Family Ministry

A blogger and homeschooling mom of three, Jessica Smartt shares her family’s journey out of monotony, distraction, and busyness to a life of making lasting memories and how families can take those memories, together with old and new traditions, to breathe life into their homes.

We all need more energy, the vitality that helps us stay motivated, focused and productive in life. We know we receive energy from good nutrition, along with working out, adequate sleep and maintaining positivity. But there is another major source for the energy we need: having the right kinds of relationships with others. Not the ones that drain us, but the ones that refuel us.

Dennis and Barbara Rainey have spent decades helping families find biblical help to strengthen and transform family relationships. In this audiobook, Dennis and Barbara offer trusted advice on how to establish Christian values in your home.

Best-selling author Larry Crabb cuts to the heart of the biblical view of marriage: the "one-flesh" relationship. He argues convincingly that the deepest needs of human personality - security and significance - ultimately cannot be satisfied by a marriage partner. We need to turn to the Lord, rather than our spouse, to satisfy our needs.

Kingdom Parenting provides answers to burning questions both teens and parents have in facing the unique challenges of being a parent or teen today. This book examines the changing times, changing family structure, and provides solutions to both parents and teens on how to effectively relate with each other though the current atmosphere of confusion.

Many parents struggle in raising their teens because they fail to transition from seeing them as children to seeing them as adults-in-training. Progressively giving teens more control over their lives reduces stress and prepares your teen for maturity as an adult. In Feeding the Mouth that Bites You, Dr. Ken Wilgus outlines a clear path to help parent teens in today’s world. Engaging, accessible, and based on Dr. Wilgus’ thirty-five years of clinical family work, teaching on parenting―and successfully raising three teens of his own―you’ll find this guide immensely practical.

Scripture is filled with examples of men and women whom God used late in life, often with great impact—Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elizabeth, and Anna, to name a few. They were ordinary men and women who discovered that the latter years of life can be some of the most rewarding and fulfilling. “For them, growing older wasn’t something to be denied or dreaded;” says Billy Graham, “it was to be embraced as part of God’s plan for their lives.” Billy Graham’s life and ministry have been dedicated to the here and now but always with a happy-ever-after in view.

Adolescence now lasts longer than ever before. And as world-renowned expert on adolescent psychology Dr. Laurence Steinberg argues, this makes these years the key period in determining individuals’ life outcomes, demanding that we change the way we parent, educate, and understand young people.

From successful parents, learn how to train up your children rather than discipline them. With humor and real-life examples, this book shows you how to train your children before the need to discipline arises. Be done with corrective discipline; make them allies rather than adversaries. The stress will be gone, and your obedient children will praise you and bring joy and peace into your home.

No matter our age, God intended for us to feel loved and have a deep inner knowledge of who we are and where we are headed in life. Many of us will never truly fulfill our God-given identity and destiny until we rediscover...the ancient paths.

If you choose to stay in your marriage, you have options other than punishing, tolerating, or ignoring your spouse; extraordinary growth awaits a woman willing to deal with the pain of her husband's struggles with sexual purity. Even if your spouse will not participate in a program for healing, you can change your own life in powerful and permanent ways. Shattered Vows is inspired by Debra Laaser's own journey through betrayal, her extensive work with hundreds of hurting women as a licensed marriage and family therapist, and her healed marriage after her husband's infidelity.

Indeed, life’s journey is a fascinating one! Each chapter brings its own set of adventures, challenges, and beautiful moments. As you turn the page to Chapter 65, here is a heartfelt wish for you of All Things Made New: "May this chapter be filled with: Health: Like a well-written plot twist, may you enjoy good health and vitality. Wisdom: May you continue to learn, grow, and gain insights from every experience. Connections: May your relationships deepen and flourish, creating a rich tapestry of memories. Joy: May laughter and joy be the ink that colors the pages of this chapter. ...

"It sounded at first like something out of an old horror movie. I thought maybe someone was just playing around, but then I heard it again and again, a loud piercing cry, and less like Hollywood every time. The windows were down in my police cruiser on that warm fall day, but I still couldn’t tell where the sounds came from. I began looking around for the unlikely sight of someone being disemboweled in a mall parking lot on a Saturday afternoon. Seeing nothing, and still hearing the screams, I called in a “disturbance”.... Around the next corner I found the source of the commotion.

A poetic portrait of faith, futility, and the joy of this mortal life. In this astoundingly unique audiobook, best-selling author N. D. Wilson reminds each of us that to truly live, we must recognize that we are dying. Every second we create more of our past. Then, we must see the future. We stand in the now. God says create. Live. Choose. Shape the past. Etch your life in stone, and what you make will be forever.

Tony Gaskins has inspired others by sharing his truth - drawing millions of followers online and making him one of America’s foremost experts on love and relationships. Now, he and his wife explore a woman’s positive impact on a relationship in this practical and accessible guide that walks you through a series of irreplaceable lessons on making personal changes that foster healthy relationships.

You are being hunted. Like a seasoned angler, our enemy opens his tackle box and selects the lure most likely to attract his intended prey - usually the one you and I are least likely to consider harmful. Each lie we bite on causes us to feel pain, lose or injure relationships, and miss out on the abundant life God wants us to have. Lies Men Believe exposes the lies men most commonly believe and shows you how to combat those lies with the truth.

Pastor Scott Kedersha has worked with more than 5,000 premarital couples to prepare them for the biggest decision of their lives. In Ready or Knot?, he offers practical and Christ-centered guidance for couples for all of the days after the wedding day.

Do you realize that the God of the universe speaks your love language, and your expressions of love for Him are shaped by your love language? Learn how you can give and receive God's love through the five love languages: words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Gary writes, "As we respond to the love of God and begin to identify the variety of languages He uses to speak to us, we soon learn to speak those languages ourselves.

Your household is not just a shelter from a war zone; it is the command center from where you launch your attacks. It's this vision of the world with the Christian family at the heart that modern parents desperately need to recover.

The notion that some might have it better than others, for no good reason, offends our sensibilities. Yet, until we talk about privilege, we’ll never fully understand it or find our way forward. Amy Julia Becker welcomes us into her life, from the charm of her privileged southern childhood to her adult experience in the Northeast, and the denials she has faced as the mother of a child with special needs. She tells us how a life behind a white picket fence can restrict even as it protects and how it can prevent us from loving our neighbors well.