https://www1.cbn.com/rss-cbn-articles-family.xml en https://www1.cbn.com/grandparenting-todays-teens-expert-mark-gregston Author Mark Gregston has been working with teens for over 40 years. His years as a youth minister and area director for Young Life inform his expertise and passion for helping teens through their most turbulent years. He and his wife Jan have opened their home to those in need of guidance, or even just a warm hug from a caring parent. After moving their family to Texas, Greg and Jan started Heartlight, a residential counseling center for struggling teens and families in crisis. Now, after years... Sunday, September 12, 2021 - 9:15pm Kimberly Carr /grandparenting-todays-teens-expert-mark-gregston https://www1.cbn.com/family/three-simple-ways-transform-your-childs-public-school Being a parent of school-aged children is no small task in the 21st Century. The reasons Christian parents opt to send their children to public school vary. Regardless of why you opt to send your child to a public school, it is important for you to be a vigilant, involved parent.  Proverbs 22:6 (KJV) says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Your child's formative years of moral development are happening concurrently with foundational... Tuesday, August 3, 2021 - 2:30pm Dr. Mel Tavares /family/three-simple-ways-transform-your-childs-public-school https://www1.cbn.com/family/former-nfl-qb-jeff-kemp-championing-gods-design-dads During his 11 years as an NFL quarterback, Jeff Kemp was known on and off the field for his leadership skills. Whether it was calling and executing plays on the gridiron or working away from the sport to strengthen marriages and families, Kemp has always been willing to work for the improvement of the modern family. Recently, Kemp has teamed up with Fatherhood CoMission to champion fatherhood both inside and outside the Church.  It is his desire for dads to be positive difference makers in... Wednesday, June 16, 2021 - 3:30pm Chris Carpenter /family/former-nfl-qb-jeff-kemp-championing-gods-design-dads https://www1.cbn.com/tim-tebow-bronco-and-friends-party-remember Why A Children's Book? The author of several books on identity and purpose, Tim takes a clear detour in writing a storybook for kids, but with clear intention. As the youngest of the five Tebow siblings, he was born and spent his first three years in the Philippines, where his parents served as Baptist missionaries. Tim vividly remembers their reading to him as a boy, how much he enjoyed it, and the difference it made in his growth and development. Believing that every person is unique,... Thursday, January 28, 2021 - 2:15pm Tim Tebow, The 700 Club /tim-tebow-bronco-and-friends-party-remember https://www1.cbn.com/marjorie-dannenfelser-life-winning Pro-Choice Republican Marjorie Dannenfelser’s father was in the Army and got his degree in medicine. After years of moving, the family wanted to plant some roots and decided to settle down in Greenville, NC where her father opened a private practice as a dermatologist. Marjorie’s mother went back to college and finished her master’s degree in library science. As Episcopalians, her family loved church liturgy and hymns. They were conservative Republicans in their economic and foreign policy... Monday, December 28, 2020 - 10:45am The 700 Club, Marjorie Dannenfelser /marjorie-dannenfelser-life-winning https://www1.cbn.com/youth/feed-your-faith-not-your-doubts Have you ever noticed that when you focus on one specific prob­lem in your life, the normal things you deal with every day tend to fade into the background? For example, not too long ago, multiple warning lights on my car’s dashboard popped on during a road trip I was taking with my wife and kids, including the dreaded “check engine” light. I couldn’t think about anything else other than the fact that my car needed maintenance as soon as possi­ble. It was difficult to focus on the subject... Tuesday, November 17, 2020 - 3:45pm Shelby Abbott /youth/feed-your-faith-not-your-doubts https://www1.cbn.com/parenting/shaping-your-children-spiritual-warriors The stats suggest that well more than half of young people will leave the Church after they leave their childhood Christian home. I’m convinced that the major reason for this is a lack of learned and modeled engagement in the deeper spiritual life on the part of parents and kids. Mom and dad, you and I will go to incredible lengths and allow our kids to endure incredible difficulties to guarantee high test scores for college, to pass driver’s education, but why aren’t we urgently guiding them... Monday, January 18, 2021 - 5:00am Dr. Chris Surber /parenting/shaping-your-children-spiritual-warriors https://www1.cbn.com/parenting/dont-miss-monumental-moments My nearly fifteen-year-old son's learning to drive is unnerving my peace of mind. “Dad,” he said to me from behind the steering wheel, “You’re actually really terrified, aren’t you?” It must have been my stomping the invisible break petal on the passenger-side floorboard that gave it away! We all look forward to monumental moments in our lives. We don’t all think carefully or biblically about how we are going to get through them when they come. We look forward to their high school graduation... Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - 5:30pm Dr. Chris Surber /parenting/dont-miss-monumental-moments https://www1.cbn.com/marriage/make-marriage-place-healing Christina and I have counseled couples in crisis, couples in premarital times, couples who’d grown distant, and everything in between. Over these past twenty years of marriage and ministry, we’ve realized that with all the hurts of life, for marriage to last, the marriage relationship must be a healing place.   