Family Friday Links 12.12.14

Here's our weekly list of things we've been reading online:

Our friend Deepak Reju wrote a post for the Gospel Coalition on identifying those who prey on children. This is a topic we will be hitting hard in January 2015. Deepak writes, "The first step in protecting our children is figuring out who is plotting evil against them." Pastors, parents, no one likes to talk about this stuff, but we must.

Greg Baird had a post on his blog entitled A Primer For Parenting. In it he explains, "It's not a magical 'formula for success' ... it's even better. It a Biblical framework that provides the most solid foundation - a primer - for successful parenting and faith development in our kids." Parents, go see what he has to say.

Craig Jutila had a post on facing fears. He writes, "... when fear has it's grip around my throat I can't quite choke out the words 'don't be afraid' because I am afraid." It doesn't matter if you're a parent or even a past, we all have fears. Craig helps us all overcome and gain victory over them.

Sam Luce had a post on gratitude. He wrote, "... gratitude recognizes that you have been given something you don’t deserve." This is one of those disciplines that needs to modeled for our kids so they catch it. Gratitude can't really be taught. Those of us who are parents or those who work with kids would do well to ready this post.

My (Pat) friend Amy Dolan had a great post on the Santa question. I'm going to spoil it (a bit) and share her conclusion, "bottom line. spend time thinking about how you want the season to be for your family." Amy give practical advice on both sides of the issue. Parents, wisdom is required here.

Thom Rainer had a (guest) post on bridging the generational gap. It reads in part, "... generations often resist one another without knowing one another." Pastors, the different generations need each other and we should be doing everything we can to encourage the destruction of the gap.

And finally,

KidzMatter and the International Network of Children's Ministry (INCM) put together a promotional video about a virtual conference they are putting on next February. For those of you like me (Pat) who have limited budget to travel to conferences, this provides an alternative. We all need to be challenged and encouraged.

What are you reading online that we may have missed? Leave a comment (and a link) for us to check out.