How To Get Your Kids to Stop Listening to You
I recently had a conversation with a dad who complained that his kids wanted nothing to do with him. He was baffled. Hadn’t he always strived to teach and provide the best for his brood? Confused...
View ArticleThe Four Attitudes of Teenagers
Nothing brings down the mood of your household any quicker than a teen whose outlook has gone south. A bad attitude. Stinkin’ thinkin’ can ruin anybody’s day. At some point, every teen drives every...
View ArticleTeens and Dating
Remember the old television program, The Dating Game? The host would introduce some bubbly contestant who, through a series of really ridiculous questions, would have to choose between three eligible...
View ArticleCrime, Punishment, and Grace
In high school English, I was forced to read the book Crime and Punishment. Let me tell you, this is no short story. It was a crime and a punishment that I even had to read it! But I have to...
View ArticleGood Cop, Bad Cop: How to Avoid Policing Your Kids
I have some good friends who work for the local Highway patrol. They’re all upstanding men, whom I admire and respect. But while they’re on duty, I’m not so eager to spend quality time together with...
View ArticleWalking the Tight Rope Between Rules and Grace
It is not that we keep His commandments first, and that then He loves; but that He loves us, and then we keep His commandments. This is that grace, which is revealed to the humble, but hidden from...
View ArticleTransforming Your Home Into a Safe Harbor
“… You were so glad when the storm died down, and He led you safely back to harbor.” (Psalm 107:30 THE MESSAGE) You may remember the story of Abby Sutherland, the plucky 16-year-old from Southern...
View ArticleHear Their Stories
“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story – those He redeemed from the hand of the foe.” (Psalm 107:2) I love a good story. The kids who have walked through the doors of the Heartlight Campus...
View ArticleModerating the Internet in Your Family
“In the next 10 years, I expect at least five billion people worldwide to own smartphones, giving every individual with such a phone instant access to the full power of the Internet, every moment of...
View ArticleThe Wrong Crowd
“In school, kids are always trying to fit in with the crowd. Everyone goes through that and feels peer pressure from that. I know I did when I was growing up. I definitely wanted to hang out with the...
View ArticleHelping a Boomerang Child
Let me share a desperate e-mail I once received from a father who was struggling with his 25-year old stepson, who was still living at home. Here’s what he wrote: “I have asked my stepson to leave our...
View ArticleThe Honest Truth About Teen Dishonesty
Always tell the truth. If you can’t always tell the truth, don’t lie. –Author Unknown Have you ever told a little white lie? Ever crossed your fingers behind your back when you did it? One of the...
View ArticleLetting Consequences Teach Maturity
“Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences.” – Robert Louis Stevenson What’s that famous line parents, coaches, and teachers use ad naseum? Practice makes perfect. Though it...
View ArticleHelping Our Kids Spread Their Wings
“There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.” ~ Hodding Carter, Jr. When a kid hasn’t studied or prepared for a test, it’s pretty obvious. One science...
View ArticleWhat’s the Difference Between a Stubborn Horse and a Willful Teen?
Have you ever had a child balk at your ideas or run from your suggestions, even when you know life could be better if they followed your advice? Do you have a teen that would rather do it “their way”...
View ArticleAddicted to Video Games
More than 2.5 billion video games have been sold worldwide and the industry is growing exponentially. In fact, video game sales now surpass sales of both music and movies. For millions of kids and...
View ArticleBuilding Secure Fences
On our sprawling Heartlight Texas campus, we have a number of beautiful horses. It’s amazing to see the teens in our program connect with these animals in meaningful ways. Even a so-called “bad” kid...
View ArticleHope For Battle-Weary Parents
On October 29, 1941, Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited his old alma mater, The Harrow School for Boys, to address to the student body. The United Kingdom was in the throes of World War II, and...
View ArticleGetting Teens to Grow Up
Remember Alice in Wonderland? There’s one part of the story that finds a diminutive Alice trapped in a room where everything is bigger and taller than she is. But there, at her feet, she finds a...
View ArticlePicking Up the Pieces of Broken Trust
I remember the day my dad brought home that shiny new motorcycle. My brother and I couldn’t wait to hop on that hog and careen down the streets of our town. But wisely, our father put the motorcycle...
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