Christian DiscipleshipBy Cos Davis

How Should We Live?

The political turmoil of the past several years has served to put an exclamation point on something I’ve read about in Scripture and believed for most of my life. Evil is real. Evil predates the human race and it is still hanging around and becoming more and more pervasive in our everyday lives. One of the big issues related to why evil has such influence is because believers are often asleep or too caught up in this “temporary” world and its demands and allurements to recognize what’s going on.  What […]

life purpose, personal growthBy Cos Davis

Transition

  Transition Our nation is in a time of transition.  One president has left office and another administration has assumed leadership of our country. A different political party is in control and responsible for the leadership and direction of our nation for at least the next two years. Whether you are saddened or happy about the prospect of new leadership, the fact is that change is coming. Living well requires us to handle transition or change well. This is true in all areas of our life. Think about some of […]

personal growth, RelationshipsBy Cos Davis

Boundaries: The Answer to Many of Our Problems

A quarter of a century ago Henry Cloud and John Townsend published a book entitled Boundaries. As I have been perusing its pages lately it has dawned on me that this book holds the secret to solving many of life’s problems. You name it: sexual abuse, theft, adultery, lying, and all the big and little sins and crimes human beings commit could be resolved if people would just observe proper boundaries. Does that sound too simple? Think about it. That’s what Jesus’ statement in Matthew 24 concerning loving God, self and […]

personal growthBy Cos Davis

Careful with Your Words

I believe the purpose of communication is to develop understanding and acceptance of the other person, even though we may strongly disagree with their position on a given subject. We don’t need to follow the example of many of our public figures who demean or smear the reputation or character of another person because they have political differences.  Be very careful about “judging” a person because they are a “liberal” or “conservative.” Let’s try to discuss the issues and not attack the character of the one with the opposing view. […]

Christian Growth / Children, Christian Parenting, Communication, Family, Healthy Love, Self-EsteemBy Cos Davis

How Emotionally Mature Are You?

How emotionally mature are you? What if someone treated you the way you treat others? Would you feel happy, angry, disappointed, important or encouraged? Have you had someone hurt you by their careless remark or act?  Have you considered that your words and actions have a powerful effect on others? This is especially true with your child. To a large degree your child’s sense of himself comes from his interpretation of your words and actions toward him. No one can be perfect, we all make mistakes. However, being mindful of […]

Christian Parenting, Healthy Love, life purpose, Relationships, Self-EsteemBy Cos Davis

Whose Dream Is It?

What dream or expectations do you have for your kid? Caution. You are probably well-meaning and only want the best for your child but be sure you know if you are imposing your dream on your child. When you put you child in a position to repeat your accomplishments or to accomplish something you did not you may be using him for your own end. This is unhealthy love. Please allow me to share with you a very common way in which this can happen. Healthy love does not attempt […]

Christian Parenting, Discipline, Family, Healthy Love, life purposeBy Cos Davis

Your Child’s “Best Friend”?

Is it healthy to be your child’s “best friend”? If you want to love your child in a way that is good for him you need to avoid things that may harm him. Being his “best friend” is one of those things you need to avoid.  Being your child’s “best friend” is not a part of healthy love. Your child needs you to be his parent. You are not equals. You are the authority for your child and both of you should always understand that boundary. One day you may […]

Christian Growth / Children, Christian Parenting, Healthy Love, Independence, Relationships, Self-EsteemBy Cos Davis

Success or Failure

How does your child handle success or failure?  Is there any connection to how you handle success or failure? Your child’s view of his performance in school, sports, music, relationships and various other pursuits affects the way he sees himself. Obviously, if your child is able to have some level of accomplishment in these areas he gains confidence and, therefore, tends to feel good about himself. Over time the ability to accomplish may lead to venturing out into more challenging pursuits. All children like to accomplish and the feelings of […]

Christian Parenting, Communication, Family, RelationshipsBy Cos Davis

The Power of “I’m Sorry”

 Do you ever say “I’m sorry” to your child? Let’s face it, we aren’t going to be perfect parents. That means we make mistakes; do and say things we shouldn’t say and do to our kids. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to be the best parent we can be because our child needs and deserves our best effort.  One important fact to keep in mind is that parenting is “on-the-job-training.” If you learn from your mistakes you should get better at it with more experience. Interesting, isn’t it? Your […]

Christian Parenting, Communication, Family, Healthy Love, life maps, RelationshipsBy Cos Davis

Own Your Stuff

One of the greatest challenges of human relationships is to keep our personal stuff from creating unnecessary issues. In other words, we need to learn to own our stuff. For example, if you are person who always needs to be in charge, you can make others uncomfortable with your need to control or have things your way. Refusing to recognize and deal with our “stuff”  may cause others to have little to do with us. However, our children cannot easily avoid us and may choose unhealthy behaviors to deal with […]