Family & Parenting

When the movie Straight Outta Compton debuted at the top of the box almost a decade ago, our media discernment ministry, Plugged In, gave the film a half “plug” (out of five) for family friendliness in its review. It’s no wonder. Life in Compton, California is anything but family-friendly. I should know – I lived in Compton for […]

When Easter comes around every year, many people think of chocolate, decorative eggs and rabbits carrying baskets. As Christians, we know there’s a lot more to the story. Jesus’ triumphal parade. His last supper with His disciples. His brutal death on the cross. His bodily resurrection. The events surrounding the Easter story can evoke a

I came home from work about a year after my wife Jean and I got married and found her in the bathroom crying. I was worried she was having second thoughts about our relationship, but when I asked her what was wrong, she said, “I flushed my wedding ring down the toilet.” Back then, she

When Trey and Lea Morgan started dating, they’d grab fast food, a blanket and talk for hours. Then, after they each went home, they’d call each other and talk some more. Now, years into their marriage, they wonder what they could have possibly talked about for so long. Although their quantity of conversation has changed,

April Fool’s Day is about catching people off-guard with surprises they never see coming. Like the prank pulled on residents of Sitka, Alaska on April 1, 1974. People woke up that morning to black smoke rising from the crater of Mt. Edgecumbe, a volcano just a few miles away that hadn’t erupted in nearly 800

According to Dr. Meg Meeker, boys today grow up in a world that is often at odds with their natural instincts to be curious and to explore. They’re taught to be cooperative and passive, to stay safe and avoid risks. What’s more, parents don’t always recognize how dangerous social media, popular entertainment, and marathon gaming

God’s light often shines the brightest when circumstances are at their darkest and most bleak. Which makes today’s world an opportunity for Christians to be salt and light by recommitting to studying God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us into the lives of others – our families, our neighborhoods, our churches,

Author Gary Thomas thought he had a good marriage. Then God reminded him of the pledge he made to his wife at their wedding: “I promise to love and cherish you until death do us part.” Thirty-six years later, Gary realized that he hadn’t thought of the word “cherish” in terms of his marriage since

Rich Griffith is a single Dad of three teenage sons, all of whom he adopted. He soon realized that despite ministering to teenagers for many years, he didn’t know how to disciple his children as a parent. Neither do a lot of parents. And that is why Rich likes to help parents teach their children

There are a lot of great dads out there, but many men are disengaged from their boys. They don’t see masculinity as a quality they offer to their sons. They see it as something boys figure out on their own. That was my story. I didn’t have a father to teach me how to be