When I Grow Up - Part 3: Bold Risks

I'm in the middle of a series here on the blog about what we envision Timber Ridge Church to look like when we "grow up" and the plans, values, and steps we're taking now to get to that point.

You can read about the idea behind the series here.

You can read part 1 here.

You can read part 2 here.

When I think about what Timber Ridge Church will look like in the future - 5, 10, 15 years from now - there is one thing I am certain that I want to define us and that is this: We Act In Bold Faith. In fact, one of our core values is that very statement. We believe that without faith, it is impossible to please God. We also believe that the message and grace of Jesus really can change our lives, our communities, and our world. So we want to follow Him with radical, audacious faith.

Acting in bold faith is not the norm. In fact, we've created a culture in many churches and places in America where the norm is to play it safe. We want to live protected and safe lives, avoiding risks at all costs. But Jesus didn't call us to be safe. He never talked about our faith being comfortable or sheltered or free from danger. He taught quite the opposite. Jesus has called us to live out a bold, audacious faith that believes and acts in a way that shows anything is possible for our God. At Timber Ridge Church, we believe that bold faith is birthed from bold commitment and obedience. If we want to have a radical faith it is going to be directly related to our radical commitment to Jesus and His mission.

So from the very beginning we will refuse to play it safe. When God leads us to do so, we will make bold moves and take audacious risks that are doomed to fail unless He intervenes on our behalf. We want to live and lead in such a way that people see God at work simply because of the risks we're willing to take because of the faith we've placed in Him. And we want to be bold from the start, because if you're not willing to risk it all when you have nothing, you sure won't risk it all when something is established and there is something to lose.

We believe that bold faith honors God...and that God honors bold, audacious faith. So we will exhibit radical commitment and obedience to Jesus in order that we might live out bold, audacious, risk-taking faith that honors our God.

When I Grow Up - Part 2: Maturity

A few days ago I started sharing a series of posts about what we want Timber Ridge Church to look like once we "grow up." You can read about the idea here and you can read part 1 here.

Today I want to share about our core value of teaching the Bible for life transformation. At Timber Ridge Church, our desire is to teach the Bible - through our weekend services, small groups, and other avenues - in order that people's lives might be changed. That means that as a church, we will measure success by life transformation. The trend in some churches today is to measure success and growth by Bible knowledge. Some churches are consumed with how much of the Bible their people know. But the problem that creates is that in most cases this produces spiritually obese Christians who gorge themselves on knowing the Word, but don't practice it and do what it says. Don't get me wrong - I believe that people need to know God's Word. I believe God gave us the Bible as our playbook & blueprint for life. But biblical maturity is not measured by how much Bible you know. Maturity is measured by how much Bible you do. At Timber Ridge Church we want to measure our success and our growth by Bible action, not Bible knowledge.

With that core value in place, we have the desire to be a church that is strong in it's spiritual maturity. That maturity will be shown not in the number of verses we can quote or the number of Bible study classes we can schedule. Our maturity will be shown in how we practice God's Word in sharing our faith, loving our neighbors, caring for the poor, and living out the commands God gives us in His Word.

The Weekend Update

The Weekend Update is a quick, bullet-style recap of the weekend at the Burleson household. Enjoy!

• Friday was Family Day for us. We took Hayden on an adventure to the Children's Museum that is a part of the Ft. Worth Science & History museum. Cool place. It was PACKED with kids that were there for school field trips, but we still had a blast.
• Saturday we spent getting the house & yard cleaned up and prepared for Launch Team meeting on Sunday.
• Saturday evening we ate with some family at Cook's Fish Barn - a little place in Sipe Springs, TX. If you are ever in that area (Brownwood, Comanche, etc) you have got to check this place out. The food is amazing...and yes, it is a literal barn!
• Sunday morning we worshipped with the folks at Rocky Point here in the Ville.
• Sunday night we had our weekly launch team meeting. We talked about our core value of taking bold risks of faith in order to follow God. Great stuff. More on that here on the blog mid-week.