Here are 4 ways to increase the sacred vitality of your marriage as a healing place. 1. Cast off worldly illusions. If twenty years of marriage has taught me anything it is that the most... Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - 4:00pm Dr. Chris Surber /marriage/make-marriage-place-healing https://www1.cbn.com/marriage/wanted-hero-husbands Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn from him.” A man after God’s heart must be a man who is ever increasing in his capacity to be filled with and to pour out God’s love. Humility. Connectedness to Christ. Willingness to sacrifice for the people in his life. Teachability. These are the things that make a man a hero husband. I’m no “Lance Romance” and I make a lot of mistakes, but I am growing. I pay attention to God’s Word and to other godly... Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - 4:00pm Dr. Chris Surber /marriage/wanted-hero-husbands https://www1.cbn.com/family/crayon-box-families We weren’t looking to adopt another child. We already had four young kids in tow. Our adopted daughter fell into our lives through a series of circumstances too long and complex to describe here. It was God’s doing. We are missionaries to Haiti and when you invest your life in a foreign culture it doesn’t take long for that culture to divest itself into you. Sometimes it adds a kid to your family. When we came back from Haiti with one more kid than we went with, we were a multicolored family. I... Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - 3:30pm Dr. Chris Surber /family/crayon-box-families https://www1.cbn.com/family/fathering-like-father-you-never-had For a man to have real children is easy enough. For children to have a real father is another matter entirely. Growing up fatherless left gaps in me. It does for everyone. Whether your dad was steeped in addiction, an absentee, or just ill-equipped, here are 5 key lessons I’ve acquired over the years. They are helping me to father like the father I never had. I’m praying they’ll help you too! 1. Be a courageous leader. I am the son of an absentee, alcoholic, abandoning man full of excuses. I... Monday, August 24, 2020 - 12:15pm Dr. Chris Surber /family/fathering-like-father-you-never-had https://www1.cbn.com/family/are-you-prepared-disaster “How could we have prepared for this?” Operation Blessing’s Disaster Relief team hears these words all too often after a disaster destroys a family home. Nobody knows when disaster will strike, so it’s important to be prepared with a disaster emergency kit. Does your family know what do to in case of disaster? How prepared are you? These fun questions are designed to spark a family conversation about your specific preparation plan. Here are some suggested talking points. When will you stay?... Tuesday, August 11, 2020 - 4:15pm /family/are-you-prepared-disaster https://www1.cbn.com/loving-land-learning-its-people-culture-and-tradition-diverse-israel Israel is one of the tiniest countries in the world, only slightly larger than the state of New Jersey. Yet the nation’s small size belies its rich diversity and history -- a beautiful tapestry of different people and ethnicities like nowhere else on the planet. Take Jerusalem. It’s one of the world’s most ancient cities and plays a central role in the three major monotheistic religions. The Old City is divided into four distinct quarters, each with their own unique flavor and history. The... Wednesday, July 8, 2020 - 6:15pm Sponsored Content /loving-land-learning-its-people-culture-and-tradition-diverse-israel https://www1.cbn.com/familyadvice/balloon-art-new-twist-child-evangelism When Dan Bellamy was preparing for a missions trip to Jamaica during his senior year of high school, he was introduced to the art of balloon sculpting. He was only going to pick up a few tricks from his instructor (a professional clown), but soon the student surpassed the teacher and a new interest and eventual career in ministry was born. "I had no expectations of making it more than a hobby during college or long after college. You know, it crossed my mind during seminary, but I never really... Tuesday, June 23, 2020 - 3:45pm Kimberly Carr /familyadvice/balloon-art-new-twist-child-evangelism https://www1.cbn.com/familyadvice/grandparenting-during-coronavirus “I miss you, too.” How many of us grandparents have found ourselves saying that way too often during this coronavirus pandemic? The hugs and kisses and snuggles are beginning to feel like distant memories. Will things ever return to the way they used to be? How can we grandparents be intentionally involved in the lives of our grandkids during this season of social distancing and sheltering in place? Let’s ask God to help us to . . . Be intentional!  