Lifeway Kids' Conference

Last week, we were honored to be asked to speak at the Lifeway Kids' Conference--a conference for ministers from across the country. We wanted to share a little of our experience with you---okay, the picture isn't really from the conference. It's from the pre-conference conference we held ourselves with Mickey! You just can't go to Orlando without seeing him--and Mary Poppins! But the conference was an amazing experience, as well--we met lots of kind, interesting people from all over...(including Mickey:).

Raising Kids of Character

What do you want the most for your child?
A successful job? Confidence?
A marriage that lasts? Happiness?
We would guess that you want all of these things and so much more.
We would also guess that you know, as well as we do, how fleeting these things truly can be...

So, what can you offer a child? What can you build into your son’s life that will carry him through the joyful and the difficult times of marriage? What can you build into your daughter that will shore her up for a life that will contain its share of happiness and sorrow? What can you give each of them that will strengthen them in ways that are deeper and more lasting than their circumstances or feelings?
We believe the answer is character.

As counselors with over sixty-five years of combined experience, we believe that character is one of the most important and most difficult things to instill in the life of a child. We want to help. In this seminar, our hope is to offer you hope as you parent your child. We’d love for you to join us for a day to reflect on what it means to develop strength...tenderness...compassion...wisdom...and much more in the life of your child. No matter what his or her age, we want to offer you insight into how to help your son or daughter become all that God has created him or her to be.

We'd love for you to join us to talk about what it looks like to Raise Kids of Character.
Wednesday, October 29th, 7:00-9:00pm, Battle Ground Academy
Contact Charlotte Scholl at 794-3501 for more information.

The Secret Life of Bees

NOW PLAYING!
Never having plugged a movie before on our blog--and we've actually not even seen this one yet, because it's just come out today. BUT this book is one of our very favorites of the last few years. We're really excited to see this movie and think it's one that you might enjoy as well. A Trevathan and Goff two thumbs up!

A Humbling Reminder

Two pictures in one day.
One--I was speaking with a freshman in college who is terribly distressed over a friendship. She and her best--and oldest friend--went to separate colleges. This young woman (Allison, we'll call her) is doing well--enjoying her studies, making friends, feeling connected. Her friend, however, is not. School is harder than she thought it would be. She can't find friends who are similar. Everything feels off--and a little lonesome. Allison tries to be aware of this when she talks to her friend. But it's not working. Every conversation gets more and more tense. Last week, her friend got really angry with Allison for finding new ones. My wise and non-judgmental thought was, "She's acting like a seventh grader..."
Then I remembered...
Two-I was at a football game this weekend. A precious young woman involved in Daystar was crowned homecoming queen of her school. This young woman suffered a terribly tragedy in the death of a sibling last year. Her family drove and flew in for the occasion. And I have NEVER seen anyone as excited as this young woman's cousin--her cousin who is also in high school and was not nominated for homecoming court at her school. But it didn't matter. She jumped and cheered and cried and clapped for a solid 15 minutes.
Melissa and I were talking recently with a group of high school girls about how much easier it is to weep with those who weep than rejoice with those who rejoice. I sure know those moments of un-rejoicing in my own life. Oh, how I pray that I--that we all could live out the Gospel in the way of this beautiful high school girl. It's a good thing, as Melissa says, to remember.

Munchkinland--an excerpt from Mirrors and Maps (for 11-14 year-old girls)

You've probably seen--or at least heard of--The Wizard of Oz. So you know the deal: Dorothy, a girl about your age, is trying to escape a tornado and a crazy, witchy woman who wants to take her cute little dog, Toto. She runs into her room to hide and gets hit on the head and knocked out. When she wakes up, she opens the door to walk outside and finds the world has changed. Everything on her aunt and uncle's farm had been dreary, gray, and dusty. But the world she enters is sunny and bright--almost too bright. Munchkins are coming out of enormous flowers, and a beautiful witch is floating down from the sky in a pink bubble.

As you can imagine, Dorothy is a little thrown. She turns to her dog and says, "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." And she's right.

These years of your life are a lot like Dorothy's waking up in Munchkinland...