Hope your weekend was great!

When I Grow Up - Part 1: The Vision

I announced last week that I'm going to be sharing a series of posts here on the blog entitled When I Grow Up. It's all comes from a challenge I was given in a church planters training course to envision what Timber Ridge Church would be five years from now & put practices in place now to lead the church to that place. I shared the basics of the concept in an earlier post that you can read by clicking here. So today, I'm going to kick things off with The Vision.

The vision of Timber Ridge Church is very simple and succinct. Timber Ridge Church exists to move people from where they are to where God wants them to be. The vision is simple...but the vision is BIG.

We want to be a church that meets people exactly where they are in life. That means that we're willing to accept and love people just as they are - baggage, junk, and all. Loving people right where they are in life can be messy and it can get hard...because let's face it: All of us have made a mess of our lives when we've tried to do it on our own. But we're committed to meeting people and loving people right where they are - mess and all - because that's how Jesus approaches us. Jesus loves us - mess and all - and he died on the cross to convey that unconditional love to us.

And once we accept people just as they are, we refuse to leave them that way. Every single one of us - whether we've been trying to follow Jesus for years or whether we've turned our back on Jesus and tried to live life on our own for years - has not arrived. No matter where we are in life, we can all get closer to who God wants us to be. Plain and simple: None of us are there yet. In fact, we have a saying that we've started using at Timber Ridge Church already: No Perfect People Allowed. That's right - there are no perfect people allowed, because quite frankly there are no perfect people. We all have our own issues & struggles and have work to do to get closer to being who God made us to be. And we're committed to help people through that process. We're committed to walk with people as they discover who God made them to be & as they pursue the great purpose & plan God has for their life.

So Timber Ridge Church will be a place full of messy, imperfect people who accept & love others just like them - and who will stop at nothing to help others become everything God designed them to be. When I grow up...I want to love people right where they are - mess & junk and all - and help them see that, through Jesus, God has an incredible plan for their lives!

The Weekend Update

Here's the Weekend Update...just a couple days late!

• This past weekend Johanna spent Friday afternoon through Saturday early evening at Stonewater Church's IGNITE Women's Conference with a couple great friends. Hayden & I had a blast hanging out together, although several of our adventures got cancelled because he was a little under the weather. And I'm so thankful my wife got to get away for a little while & spend some time being ministered to & have people pour into her heart.
• Saturday was our 6 year anniversary as husband and wife. I simply cannot imagine my life without Johanna. She is simply amazing. She brings out the best in me and challenges me to be the best that I could possibly be in every area of life. I thank God every day for the gift He gave me when he brought Jo into my life. We celebrated by having dinner at the Buffalo Gap Steakhouse in Granbury...and is was G-O-O-D!
• Sunday morning I preached at one of our partner churches, New Hope Baptist Church, in Gorman. New Hope has been beyond generous in their support of what we are doing at Timber Ridge Church! Their generosity & help is simply unbelievable! (If you'd like more info on what we're doing in planting Timber Ridge Church or how YOU or your church can partner with us click here!)
• Sunday evening we had our weekly launch team meeting. We had a great night talking about God's heart for his lost children. And we threw down some massive amounts of pizza too!

A weekend spent with the people I love and sharing about the God I love...doesn't get much better than that!

My Best Buddy Turns Two

Two years ago today God placed an incredible, life-changing blessing in my life in the form of my son, Hayden. Today, my little buddy turns two. I cannot even believe that I just typed that sentence. To think that two years have already passed with Hayden in our lives blows me away. Time goes by so fast...and I want to cherish every second I'm given, making the most of the amazing opportunity, responsibility, and blessing that God's given me as Hayden's father. Hayden, maybe one day you'll read this...and if that ever happens, here's a letter I wrote today just for you.

