Orange Parents

Few things are more emotional than family.
Your family began when two people fell in love. When you first held your child in your arms, it triggered feelings you had never felt before. Suddenly, you understood in a whole new way what unconditional love was.
Until, of course, your toddler woke you up at 5 a.m. and… [read more]

Every morning on the way to work, I travel a road that seems like a never-ending construction site. Workers have been perfecting this throughway for months, but it seems like there’s no end in sight. The road is down to one lane in several places, bumpy and dusty with heavy-duty vehicles lining the sides of… [read more]

A couple once shared with me that they had no balance in their lives. Their home seemed like a battlefield filled with daily conflicts. Their children were frustrated and discontent most of the time. As a husband and wife, they felt like they couldn’t find margin in their lives to do the things necessary to… [read more]

Although I wish it wasn’t true, I can often focus on the negative at the expense of the positive.
I tend to focus on:
The “+” that was missing behind the “A” on the report car, rather than the A.
The things that are going wrong, not the things that are going right (so we can fix them,… [read more]

“They grow up so fast.”
“You better enjoy them while you can.”
“They will be gone before you know it.”
That’s what old parents like me say to young parents.
I’m not really sure why.
It’s probably because that’s what someone said to us when our kids were young.
So we feel like we are responsible to pass it along.
One day… [read more]

By Jared Herd
After nine months of painting, hanging, woodworking, assembling, and hammering, my son, Dane Everett, came into the world. The pregnancy process is such a fascinating time, beautifully built into the rhythm of life by God. I thought the nine months would drag on, but we loved and needed those nine months to ready… [read more]

By Sarah Anderson
The other day, by the time I walked out the door, I had already lived a thousand lifetimes. I had been awake for two hours, but was ready to crawl back in bed and request a do-over. It isn’t my favorite way to usher in daylight—with chaos, messes and more noise than my… [read more]

It was a simple plan. As a way to spend time with my daughters and give us something to have fun with all summer, we decided to build a tree house.
After the first weekend, it was a few boards stuck to a couple of trees. The second weekend didn’t improve things much. In fact, it… [read more]

So it’s a brand new year. Here’s a question to kick off 2013.
How’s your heart?
The heart is pretty vital. It’s what we live out of really; it’s the wellspring of life. Our hearts help us feel the highs and lows, navigate wonder and mystery, keep our imaginations stimulated and our dreams alive. It is the… [read more]