Transforming the NEXT GENERATION

Prior to joining the staff of FamilyLife we were on staff at a church as associate/youth pastors for 9 years. It was there that we saw first-hand the effects that stress in the home can have on today’s young generation. We ministered to kids who came from single parent homes, divorced homes, and teens with a parent in prison. We could see how God was working in these young people’s lives for the hour or so per week when they attended the youth ministry. But we also knew the chaos that was waiting for them the rest of the week when they returned home. We began to feel like the most lasting change could only happen when the whole family was wholeheartedly following Christ.

“We believe that the family is the most untapped resource for the spread of the gospel!”

Then in 2008, Deborah and I attended a FamilyLife marriage getaway. It was there that we heard about FamilyLife’s missions “to effectively develop godly marriages and families who change the world one home at a time.” And we heard about all the different ways they were reaching out to fulfill their vision that “every home [be] a godly home.” We were hooked. This seemed to be exactly where God was leading us to make a larger impact. 

Our calling to join FamilyLife has always been about transforming the next generation.

So why are we more excited now to be a part of FamilyLife than ever before?

Because we believe that the family is the most untapped resource for the spread of the gospel! And at FamilyLife we're now looking to take our timeless, biblical truths and repackage them for a new generation. 

Our work on the Digital Team has us right in the middle of the action to "become all things to all people, that by all means we might save some." (1 Cor. 9:22 ESV) As FamilyLife's resident videographer, I (Abe) am excited to use my gifts and talents to reach a generation that consumes information visually more now than ever before.

The video above describes video consumption in terms of marketing. We want to use the medium people already use to introduce them to the God who can transform their marriage, their family, and their lives.

There is a generation of couples, teenagers, and kids who are separated from Christ. We’re excited to partner with Jesus who is able to rescue those lost kids, restore any troubled marriage, and redeem every broken family!

We invite you to join with us in this fight for families.

FamilyLife's Art of Parenting

If you think parenting is easy…you’re doing it wrong. That’s not to say that there aren’t moments of joy, laughter, and fun cuddles. But from the moment your child comes into the world a little part of your heart is walking around outside your body. And it is exhausting trying to keep them safe, to mold and shape their character, and to guide them in their journey to adulthood.

In the younger years, you try to minimize the boo-boos, the cuts and scrapes that your child can get into physically. But, as they grow, they start to experience pains that can’t be covered by a band-aid. When they were young you were their hero, but around the teen years you suddenly realize you’re not as “cool” in their eyes as you once thought you were.

While there a million choices parents make today…cloth or disposable diapers? Homeschool or public school? What is the right bedtime for a toddler? How much time on screens should I allow them? What’s the right age to give them their own cell phone? Do I make them eat Aunt Susie’s green bean casserole?…yet, the Bible doesn’t have specific answers for all of those questions. 

But the Bible does provide guiding principles that will make a parents job much easier through the years. That’s what FamilyLife’s Art of Parenting is all about. We’ve gathered some of the best experts from around the country to give us the big picture of what our role as parents is all about. I don’t know about you, but I know that in the midst of the day to day parenting chaos we call life we need to be reminded of the big picture.

Both Deborah and I have had a significant role in the Art of Parenting Online launch. Deborah was selected to be one of the two online hosts who will guide participants through the video series. And Abe has worked behind the scenes with filming some of the online bonus content, and then also editing the series into it’s online incarnation. We are so excited for parents to finally get experience it on May 1st.

---

Just Dance Challenge - Wednesday Twins Day

It's another Wednesday Twins Day. This week our girls do the Just Dance Challenge. Rachel made up the game, and their's a super gross milkshake the loser has to drink. Be sure to be watching for the behind the scenes video later.

Then this Behind the Scenes video is one of my favorites.

On the last episode of Partyof8, the twins had performed a Just Dance Challenge for Wednesday Twins Day. Now we take a Behind the Scenes (BTS) look at that mystery drink Rachel concocted to make the loser drink. REMEMBERING HIS WORD: Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.

---

Welcome to the PartyOf8!

You found us, welcome to the PartyOf8. So who are we? We're a family that loves God, loves people, and loves having fun together.

Subscribe to our channel on YouTube.

---

We're coming to Washington!

Deb and I (and the whole family) will be coming to Washington between April 30th and May 22nd. 

We want to watch the movie with you, hear your reactions, give a personal update on our ministry, and invite more people to join in on what God is doing. 

We’ll be at Regal Cinemas at the Columbia Mall in Kennewick, WA to view the film on both May 1st and 3rd. Next month we’ll send out details about hosting a dinner gathering before the movie. 

But buy your tickets now before they're sold out!

---

FamilyLife's Biggest Content Launch In Our 42 Year History

---

Do you remember the first time you held a baby? So small and fragile, so cute and cuddly. And if it was your own child perhaps you tried to soak up the moment so that it would be seared in your memory. You tried to imagine what they would be like as they grew from the babe you are now holding into a toddler, then the elementary years, then the teen years, and finally a young adult. 

As Deb and I have seen our girls become young ladies we can confirm that indeed, “the days are long, but the years are short”. Anna will turn 18 in just six short months from now. 

With that in mind, FamilyLife is launching the biggest content launch in our 42 year history. FamilyLife’s Art of Parenting™ is a video curriculum that can be done individually or as a couple online, or with others in a small group format and it launches on May 1st. And the first step of the launch is FamilyLife’s first full-length feature film, Like Arrows. (I’ll share more about Art of Parenting in a future post.)

Like Arrows will be available in theaters only on May 1st and 3rd. The movie tells the story of one couple’s raw parenting journey from before marriage all the way through their 50th anniversary. 

It’s being shown in 900+ theaters across the country, so there’s probably one near you. But based on preliminary response, we expect many theaters to sell out.  So invite another couple to join you and get your tickets today.

After previewing the movie, one father commented, “I thought I was doing a pretty good job as a father, but I realize now that it’s not enough just to have peace in the house.  I need to start thinking bigger.  This movie has inspired me to get more involved with my kids.  They grow up too fast.”

They grow up fast indeed, and that’s why we are so thankful for your partnership that allows us to be part of this important launch.

Together we’re transforming generations!

---

Is there really hope for every marriage?

Sometimes at FamilyLife we receive requests for help and in our flesh  we’ll wonder, “Is there really hope for this marriage?” Consider one wife who contacted FamilyLife with this email:

"I am unsure if you can help with this question but my husband and I have been married for just over a year and have some very serious issues. These issues showed up before marriage but, of course, have only seemed to get worse. 

I grew up in a verbally and physically abusive household and so did he. I can be very harsh with my tongue and say things that my husband doesn't like by saying he doesn't make enough money or cursing at him. 

He tells me to stop it and if I don't he becomes very aggressive and will block me leaving the room, push me, spit in my face, grab me by the hair, and start calling me names and telling me how I need to respect him.

I am definitely not innocent and am trying to work on taming my tongue but am very concerned about my husband being physically aggressive as he seems to not be able to control himself in these moments. I am also concerned as we have an infant son who I am scared will learn that this is normal behavior. Any advice on what we should do to resolve these issues would be greatly appreciated." 

It would easy to simply shrug our shoulders, shake our heads, and give a trite answer like, “We’ll be praying for you”, but in our hearts not really believing anything will change. 

But praise be to God who is still in the business of changing hearts and rescuing souls! He is still “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us…” (Eph 3:20, ESV)

One of FamilyLife’s ministry advisors responded to the wife who wrote in. And although we don’t yet know the rest of her story, we do know that God has transformed marriages like hers in the past, and by faith we know He is able to do it again.