rebelling against low expectations
Technology isn’t the problem. Overload is the problem. Modern families have a complicated relationship with technology. On the one hand, we love technology. It improves our lives, helps us stay connected with people we care about, and is increasingly necessary for daily living. On the other hand, we worry about technology. We worry that our children are wasting time. We worry that they are...
I am well aware that some parents feel they have “done everything right” and still their children are not turning out as they had hoped. After years of Christian schooling, or even home schooling, their kids are still struggling like the rest. A few kids have even renounced their faith and gone off into the world. Does this mean that it doesn’t matter what parents do? That...
Parents are generally surprised when I tell them that most young people today (including their own children) are not being challenged. The surprise stems from the fact that their kids are constantly busy. They have loads of homework and tons of extra-curricular activities. How could they not be challenged? But the fact is, having a lot to do is not the same as being stretched and stimulated by...
In my first post of this series I began by pointing out that what most people refer to this as “time management” is in fact “self-management.” It is a matter of making ourselves do what is wise, rather than what is foolish, with what Paul calls our discretionary, or opportunity, time (i.e. our kairos). I want to return to that idea now to make the point that effective “self...
Everyone who intends to do hard things has at least one thing in common. That is, the need to make the most of their time. Most people refer to this as “time management.” But that is not really what it is. It’s actually self-management. When God stopped the sun in the midddle of the sky so that Joshua could finish his battle with the Amorites (see Joshua 10:13), that was time management! We...
We see their pictures in the appeals for help on television and in the magazines. Starving children and sullen, miserable teenagers, living without families in slums and refugee camps around the world. Their suffering breaks our hearts and opens our wallets to offer help. They are the orphans of the world. They have no parents. It’s so very sad. They have no one to provide food and shelter...
Years ago I had the privilege of preaching at Covenant Life Church where my son, Joshua Harris, serves as senior pastor. The message was entitled Don’t Waste Your Kids, based on Psalm 127 (my wife and my “life verse”. Like everything I do now, it is intended to be listened to by teens and their parents at the same time. The reason for my insistence is simple. Kids are better kids when adults are...
Two questions we’ve been asked ever since Alex & Brett wrote Do Hard Things are, What role does the family play in doing hard things? and How do families do hard things together? As Alex & Brett’s father, I had opportunity to answer these questions in a message I presented to Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN where Dr. John Piper has served as pastor. The message is still...
At one of our Do Hard Things conferences in Dallas I made the following challenge to the parents in attendance. Alex & Brett thought is was good enough that they decided to share it with everyone here on the blog as well. Read it together as a family if you can and let us know what you think. It’s an encouragement from one parent to another. Parents, the first thing I want to tell you this...
rebelling against low expectations
