Sometimes, I find it hard it to love loved ones. Not because I don’t actually love them, but because I do not love them correctly. I say “I love you”, but I do not display it in my actions! Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always … [Read more...]
July 23, 2012 By 5 Comments
Parenting – The Tender Balance
There’s something growing inside my wife. A living, breathing, heartbeat-having creation. That creation is currently about 37 weeks. It has a name. He has a name. His name is Aidan Robert, and he’s scheduled to leave the comfort and relative darkness of my wife’s womb on August. Parenting Imponderables I wonder what he’ll be like. I wonder if he’ll have his mother’s eyes or his father’s lack of a defined chin. I wonder if he’ll be sweet like my wife or if he’ll have my … [Read more...]
July 16, 2012 By 18 Comments
Parenting Tips From a Friend – Guest Post
Tor, I know you've done this before. You have two beautiful young girls. You're a great dad. You've raised them well. But you're rusty. It's been a while since you've had a brand new young'n. I thought I'd give you some tips on what's changed since you've been out of practice. Poop No change. Still stinky and manages to get places you'd rather it didn't. Food It's not just Gerber jars of greenish goo anymore. The cool new trend is to make it yourself from purely hippie, er, … [Read more...]
July 12, 2012 By 21 Comments
Life Lessons Learned from Potty Training
Recently, my wife and I went through the process of potty training our toddler. It was a challenging, humbling, and emotionally draining experience. From this, I learned or revisited many life lessons that can be applied to absolutely anything, from writing to building a house. Patience is critical. Life is going to get very crappy sometimes, but it will get better. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Things usually don’t happen as quickly as you’d like them to. With anything … [Read more...]
July 11, 2012 By 15 Comments
6 Secrets To Surviving Your Teenager
Recently, Tor shared twelve phrases a dad never wants to hear. As I thought about the additions that actually occurred in the past two weeks, I realized that being a teen these days is hard. I look at my single (adult) friends, and I think "not enough money or bad days in the world to make me enter into that fray." People haul around more baggage than Southwest will fly for free. And then I look at my daughters. Smart, funny, gorgeous, and insecure. Teen angst lures them to … [Read more...]
July 10, 2012 By 7 Comments
Adoption – Learning to Say YES!!!
When, Grace, our fourth child came along, I was certain we were done having kids. Who wouldn’t be? Four is a full house. While I saw full bedrooms, a full minivan, and an empty pantry, my wife saw room for one more. The word “adoption” would occasionally get thrown around our conversations. To me it was an important topic. One that all of us should be actively involved in. I felt my role was to “actively” watch everyone else do all of the work. I still remember the first … [Read more...]
July 6, 2012 By 11 Comments
3 Tips for Parents of Teenagers (From a guy with no kids)
Six months ago I got married. And two weeks ago my wife and I taught the "Parenting Teens" class at my church because, you know, wait . . . we're qualified to do that? What was my church thinking?! To be fair, we both work for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Oregon State University. We spend large chunks of our days with college students and kids in their late teens. So I guess you could say we know a thing or two. Teaching that class was an exciting and humbling experience. We may … [Read more...]