Hayden,

I love you buddy. I cannot believe that two years of your life have already flown by. But I can honestly say it's been the best two years of my life. I absolutely love that God gave me the gift of raising you as a son. Over the last two years, I've taught you a few things...like how to ride your big-wheel four wheeler and how to throw and catch a ball. I've taught you how to say "frog" when you pass gas and how to say "Peace Out!" when you tell someone good-bye. I've taught you some cool hand shakes, some funny sayings, and some practical stuff that will help you in life, like how to wink at the ladies. But in the last two years, what I've taught you pales in comparison to what you've taught me. Hayden, you've taught me how to be a man. You've taught me how to live for something outside of myself - and to put you and your mom before my own self. You've taught me how to be a better person. You've taught me how to be a better husband. You've taught me how to love life more, cherish every moment, and love God with all that I am. You've taught me all these things - and so many more - simply by being you. With your own personality and in your own little way you challenge me to be a better me. I want to be a more godly man and a better pastor because I know you're watching. I want to be a better husband, because I know you're watching. I want to be a better friend, a better teacher, a better neighbor, the list goes on and on...all because I know you're watching. Son, I want you to know that I love you. There will be days when I blow it. I'm not perfect. I've messed up in the past and I'll mess up in the future. But I want you to know that it's not about being perfect. It's about giving your best. And so I promise you, as your dad, to give you my best. I'm striving, with God's help, to be the best father I can be and I promise you that I'll continue to do that. I love you buddy. Happy Birthday!

When I Grow Up

I have been super blessed to be a part of the Northwood Church Planting program over the past few months. Northwood Church in Keller, TX doesn't just talk about planting churches. They do it. They have planted literally hundreds of churches in the last few years. The wisdom & guidance that the Northwood staff has poured in to me is unbelievable.

A couple weeks ago we finished up our last weekend training session called a module. Toward the end of it we did an exercise where we acted like our church plant was 3 years old and had been wildly successful. We had to present to the group how we arrived at this point - what we did right, what we focused on, what challenges we faced, etc. Through this process, the team at Northwood challenged each of us to know what we want to be when we grow up. Basically, to know what kind of church we want to lead in the future and to take the steps necessary to begin to build that DNA into the church from day one.

Over the next couple weeks I'm going to be sharing about the values & vision of Timber Ridge Church in a series of blog post called When I Grow Up. I'll share what we dream Timber Ridge to become and give some brief, basic ideas of how we'll get there.

If you're on the Timber Ridge team, have been checking out the launch team meetings, support Timber Ridge, or are interested in what God is doing with Timber Ridge Church, check back over the next couple weeks for a good picture of some things that will be important to us as a church.

The Weekend Update

It's been a long time (think months instead of weeks) since I've posted a Weekend Update, but I thought I'd give it another try. Here's a recap of the weekend in the House of Burleson.

• My brother & sister-in-law welcomed a new baby boy into the world on Friday night, so we made a quick trip to Houston to be there to support them. It's about a 5 hour drive one way. Hayden was a champ. He complained a lot less than I did!
• Welcome to our world Lucas Wade Burleson (a.k.a. Luke). Congrats Justin & Christie. Luke is one handsome little fella...in fact, he looks a lot like his uncle. ;)
• On Saturday we made the 5 hour drive home, with a stop at Old Navy to grab some Easter clothes. I scored one pair of Old Navy premium denim jeans for $6.97 and a second pair for 97 cents!
• Saturday evening we spent cleaning house & getting ready for the Easter Cookout & Egg Hunt we hosted on Sunday evening.
• Sunday morning my family & some other Timber Ridge peeps went and served at Stonewater Church, our sponsoring church. We served in their front-line/welcome crew at the Granbury campus for the first service and then made a flying trip to the Glen Rose campus to serve in the kids ministries for the second service. Crazy, action packed morning for sure!
• Sunday evening we hosted the Timber Ridge Church Easter Cookout & Egg Hunt. We had a blast meeting people and hanging out & the kids loved the Egg Hunt. Every basket went home overflowing with Easter Eggs.

Overall, it was a pretty busy, but productive weekend!

