Take your child to a cemetery? Of course you should … and often (and here’s 4 reasons why)

June 24, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged cemeteries, cemetery, Children, children and cemeteries, Christ, death, eternity, God, Parents

I’m not sure at what point during our courtship my wife and knew we were headed for marriage, but it may have been around the time we realized we shared an odd interest: We each enjoyed visiting cemeteries.

After we married and before we had children, we visited the graves of nearly 10 presidents – sort of normal, I suppose — but we also walked through the old historic cemetery in the city and just about any small graveyard we stumbled upon.

It’s a fun and quirky habit I’ve maintained with my oldest son, who is 6, and one that I plan on continuing with his two younger siblings. Each time, we have a blast.

Perhaps you are confused as to why any parent would willingly take his or her child to a cemetery, over and over. Here are four reasons I do it, and you should, too:
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5 reasons why fatherhood is far better than football

June 8, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, Christ, dad, daddy, daughters, Father, fatherhood, fathers day, football, God, sons

I remember my first big-time football game as if it were yesterday. I was 13, sitting beside my dad and a friend in a huge stadium.

The game, though, didn’t go as I had hoped, and a loss seemed certain — when something amazing happened. With only four seconds left, my team’s kicker booted a 51-yard field goal that tied it up, and we all went wild. It was a college game and there was no overtime back then, but we rode home feeling as if our team had won the Super Bowl.

I also remember the birth of my first child as if it were yesterday. I was 36, standing in the delivery room with the doctor and nurses all around, minutes after midnight. Then something amazing happened. I heard a tiny, helpless, sweet cry, followed by a booming voice from the doctor: “It’s a boy!”

They placed my son under the warmer and I saw him up close for the very first time. He was full of life, looking all around, squirming from head to toe. It was the most precious sight I had ever seen.

My wife and I drove home two days later, feeling as if we’d won, well, the Super Bowl.

Those few seconds
when I enter the house and
my three kids go wild as they
hug my leg are better than any
balloon drop at a political rally.
To them, I might as well be president.

I’ve been to quite a few football games in my life while spending far more money than I care to acknowledge, and I can say without hesitation: Fatherhood is infinitely better than football. This should be obvious, of course, but we do live in a day where too many of us men are making a life out of our hobbies, extending our teen years into our 30s.

As we approach Father’s Day, consider these five reasons why fatherhood is better than football — or any hobby, for that matter. Continue reading →

8 stress-reducing steps to a happier family

May 29, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, Christ, families, family stress, God, Parents, reducing stress, stress, toddlers

When you’re at the hospital preparing to take home that 7-pound bundle of joy, the nurses don’t provide any advice on dealing with stress. They don’t even hand you a book.

I was thinking about stress recently when my wife called me at work and said, in a tone of voice that matched the circumstance: “There’s water in our basement!”

We already had a garbage disposal that wasn’t working, a dishwasher that was leaking and a clothes drier that wasn’t drying. With three small children, clean clothes and dishes are a necessity. Things weren’t looking good, but God soon provided. The basement leak slowed, and we pinpointed the problem. We fixed the drier (lint blockage) and then discovered that the dishwasher leak was linked to the broken garbage disposal.

Through it all, we told one another: Don’t stress out, this is small potatoes. In other words: Keep things in perspective.
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3 reasons Moms’ Night Out is the funniest movie you’ve never seen

May 4, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged comedy, funny, moms night out, moms night out review, patricia heaton, sarah drew, sean astin

There aren’t many movies that make me laugh so much that I’ll watch them twice. There also aren’t many movies that shake me emotionally so much that I’ll shed tears multiples times. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a movie that did both, though – until now.

Moms’ Night Out, which opens Friday, is one of the funniest movies you’ll ever see, along with one of the most moving. It’s a film that does for moms what Courageous did for dads – that is, uplift, inspire and encourage mothers to better fulfill their God-given role. It’s a celebration of moms.

I watched a screener of it one night with my wife, laughed hysterically and cried a few times, and went to bed amazed at what I had just seen. The next night, I watched it again, laughed hysterically again and cried some more, again.

It’s that good.

It may be the best faith-based movie yet, but honestly, it doesn’t seem fair even to say that. Moms’ Night Out simply is a great movie that has a faith message and plenty of crossover appeal.

Who will like it? Anyone who has a child, who’s ever had a child, who has taken care of a child, or has watched in interest and horror a child at Walmart have an Aisle 6 meltdown.

It tells the story of a stressed-out mom who has small children and simply wants a night out, with her friends, but without the kids. She gets that night out, but it begins falling apart early on. Continue reading →

4 tips for telling kids the Easter story

April 16, 2014 | Michael Foust | Posted in Parents of infants, Parents of toddlers, Parents of young children | Tagged Children, christ's death, Easter, easter story, Jesus' death, kids, parenting, teaching children about Christ's death, teaching children about Easter

I won’t ever forget the first time I told my oldest son about Christ’s death and resurrection. It was right after he spit up on my shoulder, and just a few minutes before I placed him gently in his crib. I don’t think he understood much at all that evening. He certainly didn’t ask any questions. In fact, I’m pretty sure he already was asleep.

He was an infant, about six months old.

I’ve repeated that routine most nights since then, and have now incorporated it into a bedtime song. For his twin brother and sister, I began telling them the Gospel message much earlier, right after birth.

With the Easter celebration upon us, parents often wonder: What’s the “right time” to talk to a child about such a concept as death — specifically, Jesus’ death? May I suggest the answer is now?

We tell our children every day that we love them, so why should we wait until they’re older to share with them a much greater message about love? That is, that the God of the universe loves them even more — so much so that He died on a cross for them.

For some parents, though, this can be a difficult subject. Here, then, are four suggestions to make it easier.

1. Be positive. Talking about Jesus’ death on the cross is easy because it has an ending far greater than anything Disney ever will produce. Sure, if the story only were about death, it would be difficult, even awful. But Jesus rose from the grave and is alive! When I tell the Gospel to my children at night, I never stop at Jesus’ death. If we’re reading the chapter about the cross and the tomb, we don’t end there. I want them to go to bed knowing that the God of the universe conquered sin and death and couldn’t be kept in the grave — and because of that, they can have eternal life. It’s called “Good News” for a reason. Continue reading →