Fresh Ideas – Fresh Encouragement
Our blog is a steady source of relevant and practical help for doing family right. Anchored by Dr. Dave, we want you to count on us for support in maximizing your most important relationships – marriage – family – God.
Our blog streams all our marriage and family resources and posts are listed with the most recent items first. Scroll down to go back in time.
Parenting: Our Broken Moral Compass—The Truth and Tragedy of a Failing Integrity
I think someone must have driven over our moral compass. It’s not lost – it’s broken. When I was a boy of 12 at camp, I took a skills course in...
Marriage: You Make No Sense—Overcoming Marital Misunderstandings
A man once called his neighbour to help him move a couch that had become stuck in the doorway. They pushed and pulled until they were exhausted, but the couch wouldn’t...
Marriage: Givers, Takers, and Other Kinds of Lovers
Life is relationships. You spend part of every day with someone. Learning how to relate well to others is the most important developmental task we all must master. Get this right...
Parenting: Internet Safety and Software for Every Device in Your Home
We all struggle with keeping our family safe and secure, especially in our world of easy and often-unsecured Internet access. You may be asking yourself where to start and how to...
Parenting: Cell Phone Sanity for Children
Dr. Dave’s Complete Family Guide for Mobile Use Her parents didn’t think through the ramifications of their little girl becoming so tech savvy so young. Her mom and dad embrace technology....
Parenting: Developing A Family Mission Statement
Knowing Why You are Developing a Family Mission Statement Life is about choices. When you intentionally make the right decisions, so many things will go well in the life of your...
Marriage: Developing a Marriage Mission Statement
Marriage: Developing a Marriage Mission Statement Know Why You are Developing a Mission Statement as a Couple Life is about choices. When you intentionally make the right decisions, so many things...
Marriage: The Memorable Impact of Missions on Marriage
Dave: We are writing this from Guam, just a speck of an island in the middle of the South Pacific. Donalyn: We are finishing our 6th week on a South East...
Marital Prayer Part 2: How to Start Praying Together
Marital Prayer Part 2: How to Pray Together Relational research shows that 92% of couples that call themselves Christians never pray together. “Tell me something new,” you say since you’re one...
Marital Prayer Part 1: What Happens When a Couple Prays Together?
Marital Prayer Part 1: What Happens When a Couple Prays Together? Praying together. It just sounds right. After all, shouldn’t couples that are supposedly seeking God be reaching out regularly as...
Marriage: The Power of Partnership in Overcoming Pornography
The Top 10 Proverbs of Accountability Men have needed other men for centuries. Whether in the trenches or on the field, being part of a band of brothers is a sacred...
Parenting: The Impact of Family Traditions
Why does a college student say to a fellow passenger on a flight home for Christmas, “I can’t wait to get home. I miss my family”? Because family traditions, like a...
Marriage: Merging Grace—The Art of Two Becoming One
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” Mark 10:8 Two becoming one....
Marriage: What Does God in a Marriage Look Like?
Got God? You got changes. Conversion means change. “All things become new” ~ means all things become new! That’s change. “Be not conformed to this world but be transformed,” means serious...
Parenting: Rethinking the Sex Talk
What Every Son Needs to Hear From His Dad An interview by Sam Black for Covenant Eyes Many dads feel awkward when talking to their sons about girls, feelings, sex, and…yikes,...