The Little Thing

Earlier this week, we had the opportunity to take a family movie night and went to watch Rio. Johanna has been wanting to take Hayden to see it for a few weeks, so we went to the local Cinema 6 to catch the matinee. What we didn't realize is that they were only showing Rio in 3-D...which is totally cool...unless you have a 23 month old who doesn't really dig wearing glasses.

But we weren't deterred. We decided to go ahead and give it a try & bought three tickets. And Hayden absolutely loved the movie. He sat in our laps the whole time, mesmerized by the movie, and at times even interacting with it by talking to the characters or telling us what was going on. He had a blast. But here's the thing...he never wore the 3-D glasses. He watched the entire movie without the glasses. A couple of times during the movie I took my glasses off just to experience what he was experiencing. And it was just as I thought. It had that blurry, hazy look that 3-D movies have when you don't have glasses on.

That got me to thinking about my relationship with Jesus. How many times do I go through life happy and content, but in reality missing out on something so much better that God wants from me because of some little thing. You see, Hayden really did like the movie. But he missed out on how great it actually could have been because he wouldn't wear the glasses. I'm convinced that many times in life we get stuck in living good-enough lives when God wants us to experience incredible, better-than-great kinds of life. I recently read a quote from a pastor that said too many times we settle for good-enough lives while serving a more-than-enough God. And I think the reason we miss out so many times, is because of the little thing. It's not the big thing that trips us up. We may not have some great moral failure or some shortcoming that is super significant in the eyes of the world. But at times, we allow the little thing - that little act of disobedience or that small failure to ignore God's still voice - to keep us from missing out on all that God has in store for us.

I think we all need to be reminded to live life with our 3-D glasses on. Don't settle for good-enough because you have that little thing keeping you from experiencing God's best in your life. Good-enough living is ok...it's just not for people who serve a more-than-enough God.

What I Could Not Do

This past Sunday we attended StoneWater Church in Granbury, TX. StoneWater is partnering with us to launch Timber Ridge Church & we've worshipped with them a couple times in the past few weeks. The Lead Pastor, Jeremy White, continued their series "Jesus Is..." by talking about Jesus Is Sacrifice. Jeremy taught on how remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross should impact us every day that we are alive. Quite frankly, it was one of the best sermons I've ever heard on the cross & death of Jesus.

At one point in the message Jeremy talked about how Jesus not only died for us as individuals, but that he also died for the people we love. Jeremy used a cross that a friend had made him with his family name in the center as an object lesson to talk about how Jesus sacrificed on the cross not just for us, but for our families as well.

God really used this message to remind me of an important truth: Jesus did for me what I could not do myself. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross paid for my sin which I could not do. His death & resurrection gave me eternal life, which I could not earn. Through the cross, Jesus put me in right standing with God, which I could not achieve on my own.

But Jesus also did what I could not do for the ones I love the most. Jesus didn't just die for me. He died for my family. He sacrificed his life for my wife, which I love with all of my heart. Jesus gave himself for my son, whom I would do anything for. Jesus did for my family what I could not do. On the cross, Jesus paid the ransom for my wife and my son that I could never afford. He not only saved me, but through his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus saved the people I love the most.

That's a sacrifice to remember. And remembering ought to make us want to live for Him even more. I was lost & considered an enemy of God. Myself, my wife & my son were subject to God's complete wrath. But Jesus changed that on the cross. He did for me - and for the ones I love the most - what I could not do.

Jesus Is In The Trying

Every day when I get home from work I try to spend good, quality time with my son Hayden. Since moving to Stephenville, that time usually results in us playing catch or some kind of game involving some type of ball in the back yard. Yesterday was no exception.

I got home and Hayden found my basketball and took it out into the yard. He told me to "'Mon!", which combined with the proper hand waving, is his way of saying, "Come on. Follow me." We went to the back corner of the yard and he begin to shoot "bakkets" or baskets. He loves to shoot hoops on his Little Tykes basketball goal, but yesterday he was convinced that the cylinder shaped transformer box on a power pole behind our back fence was a basket. There was only one problem: It's about 25 feet in the air.

