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4/30/2018 April 30, 2018
 DO THIS // BED TIME Share what you think it means to “think twice.” Talk about a situation in which you know the other person is likely to act too quickly before thinking about it. It might be how they respond when taking turns, or how a parent handles waiting in line. What would it look like to “think twice?" Pray that God will help you to “think twice” any time you’re tempted to be impatient this week.
 THE SECRET OF SUPERMAN By Reggie Joiner When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Superman. I still remember the day my parents handed me a box from Sears and Roebuck that contained a red cape, blue tights with a red-and-yellow “S” shield on the chest. When I put it on, something magical happened. It transformed me from a shy six-year-old to a superhero with unique powers. I would become more powerful than my dad’s parked car. I could leap tall fences with a single bound. I was faster than our speeding fox terrier. It’s intriguing that while nations were drawn into a world war that would threaten their existence, a fictional story of a superhero would entertain the imagination of a generation to suggest that good will somehow always prevail. I guess you should just never underestimate the power of a good story. The point is the stories you tell to your kids every week really matter. The right story can inspire, incite faith, and give hope. If you want to change the way kids see the world, then make sure you give them stories over time. CONTINUE READING ON THE PARENT CUE BLOG  4/23/2018 April 23, 2018
 DO THIS // BED TIME At the heart of Easter is Jesus, God’s Son, who lived on Earth and then chose to give up His life in our place. Because Jesus is alive, it means that everything He said is true. If you’ve made a choice to follow Jesus, pray together and thank God for giving you new life with Him. If you’re still not sure, pray and ask that God would show you the truth of Easter and who Jesus is.
 HOW TO INVITE OTHERS TO INVEST IN THE LIVES OF YOUR KIDS By Nina Schmigdall Parenting is a tough, that’s why you should never try to do it alone. That’s why it’s important to Widen the Circle for your kids. Widening the Circle means pursuing strategic relationships with your kids, finding people who will say the same things you are saying, and who will offer another layer of support. But how do you do it? How do you invite others in? You have to be intentional, and sometimes you have to face the awkward and get outside your comfort zone. Here are few ways you can start today! 1. Make the invitation! Invite a college student over to have dinner with your family. Compliment the grandmother who brought her famous recipe to the pot-luck and invite her to come teach your daughter (or son) to make it. When planning your child’s birthday party, ask a couple of tees to come and help run games. Just start somewhere and see what happens! . . . CONTINUE READING ON THE PARENT CUE BLOG  4/16/2018 April 16, 2018
 DO THIS // DRIVE TIME Plan a fun night as a family for the end of the month. When you are in the car, talk through the details of what you want to do. Challenge them to only talk about it while in the car and if they can be patient and wait well, the more fun you will plan for them. Remind them that this is an example of something that is worth the wait!
 FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT By Melissa Thorson I’ve heard before that when feeling insecure in a new job you just have to “fake it till you make it.” But I seem to have mixed luck with my attempts—especially in my role as a parent. Mostly, I just end up exhausted when I allow insincerity to take over. The faking that comes with this role of being a parent can be entirely exhausting. What I’m experiencing as the biggest relief from the faking-it exhaustion is when I am vulnerable with other parents. When we open up to others about what is really happening . . . We learn we are not alone—we are all fakers to some extent. We find encouragement from an outsider’s perspective. We can learn ways to improve. Maybe they’ve found something that work better. We can discover our own strengths and share what has worked for us. Are you exhausted from faking it? . . . CONTINUE READING ON THE PARENT CUE BLOG  4/9/2018 April 9, 2018
 DO THIS // MEAL TIME Q & A for kids: What part of your Easter celebration do you find hardest to wait for? Q & A for parents: What Easter traditions did your family have when you were a child?
 YOU ARE NOT DISQUALIFIED By Carey Nieuwhof No new parent begins by saying, “I hope I mess up my child’s life.” Who ever sets out to be the villain in the story? But at one point or another, we end up there, don’t we? You leave for vacation but are yelling at the kids before you’re even out of town. You’re home most nights, but you’re far too tired to engage. Your date night ends in an argument. You make empty threats to your kids that would make you wince if you heard other parents make them. But you are all out of tricks, so you threaten anyway. Sometimes the temptation is to think that our failures should disqualify us as a parent. At least as a good parent. But when you think like that, you are wrong. What if the very thing you think is disqualifying you right now is actually qualifying you for a new chapter in your life in Christ? What if your weakness was a portal to new strength? . . . CONTINUE READING ON THE PARENT CUE BLOG  4/2/2018 April 2, 2018
 DO THIS // MORNING TIME Put a special treat inside of an Easter egg and place it in the kitchen for your child to see. Give them the option of being able to have the treat now OR if they wait until the end of the day, there may be more eggs with more treats. Give them a hint that this is a game to practice patience.
 EASTER SUNDAY By Sarah Anderson IT’S EASTER!!!!! JESUS IS ALIVE!!!!!!! Easter reminds us that something good can always come out of something bad. See, Jesus told us life would be hard. That bad things would happen. That things that don’t make any sense would confuse us and make us wonder about God and if He is really as good as we want Him to be. We can count on life being difficult. But Easter is all about something being truer than life just being hard. Easter is about something new and something good happening in something old and something bad. As parents, it can be really easy to get discouraged in a tough season with our kids. It can feel like it never ends and things will never get better. But Easter is the reminder that no season lasts forever and that you can hang on because the story will get better. It’s like a new flower poking through the dirt after a long and cold winter. It’s like a new baby smiling at his mama and daddy after a long night of crying and no sleep. It’s like the first day of summer vacation after a long year of getting up early for school. That’s Easter. (Except about a million times better!) The moment something really good arrives after something really hard. When life conquers death!  |
