Happy Mother’s Day to My Wife Nanci and Our Daughters Karina and Angie

I am deeply grateful to the Lord for my wife Nanci and for our daughters Karina and Angie! Nanci is a great mom, and a fantastic grandma. I look at Karina and Angie now as moms who are in their thirties—the mothers of my grandsons—and I am just delighted to see their hearts for Christ and the ways God has gifted them.

Pursuing Sexual Purity in Your Marriage

In my book The Purity Principle, I write about how Christian marriages face the same heartaches, struggles, and frustrations as other marriages, especially in the area of sexual purity. (But we have supernatural resources to deal with them.) The following guidelines for sexual purity in marriage can help you guard your relationship in this vital area.

(And whether you're married or not, sexual purity is inseparable from a committed Christian life. You want to know God’s will? You don’t have to wonder. Here it is, in 1 Thess. 4:3: “It is God’s will that you ...

A Christ-centered Marriage Is Christ-centered Parenting

While researching a novel I’m writing based on the upcoming movie Courageous (from Sherwood Pictures), I recently read what I would call a GREAT book on parenting: Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting, William P. Farley (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2009).

A Tribute to My Mother

This year in October (2009), it will be twenty-eight years since my mom died of cancer. Our Angela was only four months old then, so while Mom held Angie and fawned over her and loved her dearly, Angie wasn't old enough yet to understand what had happened. Sometimes I think how wonderful it will be one day for Angie and her grandmother to get to know each other.

Nanci, my best friend for 40 years

December 7, this Sunday, is the 40th anniversary of the day Nanci and I met. We were freshmen in high school. It was a double date in which we went to see two new movies at Portland's Village Theatre on 122nd: the original The Odd Couple, with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, and The Americanization of Emily with Julie Andrews.

God Sends Christmas Snow, Clean and Quieting

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.

He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ Job 37:5-6

Snow on the New Earth, and a New Year's Resolution

Here in our part of Oregon, the snow is melting off as quickly as it came. But we had about ten days in the middle when it was a winter wonderland—making December 2008 our snowiest month since January 1950, four years before I was born.

This big snowy blob in our driveway is our Subaru wagon. Since I have a ten foot commute to my office, attached to our garage, transportation wasn't an issue.

They say Gresham, where we live, was hit harder than any part of the greater Portland area. A lot of Christmases merge together in ...

Question and Answer of the Week: How do you enjoy your family and the ministry?

Question from a reader:

I’m a full-time youth pastor with four beautiful kids and an incredibly supportive wife. It is so hard to juggle ministry and family and do it well. As someone who has reached the other side, and now with grandkids, does it get easier? How did you find the energy and time to really enjoy the kids AND the ministry?

Answer from Randy Alcorn:

I received this letter and this was my response, in case it might be helpful for others:

It did get easier as the kids got older, and more when they launched out ...

Grandson Ty Scores a Goal, and CBD Warehouse Sale This Weekend

Saturday was our grandsons’ last soccer game this season. The great thing about this clip I filmed is that all three of our grandsons on the team were in it at the same time, AND our fourth grandson, Jack, walked out on the field at the beginning so he made a quick cameo appearance!

Summer and Grandkids

Matt Franklin turns five in November. Loves to hike with us in the "forest" near our house. A math prodigy and a wonderful kid.