He shot and shot...and shot....and, well you get the picture. The highest he ever got the ball was about a foot above his head. And after every shot that failed to reach the "basket" he would make one, determined, repeated statement: "I twy." (Which means "I'll try again.")

And so he did. He tried and tried...and tried...and, well you get the picture. We spent about 20 minutes trying to make a basket yesterday afternoon. At one point his arms were so tired that he couldn't even get the ball above his head. So he asked me to hold it for a second, and within about 30 seconds he was ready to "twy" some more.

God used my basket shooting adventure with my son yesterday to teach me something. He taught me that Jesus is in the trying. You see, when it comes to following Jesus, we will all stumble. We will all miss the mark. There are days where I struggle and fumble and fail miserably. Some days I don't get anywhere close to the basket.

But being faithful in following Jesus isn't about making the basket every single time. It's about trying again when you miss. And trying again...and again...and, well you get the point. I don't know about you, but I don't have it all together. There are days when I blow it - as a Christ-follower, as a pastor, as a husband, a father, and a friend. But I am determined to try. Because I believe with all my heart that Jesus is in the trying.

So you've messed up? Who hasn't? So you've blown it big time? We all do. Get back up. Dust yourself off. And try again. Jesus is in the trying.

Big Time Power

I believe in the power of prayer. I have seen it's power in my own life and in the lives of others. The Bible teaches that God hears our prayers and responds to them. I think for a lot of Christians, prayer is an untapped power source. We say we believe in prayer, but no one would be able to tell it by the amount of time we spend actually praying.

Prayer is basically communicating with God. When we pray, we have the unbelievable opportunity to communicate with the author and creator of the entire world. By His very word, he spoke everything we know into existence...and he cares about what is going on in our lives enough that he wants to talk to us about it! That is incredible to me.

As we plant Timber Ridge Church, we want to be people of prayer. We believe that through prayer we can see and experience God move in amazing ways. In fact, we have a goal of having a Prayer Team of 300 people who will pray for Timber Ridge as we start this incredible new church. We have a lot of people that are a part of the team already, but I'd be honored to have YOU as a part of the prayer team as well. You can sign up for our Prayer Team, where you'll receive a monthly prayer update via email, by clicking here.

I believe God works through prayer. I believe that there is power when God's people pray. And I'd love to pray for you! If I can pray for you about something, please leave a comment or email me privately at nic [at] timberridgechurch [dot] com. I would consider it an honor to talk to God on your behalf!

Timber Ridge Church and YOU

As you may know, my family & I recently moved to Stephenville, TX to start a brand new church for people far from God in the Stephenville & Erath County area. It's called Timber Ridge Church and we're excited about what God is doing & is going to do in and through us!


Several of you have asked how YOU can be a part of what God is doing through Timber Ridge. Here are a few ways to get in on the action!

• Join the Prayer Team. We want 300 people praying for Timber Ridge Church because we believe that there is GREAT POWER in prayer. You can sign up for the prayer team, where you'll receive one email a month with prayer requests, by clicking here.


• Become a Partner. Starting a new church is hard work. And it takes lots of time and lots of money to pull it off. If you would be interested in partnering with us financially to accomplish God's vision for this new church, check out our launch site at http://www.launchtimberridge.com/ for ways to give. We're looking for individuals, families, and churches who would be willing to either give a special gift toward the launch of our church or would be willing to give a recurring, monthly amount to go toward our ministry budget needs. Every dollar given goes to seeing lives changed! And every gift is significant - no matter how large or how small.


• Share Timber Ridge. You can be a great asset to us by sharing what God is doing with Timber Ridge with your family, friends, and your church. If your church or someone you know would like to partner with us, please feel free to pass along our launch site or have someone from the church contact me at nic [at] timberridgechurch [dot] com. I'd be happy to talk with them!


• Get Involved! If you live in the Stephenville or Erath County area and are looking for a church to call home, we'd love to talk to you about being a part of the launch team for Timber Ridge. Email me at the email address above to find out more info. You can also check out our facebook page here.

