By Melanie Rainer
Goodness can be tricky to explain to kids because it’s one thing to be “good” and it’s another thing to have a spirit of goodness. Acting “good” flows out of the spirit of goodness, which is a fruit of the Spirit outlined in Galatians 5:22. Goodness is the rightly-ordered motivation behind our desire to act […]
By Jessica Wolstenholm
We’re raising Christian kids in a world that points to all kinds of different role models for boys, some of which are good, some not so good. If you asked most little boys in our world today who their heroes are, you would probably hear a lot about athletes or entertainers. Or maybe even superheroes. […]
By Editorial Team
The way things are going these days, it’s no wonder kids have a hard time with the concept of faithfulness. Our culture supports the pursuit of the immediate and trendy, conditioning the hearts and minds of this generation to move from thing to thing and person to person without much thought. Kids are encouraged to […]
By Editorial Team
A few years ago as I was asking God to show me how to teach my kids to be kind, I heard him say, Raise kids who are so aware of others, so confident in their own skin and so thankful for their blessings they can’t help but be kind. And ever since, this has […]
By Editorial Team
In the past three years, my husband and I have both lost our moms. Walking through illness and asking God for healing that we know He may or may not bring is hard with children who are watching and learning about faith. The beauty of childlike faith is that in their innocence they find it […]
By Melanie Rainer
Integrity can be a tricky topic to teach kids! It’s something we all desire to pass on to them, but it’s not as clear-cut as explaining, say, honesty or kindness. In fact, Dictionary.com defines it as “adherence to moral or ethical principles” … which as Christians, we would define as Biblical principles. Integrity involves consistency […]
By Melanie Rainer
Respect … R-E-S-P-E-C-T! It’s one of the most foundational and important lessons we can teach our kids about interacting with other people. From respecting elders to respecting people with different backgrounds to respecting other kids’ wishes, the need for respect is everywhere. The Bible is full of stories about showing respect. Check out 3 Bible […]
By Melanie Rainer
Teamwork! It’s not just for the soccer field … in fact, most of us engage in teamwork every day of the week. From working as team to clean your house, to partnering with your spouse to get everyone out the door on time in the morning, to participating in school or work projects, teams are […]
By Melanie Rainer
“Be a good sport!” … How many times did I heart that phrase growing up? And I didn’t even play competitive sports! Yet, good sportsmanship is a quality that many parents and teachers want to cultivate in kids. Sportsmanship is more than being a “good sport” on the football field or gymnastics arena – it’s […]
By Melanie Rainer
Honesty seems like a pretty literal issue to teach to kids – something is usually either a lie, or not a lie (at least when dealing with the under-10 set). It’s not a murky issue in the Bible either, which is full of stories of people being killed on the spot for lying (Ananias and […]