“Conservatives have nothing to say to the kid whose dad has split, whose mom has had three other kids with different dads; ‘go live in a nuclear family’ is really not relevant advice. If only a minority of households are traditional nuclear families, that means the majority are something else: single parents, never-married parents, blended families, grandparent-headed families, serial partnerships, … Read More
Learning from Eowyn
“Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves.” Laura Esquivel “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” Ferdinand Foch Much that I’ve struggled to articulate and steal back about God’s view of women and raising daughters is captured in an intriguing scene involving … Read More
The Father Wound: Defined & Illustrated
It has been said that each one of us comes into the world with a hole in our heart the shape of our dad. And when this hole is not filled, the void is often referred to as “the father wound.” Here’s how I defined it on a project I did for the Bureau of Justice Assistance when I was … Read More
Understanding Father Absence as One of Our Most Serious Social Problems
“The supreme test of any civilization is whether it can socialize men by teaching them to be fathers.” Margaret Meade Father absence refers to the fact that there are now 18.4 million children, 1 in 4, who are growing up in homes without their biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.[1] Tragically, father absence affects minorities disproportionally, especially the … Read More
Love’s Fiery Passion, Part 1 of 2
Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, … Read More
The Power of the Father Wound
Michael Jackson was one of the most talented performers who ever lived. His personal life also contributed to his status as a global sensation. He was born on August 29, 1958 and died on June 25, 2009 at just fifty-one years old. Many called him “Wacko Jacko,” and whether they were deserved or not, there were many other such nicknames … Read More
Happy Together: Moms, Dads, & Healthy Marriage
Recovering God’s heart for dads means recovering his heart for moms and healthy marriage too. In God’s ideal and design, dads do their best work together in a loving relationship with mom. To say it another way, women and wives are essential and full partners in raising healthy kids. And marriage is intimately tied to fatherhood. It’s been said that … Read More
Praying for Our Kid’s Hearts
In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. In … Read More
Caring for Aging Parents
“Honor your father and your mother” is a command that’s central to our faith, even if discerning exactly what that looks like is challenging in various seasons of life– ours or our parents. Many of us know by personal experience that there is a lot of emotional, physical, and psychological fatigue associated with caring for aging parents. As one Canadian … Read More
Difficult People and God’s Surprises
“As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for … Read More