We believe that GOD is going to do amazing things in and through Timber Ridge Church! And we would love for YOU to be a part of it all! Feel free to contact me with any questions about Timber Ridge Church or about other creative ways you can be a part of what God is doing!

Why I Need A Connection Group...

This week I've been working on lots of stuff related to our Connection Groups ministry here at The Connection Church. We have a Group Expo this Sunday at TCC. Basically, the expo is an opportunity for people interested in checking out a Connection Group to get more info on each of our groups and to sign up for one they might be interested in. Then, next Sunday, January 30th our new semester of Connection Groups officially kicks off!

All this Connection Group stuff has me thinking...and I thought I'd share...about how much I love my Connection Group. I absolutely love the people in my Connection Group. And I need them in my life. In fact, I think we all need a group of people we can do life with. And below are some reasons why I think that:

• I need real friendship. Never in human history have we had the opportunity for connection. With social media, the internet, and so many other forms of technology that help people connect, the opportunity for connection is everywhere. But in spite of that opportunity, many of us are as lonely as we've ever been. Sure we may have a couple hundred "friends" on Facebook, but when we evaluate our real friends in life, we feel isolated and alone. That's where my Connection Group comes in. Through a group, I have the opportunity to connect in real ways with people who can walk beside me in life.
• I need support. Each day I wake up and want to be more like Jesus than the day before. But there are days where that goal just isn't reached. There are days when I struggle and when I stumble and need someone there to help me along. That's where my Connection Group comes in. I have a group of people to do life with who are real and authentic and allow me to be real and authentic (the messiness of life and all!) and have my back when I need it most.
• I need accountability. I'll gladly be the first to admit that there are days when following Jesus is flat out HARD. There are times when being obedient to God is difficult. Those times are often the most important times to follow Him closely as well. That's where my Connection Group comes in. Because I'm in a group, I have people who are there to help me and challenge me in my walk with God. They'll pick me up when I stumble, but they'll also challenge me and push me forward when I need that accountability too.

I could easily list 50 other reasons I need and love my Connection Group. I can't imagine doing life without them! If you're not in a small group, I encourage you to take that step and get plugged in. And if you attend The Connection Church, there is no better time to get connected to a group than this Sunday at our Group Expo. We really are better together. Find out for yourself and get connected this weekend! I guarantee you'll be glad you did.

We Are Moving...

Today on the blog I am sharing some BIG NEWS about our family. It's really bittersweet news too...some of that news that's both happy and sad at the same time. We talked about it in church at The Connection Church last Sunday. In fact, you can watch the service here, with our news at the end of the service.


So here we go: We are moving. That's right...Johanna, Hayden, and myself are moving to Stephenville, TX to start a brand new church. I will be the founding pastor and church planter of Timber Ridge Church in Stephenville.

I want to be sure I say something right from the start with this announcement: Johanna and I LOVE The Connection Church. We love the people that make up TCC, we love our friends and ministry partners at TCC, and we love the vision of TCC. In fact, it is that very vision - seeing God change lives one life at a time - that has brought us to this place in our lives. And without the leadership and mentoring of Pastor Cole and other incredible people at The Connection Church I would never be able to step out and follow God in faith to make this bold move! In fact, I feel very strongly that we're not simply moving, but that The Connection Church is sending us out to continue the vision of seeing lifes changed!

So after a ton of praying and seeking God's direction and leadership in this area, we feel confident that He has called us and prepared us to plant our lives in Erath County and Stephenville, TX to plant a church that helps people move from where they are to where God wants them to be. Our new church will be all about reaching those far from God and planting more churches that will continue to the vision of seeing God change lives one life at a time.


While it is beyond difficult to think about moving away from so many incredible friends that have become family to us and such an amazing church, we are excited about what the future holds. We know that we are being obedient and following God's leadership in our lives. And we are excited to see where this next step in our lives leads.