How might you use available technology for... Tuesday, June 9, 2020 - 4:00pm Larry McCall /familyadvice/grandparenting-during-coronavirus https://www1.cbn.com/parenting/how-practice-art-motherhood When I get to heaven I will have two questions for the Lord. The first is the common query of why innocents had to suffer on Earth. The other would be why he mistakenly forgot to bequeath me with the talent and body frame necessary to be a contemporary dancer, when it was my heart’s desire for so long. Of course that ship sailed decades ago, but during my delusional habit of pretending to be a ‘pointe’ dancer while squatting to episodes of So You Think You Can Dance, I had a deep revelation... Friday, May 15, 2020 - 4:15pm Jessica Kastner /parenting/how-practice-art-motherhood https://www1.cbn.com/moving-your-family-worry-faith We have a lot of challenges in our world right now, and worry is one of the most prominent ones people deal with. I think it’s one of the worst because worrying about challenges doesn’t do much to resolve them, and most of the time it only makes them worse. Society is also showing us that worrying is dangerous, since anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, and one of the key ingredients in anxiety disorders is worry.     Living a life of worry has become so... Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - 4:00pm Seth Dahl /moving-your-family-worry-faith https://www1.cbn.com/marriage/8-ways-keep-up-romance-during-quarantine Being home with our beloved (or anyone) all day, every day can feel un-natural, no matter how deep our God-given love runs. Suddenly there’s no outside entertainment, no friends to socialize with, no activities to share, and the list goes on. Whether you’re newly-married, a veteran couple, or somewhere in between, being homebound daily forces some unexpected relational adjustments and calls for major creativity in the romance department. Here’s a few to try. Have Delusional Date Nights It may... Friday, May 8, 2020 - 3:00pm Jessica Kastner /marriage/8-ways-keep-up-romance-during-quarantine https://www1.cbn.com/top-survival-hacks-parents-quarantine So here we are. Stuc- I mean, blessed being home with the fruit of our loins all the merry day.  Even the best, most patient of mothers find themselves feeling extra angst and exhaustion, not having anywhere to go, or to socialize with during quarantine. Here are some helpful tips to get us through. All to be exercised with a constant stream of prayer, and high end caffeine, of course. Create delusional time blocks for activities. It can be mind-numbingly boring sitting on the ground playing... Wednesday, April 15, 2020 - 9:15pm Jessica Kastner /top-survival-hacks-parents-quarantine https://www1.cbn.com/family/true-prosperity-families-facing-tough-economic-times From the families of small business owners to wealthy executives, a lot of families are facing anxiety over a declining investment market, have been laid off of work, or are even facing the closing of a business. It’s tough everywhere for families. We need sound financial advice. Sift through the sea of articles online and you’ll find expert advice from budgeting to eliminating credit card debt. That advice is important. Take measures to protect your family’s economic wellbeing. Now, I’m not an... Sunday, April 5, 2020 - 11:00pm Dr. Chris Surber /family/true-prosperity-families-facing-tough-economic-times https://www1.cbn.com/parenting/how-help-your-kids-find-peace-quarantine Seth Dahl’s passion for creating a thriving family culture fuels his ministry as a writer, public speaker, and children’s pastor. He and his family recently completed a move from California to Austin, Texas. Big city opportunities with small town values was just what Seth and his wife Lauren wanted for their kids. He describes the cross-country move as “a full operation,” which included three dogs, two horses, and a cow.  They’re closer to cowboys and nature now. But the Dahls are also facing... Friday, April 3, 2020 - 4:15pm Kimberly Carr /parenting/how-help-your-kids-find-peace-quarantine https://www1.cbn.com/marriage/four-ways-build-your-marriage-during-social-distancing This is such a unique time in which we are living. No one could have foreseen this global COVID-19 pandemic, nor the ripple effect on economies and the daily life of people across the globe. The spread of the coronavirus and all of the related shutdowns have brought us to a stark dichotomy. While we are separating from the rest of the world through social distancing, we are spending constant time with our immediate families. In real time, many are experiencing the opposing truths of two well-... Tuesday, March 31, 2020 - 11:00am Rob Flood /marriage/four-ways-build-your-marriage-during-social-distancing https://www1.cbn.com/parenting/turn-social-distancing-its-head 2020 was supposed to be a year of promise and realized expectation, but things took a left turn with the advent of COVID-19. In the matter of a couple weeks students are left to finish the academic year from home, the labor force is scrambling to define essential versus non-essential employees and the cultural pillars of entertainment and sports have been replaced by daily government briefings on coronavirus and social distancing. Suddenly, we find ourselves with a little more at-home time than... Friday, March 27, 2020 - 3:00pm Aaron M. Little /parenting/turn-social-distancing-its-head https://www1.cbn.com/youth/thrive-teen-small-church I’m a small church pastor. That’s where my calling is. I belong in churches where I’ve been to everyone’s house and know their dog’s name. What about my teenaged kids? What’s in it for them? If you are a teenager, is there a small church blessing for you? I talked to my teens, did a little research, gave it some thought and prayer, and here’s what I came up with: four big benefits to “teening” in a small church (a phrase which my 14-year-old said was “corny, but fun”). If you’re a small... Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 2:00pm Dr. Chris Surber /youth/thrive-teen-small-church