I have found 7 to be a popular number with blog posts. This week I even did an experiment. I posted four posts in a row with 7 principles in each. It prove to be a very successful week, with more interaction than usual. Seven is a Biblical number of completion. I’m not suggesting there is something to that trivia here, but I do believe there is something at work here. What do you think?

Here are my “7″ most popular “7″ posts:

I am asked dozens of questions about what we did or didn’t do as parents. I am amazed that God has allowed us to raise the two young men we have in our house, but there were a few principles we practiced consistently.

Here are three principles for parenting I think all parents should consider:

The movie “The Last Song” has a powerful story to tell. Cheryl and I watched it at the theater when it first came out earlier this year, but I watched it again on the plane heading to Africa recently. I encourage you to watch it.

The applications for me are:

In case you missed it, I’m in Africa this week on a mission trip. I’m sharing some of the top posts I have written, according to the activity they have received.

Here are the top posts on parenting:

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 NIV

Fathers are not usually seen as the nurturing ones in a family. When my boy’s get sick, they don’t want me, they want Cheryl. The Bible, however, tends to also place the father in a nurturing position. We are told not to “exasperate” our children, which means not to wear them out with correction, but to “bring them up”. That phrase literally means that we spend time with them on a regular basis and encourage them in the development of their character.  That sounds like nurturing to me.

Our children have become media junkies. The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released a study of children ages 8 to 18, which found, not surprisingly, that they are consuming a astounding amount of media entertainment each day. Children now consume an average of 7 ½ hours per day or 52 ½ hours per week of media saturation.

Daily media consumption of U.S. children:

I said at the beginning of this message on parenting, delivered at Grace Community Church, that I could not answer the entire “how to” questions about parenting. My desire was to offer a paradigm of principles for effective parenting. I really do believe if you follow these principles you will truly live out the Biblical principle of “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

I’m working on some blog posts, messages, and perhaps even a book on fathering. I’m especially interested in addressing the absence of a strong father figure in a person’s life, since I see it as a huge scar in many people’s life.

You can help me with this part of my ministry. Please consider completing my survey on fathering. It’s quick and easy and all responses are anonymous.

Here’s a quick message to my boys. My boys are 21 and 18 years old. I wish someone had given me this advice when I was their age. (Perhaps you need to hear it as well.)

My father passed away this week. He was so proud of my online involvement. You can read my tribute to him HERE.) He loved reading this blog. In honor of him, I decided I’d give away some of my favorite books for building the character of your children, your marriage, and your home. Most of these weren’t around when I was young, but I have used them to better understand myself and my role as a husband and father. If I’ve learned one thing this week (and over the course of my life), building a healthy and happy home takes intentionality. If you are like me, you need all the help you can get.