to their potential without sending them the message their worth is tied to what they can do? One word: stewardship." This article suggests simple, practical ways you can use your words to encourage and build up your child.

"Parents often ask me about the right age to have 'the talk' with their teenagers. I always give the same answer: 'Never.' The one-time birds-and-bees talk doesn't work...We need to create an open, trusting environment of healthy dialogue, so when they need answers, they feel comfortable talking with us...The 'don't have sex until you're married' edict is certainly a clear message, but it will not have as much weight on your teen's decision-making process as a series of ongoing conversations....Have your conversations often and have them early. In fact, the earlier the better. In addition to your tween or teen, if you have younger children at home, I encourage you to start conversations with them now." This great article explains why it's so important to have an ongoing conversation with your child about sex and purity and offers age-specific and age-appropriate conversations you can have with your child no matter his/her age.

"...There's a positive view of entitlement and a negative one. One stands in the way of grace. The other recognizes that it's because of grace that we have special privileges as God's kids. How do we create a positive view of grace in a society driven by entitlement?... Parenting kids to see why grace matters is a dance between covering their mishaps with grace and capturing teachable moments about consequences. God's grace transforms. The negative perspective of entitlement leads our children farther away from God's grace. But the heart that's rooted in Christ, and knows that in him we have blessings beyond measure, knows and rejoices that it is entitled to all Christ has to offer in the life to come." This article offers great insight into leading your children toward an understanding of the blessings that come with salvation and why it's important that we share that with others.