Even though God has not fulfilled my longtime desire to have children, he has filled my life with so many other gifts that my greatest struggle has been to be a faithful steward of so much abundance.

Young children exposed to religion had a more difficult time distinguishing fact from fiction than their less-religious counterparts, according to a study in the July issue of Cognitive Science. This was true even when it came to distinguishing nonreligious fiction vs. true stories such as that of Snow White vs. George Washington. In essence, exposure to religion makes children more likely to believe in fictional stories. But is this bad?

There seems to be a tendency with the home school/family worship/children in worship emphasis that can turn a good thing--the family--upon its head. If we aren’t careful, instead of encouraging worshipping families, we become family worshippers. The following are possible signs that we have begun worshipping the family rather than encouraging our family to be worshippers:

I’m frequently asked questions that revolve around parenting 12–18 year olds, so I’ll throw out a series of what I think could be called Best Practices for Parenting Teenagers. I’m not sure how many there will be, but so far there’s one. One thing Andy and I discovered while parenting teenagers was the “Constant Conversation” approach. As our kids transitioned into their teenage years, we transitioned our parenting style as well. We replaced several hard and fast rules with constant conversations.

Often, the most closely held habits in life begin in the home. Make reading one of those habits you foster, regardless of your schooling choice. We don’t have to homeschool to read aloud with our family. Building kids who are readers actually starts right from the time they are old enough to sit in your lap with a chubby board book for a few minutes.

At some point during the day, you’ll find me leaning against the rail of my back porch and staring into the woods. Alone. I love my family, and I look forward to twirling my daughters around the living room or spending uninterrupted time talking with my wife. But I also need the stillness. I’m “on” at work, “on” at church, and “on” when I first get home. At some point, though, my introversion pops up and asks for a moment to not be on for a few minutes. Thankfully, I have a family who understands.

One of the struggles many Christian parents confront is the news that their child is dating someone who is not a Christian. It can be a terribly stressful time for the entire family when this happens. Our reaction may be anger, self-recrimination, despair or all three. None of those reactions will help us handle the situation in a godly way. I have been on both sides of this matter; I was the unbelieving girl who dated someone's son, and I've been the mother of a child who dated an unbeliever.

Becoming a teenager can be a scary prospect (for both child and parent) and this often mutes both parent and child from obvious changes taking place. Yet, we want it to be something we all would celebrate. We also want to communicate the responsibilities that come with this different life stage as well as some of the developmental aspects of it.

Your own disobedience in the past will not ultimately keep your child from becoming a believer. It is pointless to berate yourself for any wrong behavior on your part as if it were the reason your child is without Christ. This doesn’t mean that we as parents should not repent and do better, and even admit wrong to our children. But the reason your child is without Christ is ultimately related to his or her own sin.

Thanks to science, nearly every aspect of your future child can be controlled—that is, if you have the money. Will healthy children soon be a marker of wealth?