My boss's boss is like 42, never married, no kids. Earns $275-300K per year. Goes on a minimum of two international vacations a year w/ his girlfriend. 10+ days, all out. Eats the best food, stays in top notch accomodations. Excursions, tours, nicest beaches, etc. Great guy, I'm happy for him. But what I've realized is that without kids, you end up chasing a lifestyle that has to continually be topped in order for you to be satisfied and find happiness. What he and others like him don't understand is that when you have children, seeing THEM experience life's most basic things and watching their eyes light up at all the "firsts", brings greater pleasure and joy than any vacation or travel experience ever could. Seeing THEM try blueberries for the first time is greater than dining at the best 5 star restaurant in Europe. Seeing THEM learn how to walk is greater than walking the Great Wall of China or strolling along the most picturesque beach. Watching THEM giggle uncontrollably at "peek-a-boo" tops any A-list comedian act. Seeing THEIR excitement when building a fort out of cardboard boxes and making a door big enough for daddy is superior to staying at 5-star resorts. Flying kites with THEM far outweighs excursions like parasailing or helicopter rides. Seeing THEM perform a recital on stage for the first time is more rewarding than watching a Broadway show or top notch symphony orchestra. ----------------- When you have children, all of a sudden you realize that life's greatest joys are not in the pursuit of things or pleasure or travel, but rather in the LOVE and bond you share with your very own image bearers. Seeing the beauty and magnificence and wonder of life all over again for the first time through THEIR eyes and expressions gives you something the world simply cannot offer, nor even come close.

One day I'll wake up to a quiet house. No shoes under the couch. No crumbs on the table. No pitter patter of toddler feet. No little voices arguing over who ate the last of the frozen blueberries. Just me and my wife’s footsteps in the kitchen. The clean house will come. And the quietness with it. I have to remind myself not to rush this season that fills our home with children, noise, mess, chores.... LIFE! Because one day we would give anything to go back and do it all over again!

Marriages where only one spouse works out and cares about fitness usually will not end well. Be careful who you choose to marry. 10-15 years from your wedding vows, you could be looking at a completely different person.

Ozempic is like chemo for cancer. You'll be "fat free" for a few years, but then it always comes back once you stop. WORSE than before. My advice: ☛ DON'T take shortcuts ☚ Eat better food. Exercise DAILY. It's really that simple.

Economic prosperity, huh? Google search trends reveal the opposite. The last 2 years have ECLIPSED the 08/09 Financial Crisis trends for users searching "hardship withdrawal". Southern states like Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Alabama show the strongest interest.

Raising boys with grit isn't an accident. It's forged in the daily friction of hard physical work and high expectations. You don't coddle them when it hurts. You don't let them quit because it's raining or because they're tired. You teach them that discomfort is just the price of admission for anything worth doing. When your sons realize they CAN survive hard things, fear loses its grip on them. That's how boys become men.

Instagram is an AWFUL media sharing platform! Horrible user experience IMO. After being on X a while and then switching to Instagram, you feel like you've been put into a straightjacket. X is the superior media sharing platform—by FAR!

How I want my kids using AI: ☛ "Help me learn this." How my kids want to use AI: ☛ "What is the answer?" Teaching kids HOW to learn and how to subdue the desire to take shortcuts that don't benefit them is the the primary goal of education. Everything else is downstream.

If having children has taught me anything, it is this: We shouldn't be so intensely focused on the future that we forget how to LIVE in the present. Otherwise when the future arrives, you won't remember how to enjoy it—and you'll regret all the moments your mind was elsewhere.

Property taxes are highway robbery. Up 55% in just 5 years, or $214/mo. They will keep going up. And there's nothing you can do about it.

The fact that everyone wants Jesus on their side should tell you something: That Jesus was a real person and His words contain truth.

Family traditions are important. But most people never stop to inspect or question their traditions. Where did they come from? Why do we have them? What is the meaning behind them? Consider blowing out candles on birthdays. 🎂 It's a fun tradition most of us grew up with that we carried forward with our own children, without giving it a second thought. I'm not here to argue that it has pagan roots, or that it's wrong or a sin or any of that. That is a fruitless discussion that leads nowhere but condemnation and judgment. What I AM saying however, is that upon inspection, it largely seems to instill a sense of selfishness for kids. What do "I" want? is the question kids ask themselves when about to give the big blow. Oh, and don't tell anyone, because your wish might not come true! —superstition built right into the ritual. It's not that much different than a genie in a bottle if you think about it. But who is the genie in this case? For me and my household, I want to give my kids MORE than this. I want to give them a tradition that MEANS something. A tradition without superstition and mindless rituals that no one knows where they came from or why we do them. So in our family, we do the OPPOSITE of blowing out candles for birthdays—we LIGHT them. Starting with the person whose birthday it is. All other house lights off of course. Then I read from Matthew 5:14-16 about how as followers of Jesus Christ, God calls us to be the light of the world—letting our good works shine before others. Then, the birthday boy/girl spreads their flame to those sitting next to them. And those two do the same. By the end of it, the dining room is FILLED with candlelight. It shows our children how their light—no matter how small it may seem—can multiply and reverberate throughout the world. It also demonstrates how our light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Instead of focusing on GETTING wishes, they are learning to SHINE their light towards others. A day usually focused on "me, me, me" now has a beautiful moment devoted to the reason for which God created each of us. This is a tradition with purpose. A tradition with the words of Jesus as its source. We all know why we do it. We all know what it means. We are all blessed by it.

Easy. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27

Modern society treats children like expensive liabilities. They lied to you. The prevailing narrative tells young men: • Wait until your late 30s • Focus on your career • Maximize your leisure • Keep the family small so you can travel But convenience is an empty master. Raising a large, faithful family is demanding. It requires late nights, early mornings, relentless discipline, and absolute self-denial. It forces you to kill your selfishness daily. Yet every sacrifice builds something that can't be measured by money, titles, or vacations. A multi-generational dinner table full of laughter. Brothers who have each other’s backs. Daughters who know their worth because their dad set the standard. A lineage rooted in Christ and ready to lead with courage. The culture wants you isolated and consumer-driven. Rise above such simple-mindedness. Instead of being near-sighted, build a legacy that will last 500+ years.

My 5 oldest children learned to read home. So will my youngest 2. 20 minutes a day at the kitchen table with their mom. Some people pay $12,000 a year so their children can do the same in a classroom. The outcome is the same. But the memories are worlds apart.

Maybe the most ironic thing we're learning with all this AI stuff is this: human intelligence <> wisdom You can be the smartest person on the planet and still not be able to answer the question "should we do this?" and act accordingly.

We didn't choose homeschooling merely to shelter our kids from the world. We chose it to build a foundation strong enough that the world can’t crack it when they walk out into it.