There will be a lot more to come about our upcoming move and where we're heading in life, so be sure and stay tuned. In the meantime, please pray for us and for this new church that God is going to birth to reach people who don't know Him.

Change Your World...

Wow. It's been two months since I've last blogged. To say life has been busy since the summer got here would be a huge understatement I guess...But I'm going to try to get back into this blogging groove and wanted to share something we talked about at our Connexion Students worship gathering last night.

Last night at our SHOCKWAVE worship service, we talked about how God has given every one of us the ability and call to change our world. But it starts by changing one life at a time. Too many times we feel like we don't have something to offer that can make a difference in the world. But that's just not the case. Here are three things that all of us have that can impact the lives of others in our world.

1. MY STORY - For those of us who are Christ followers, God has given us each a unique story of how he has worked in our lives and how he has brought us into a relationship with him and changed our lives in the process. When we share our story with others, we can help them see how God is working in their own life story as well.

2. MY LIFE - Our world is full of fakes and knock-offs. You can get a fake Coach purse or Oakley shades at any little flea market. You can get knock-off brands of name brand sodas by the hundreds. And, sadly, even the church has become a place known for fakes. But when you and I take our faith seriously and actually live out what we claim to believe, then we can impact our world. People are drawn to God when they see authenticity in us. When we make sure the talk and the walk of our life matches up, then we can impact our world!

3. MY LOVE - Jesus said that the world would know his followers by the love they showed for others. The way that we love and treat others gives our faith credibility. Jesus' love forever changed the world. And when we model his love to others, we can change the world too!

You can change the world...But it starts one life at a time! Go be a world changer!

Parenting Tip of the Week: The Do's & Dont's of Discipline...

At The Connection Church we're talking about raising indesctructible kids this month in our series Kidstruction. This Sunday, our lead pastor, Cole Phillips, talked about Making Kids Mind Without Losing Yours. You can check out the sermon here.

With that in mind, this week's parenting tip is all about discipline. Here are 5 Do's & Don't of Discipline for kids of any age:

The Do's

1. DO Be consistent. Consistency is the key to discipline. If your kid isn't getting a consistent message , they're clueless about how to behave, and may be feeling confused, insecure, and perhaps unloved.
2. DO Clearly Communicate Expectations. As a parent, we must overly communicate our expectations for our kids. Children can't follow rules or live up to standards that they don't understand or know about.
3. DO Enforce the rules you set. Don't make a rule that you don't intend to enforce. It only creates mixed messages for your kids and creates confusion within your family.
4. DO Present a united front. As parents, if you undermine your partner (or another consistent authority figure) you are not making your kids love you more (Admit it; that's why we do it!). You are actually confusing them and undermining their respect for both of you. If you present a united front, you create an atmosphere where your children feel secure and respect authority.

The Don'ts

1. DON'T bribe. While rewarding your child for good behavior is a great discipline tool, bribing kids to avoid bad behavior only reinforces that negative behavior.
2. DON'T get personal. When you tell your child that they are naughty, rude, lazy, etc, you are labeling them. Instead, try to condemn the behavior, not the kid. Instead of saying, "You're so rude! Why can't you share?" try saying something like, "That was a selfish thing to do. It's very rude to take Joe's toy from him."
3. DON'T go overboard with punishment. Punishment is just one aspect of biblical discipline, so don't go overboard on that alone. Make sure you're following the old saying of "making the punishment fit the crime."
4. DON'T expect children to behave like adults. Newsflash: Your kids are not adults. That means that sometimes they'll do foolish or irresponsible things because...well, they're kids! Our children don't have the wisdom that we do from the life-experience we've gained so we need to remember that as we set proper rules and expectations.

Check back here on Thursday for the Parenting Resource of The Week!

Parenting Resource of The Week:

While kicking off our Kidstruction series this past Sunday, Pastor Cole talked about how our homes should be places where God is honored and where we are pointing out God's blessings and work in our lives. Having a family Bible study or family devotional time is one of the most important things we can do as parents for our familes. It's also one of the most intimidating! But it doesn't have to be that way. Below are this weeks Parenting Resources of the Week, which all offer some great insight and helpful tips on how to get comfortable leading your family through a weekly or nightly devotional time and becoming the spiritual leader that your children need. Check these resources out!

