The last place I heard Scripture quoted was in a laundromat. “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord,” said a middle-aged woman as she folded children’s clothes. In an animated conversation with another woman, she was complaining about her ex-husband, who apparently… Read More

What was I thinking? Well, I was thinking that a beach vacation with my adult children and their families would be a fabulous idea. And it was. But despite all of our planning and attempts to be flexible, it wasn’t always fun. We tried to play it loose… Read More

She has three sons playing on three different baseball teams and she hardly seems flustered! I watched as this mom dropped her boys off at the appropriate baseball field, spoke to each of their coaches and then operated the snack bar. I thought to myself, how does she… Read More

What does the Bible say about families? We never did well with “family devotions,” and I think Dad felt guilty about that. Church leaders kept telling us that it was crucial for a Christian home to have such a regular household gathering. We agreed with the principle, but we were never… Read More

No show has ever made me laugh harder than Everybody Loves Raymond. The sitcom stars Ray Barone, a smart-aleck journalist who navigates an overbearing mother, a cranky wife and two energetic twins. In this family, Ray can do nothing right. He’s punished for every mistake, serves… Read More

While seated at the dinner table, you shoot your spouse a discouraged look and continue to push your food across your plate. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice your children texting, despite your constant pleas to make dinner a phone-free event. When you ask them to… Read More

Growing up in a Latino family, my siblings and I learned from a very early age that “family is everything.” We lived together, protected each other and stood together, no matter what. But this belief tested my family a few years ago when my younger sister made some… Read More

Life can change in an instant. One moment, you’re out to dinner with your family, sharing laughs and telling stories that never get old. And the next, you’re scrambling to manage a crisis you never saw coming. As you try to weather the storm, you feel overwhelmed by this… Read More

“Where are my keys?” my Mom asked. This was my cue. You see, I was always a bit of a rascal growing up—very well behaved at school but quite the prankster at home. As I got older, I abandoned my more complex antics and kept things sweet and simple:… Read More

Every family has quirks. The classic “my family is crazy” line can be used to describe just about every family on earth. But what happens when these quirks cause constant conflict? When drama starts at seven in the morning and doesn’t stop until sometime after midnight?… Read More