Family Archives | The Sparrow's Home

Let your geek flag fly. Dragon Con for families.

September 10, 2018 by Susan

How many places can you see Thanos, the Dread Pirate Roberts, Tinker Bell and zombies all at once? Not many, I’ll tell you that.

Something called Dragon Con is not something that would garner my attention normally. Even though I live with three guys who are into games with lots of orcs, wizards and superheroes, and we watch movies with…well, lots of orcs, wizards and superheroes….I can handle only so much of the nerd-dom.

I’ve known about Dragon Con for a long time. Some of the organizers are friends of ours and Greg went a couple of times when we lived in Atlanta. Still, not something I ever thought I’d be interested in attending myself. I mean, a sci-fi convention is a bit much for me. Little did I know…

So you made a decision to change your life at summer church camp…what next?

August 13, 2018 by Susan

photo credit: Kathryn Fletcher

You went to the classes. Listened to the messages. Sang the songs. And somewhere in the midst of it all, God reached in and tweaked something inside you. You heard Him.

Maybe it was like a lightning bolt to your heart. Maybe it was a tiny seed that He planted and is barely beginning to sprout. It could be a cloudy something that has been in your mind for months, only now it is crystal clear.

Conviction of sin. A call to ministry. Light for the next step. Purpose.

Whatever it is, He spoke and you listened.

Food for Thought #38

July 16, 2018 by Susan

Parenting is one of those topics that you just can’t read enough about. Not that you’re usually seeing new or revolutionary information. But the nature of humanity is to forget. Reminders about parenting priorities, methods, ideas and practices are important…I’d even say necessary…in making us the best parents we can be. I’ve especially had parenting on the brain as I recently read a fantastic book on Christian parenting, and used it to teach a couple of workshops. One of the things I have enjoyed the most is hearing parents speaking into each others’ lives in the course of our discussions.

Here’s what I’ve been reading…

Parents, we may miss the mark sometimes, but we should at least know where the target is.

July 9, 2018 by Susan

Are you worried that you’ll do everything you can raising your kids in the faith and yet when they’re an adult they’ll walk away from it?

There’s no more important mission field we face than raising our children to adore God. You could be a hero of the faith, but that’s meaningless if you neglect to parent well. No pressure, right.

What’s the secret to family trips with more learning, more memories?

June 18, 2018 by Susan

Summer is often the time when families hit the road. Whether it’s a vacation, visiting family, or heading off to camps and conferences… we are on the move.

The first really long road trip we made as a family was from Minnesota to Louisiana for a wedding when the boys were just about 2 and 3 years old. This was before ipads and other devices so we did what we could: We wedged a tiny TV between the front two seats and made a 6 hour video tape of Dora the Explorer and Bob the Builder episodes to entertain the troops.

Before you say, “What were you thinking…6 hours of Dora?!” We weren’t totally crazy, we also brought The Wiggles videos.

Oh, wait. Nevermind.

As kids get older, though, there is so much that you can do to make family trips more enjoyable, more memory-filled, and more intentionally filled with learning.

Adding the words “kid friendly” to your kale chips recipe isn’t fooling anyone

May 7, 2018 by Susan

Do you have picky eaters?

If so then you, like me, are skeptical of lists that claim to be “kid friendly”. It’s especially offensive to click a link promising “10 recipes your picky eaters will devour” only to find it full of recipes with ingredients many adults I know wouldn’t even eat.

Chickpeas, really?