Free Online Resources:

• The Christian Parenting website offers 10 Tips For Fun Family Devotions here.
• Pastor Mark Driscoll offers Four Constants For Better Bible Study With Our Spouses and Children. You can read his blog here.
• Mark Driscoll also has written a book entitled PastorDad: Spiritual Insights on Fatherhood that would be a great read for all men who are trying to better lead their family's spiritually. While you can purchase the book at local Christian bookstores, Driscoll has also made it available for free online and in PDF form here.

Book Resources For Purchase:

• Wayne Rice has written the book Generation to Generation which is full of practical and creative ideas for raising kids to know and love God. It would be a great resource for any family to have and can be purchased at most Family Christian Stores or online here.
• Teenage counseling guru Josh McDowell's book The One Year Book of Family Devotions is another great resource for families. It can be purchased here.
• Mike and Amy Nappa provide another great resource for families in their book 52 Fun Family Devotions: Exploring & Discovering God's Word. This book provides a devotional for each week of the year & uses the ordinary things of life to demonstrate and experience spiritual truths. You can order the Nappa's book here.

Parenting Tip Of The Week: Effective Communication...

One of the best ways to ensure that your child or teen will communicate with you is to create a home environment where they feel safe and comfortable to share what's going on in their lives and where they feel that they are listened to and not simply heard. So how can parents go about creating an environment where communication takes place in the home? Here are some helpful tips.

7 Keys to Creating Communication Within Your Home

1. When your child or teen begins a conversation with you, STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Your child wants, and needs, your undivided, complete attention. When talking with him or her, put down the laptop, turn off the television, or silence the cell phone. You'll be amazed at what you hear when you actually focus on listening.
2. Eye contact is key. It's hard to tell if someone is paying attention if they're reading the newspaper and responding with random "Uh-huh"s as you talk. Look your child in the eye to ensure that they have your complete attention when they're talking to you.
3. Comment on what you heard. So many times our children & teens are sharing something because they are looking for our advice. You don't always have to give them the easy answer, or even give them a "yes" or "no" but commenting on what you think you are hearing from them is a great way to foster communication. A good way to do this is to use a statement like this: "I hear you saying _____. Is that what you are saying/mean?"
4. Spend time together. There is nothing like simply doing life together that fosters relationships where good communication can grow.
5. Praise, praise, praise. Your child/teen receives criticism and judgement from so many sources. Be sure to give praise when praise is due!
6. Admit when you've blown it. If you mess up in your relationship with your kid, admit it! They know it already! And you being able to admit it will build trust in the relationship that will open up lines of communication in the future.
7. Be an askable parent. There are times when parenting requires that you take disciplinary action and make judgements. But you also want to make sure that your child or teen know that they can approach you when they need help and that you'll react in a non-judgemental way, helping them solve their problems.

Be sure to check this blog later in the week for the Parenting Resource of the week!

Kidstruction, Parenting Help, and Blogging...

Yesterday we started a new series at The Connection Church called Kidstruction: Raising Indestructible Kids. For the next few weeks, we'll be looking at some building blocks of parenting to help strengthen families.

As a Family Pastor, husband, and dad, this is a series that is close to my heart. I want to do all I can to equip our parents to create families where the love of God is modeled, where families are growing stronger, and where there is fertile spiritual ground. Too many times, often without any intention on either part, the church and the home are in conflict rather than working together. At The Connection Church, we want the church and families to be walking side by side to help kids of all ages learn what it means to love God and love others.

So over the next few weeks, I am going to be sharing a Parenting Tip of The Week and a Parent Resource of The Week right here on my blog. Stay tuned each week to gain some challenging, encouraging, and inspiring material for the difficult job of parenting. And in the meantime, if you missed Sunday's kick-off message to Kidstruction, you can check it out here.