What Does God Ask of Us? So many times we want God to reveal Himself to us. We question if He is real. And if we do believe in Him, we expect Him to really put Himself on display in big ways. What I’ve discovered the 27 years since I’ve become a Christian is that… [Continue Reading]
Children
6 Ways to Effectively Lead Young Children
6 Ways to Effectively Lead Young Children What does it mean for a parent to effectively lead a family with young children? The answer to that question has come to me through years of trial and error (mostly error). As a young mom, I didn’t give leadership much thought — I was just trying to… [Continue Reading]
Be The Change
Be The Change Lately, I’ve been thinking there’s a lot of things I’d like to change. 1) I’ve actively started exercising and using a food journal to lose weight and get in shape. 2) I’ve been trying to curb my spending. 3) And I’ve been learning to be more thankful. All of those things aren’t… [Continue Reading]
How to Pray for Your Child Each Day
How to Pray for Your Child Each Day So many times I find myself praying for the same things for my children. That they are healthy. That they are safe. That they are obedient. The other day I was reading the Bible, and I came upon Philippians 1:9-11: I pray that your love will overflow… [Continue Reading]
The ABCs of Safety & Manners
The ABCs of Safety & Manners One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made as a mom was to expect what I haven’t taught. I’d take my kids out and expect them to know not to ask the lady sitting next to us at the park for part of her lunch. Or expect them to know… [Continue Reading]
How to Stop Your Child’s Angry Cycle
How to Stop Your Child’s Angry Cycle The flash of anger in my tween daughter’s eyes surprised me. We’d been camping, and Maddie’s 6-year-old sister, Aly, had just burned her finger on hot ash. As I treated the wound, Maddie strode up. “I hurt myself, too,” she said, with attitude. “Last night when we were… [Continue Reading]
Chore Charts Can Curb Complaining
Chore Charts Can Curb Complaining When we adopted our two sweet children, we sort of went into “survival” mode. Both children had emotional issues, and they need weekly behavioral therapy. Bella was enrolled in a therapy school, and Casey had physical, occupational, and speech therapy. I was spending hours and hours each day on the… [Continue Reading]
How do you tell your kids about a painful decision from your past?
How do you tell your kids about a painful decision from your past? It was a story I did not want to tell. But as Sanctity of Life Sunday approached, my pastor asked me to share my story with the church — the story I had kept secret for many years. My abortion story. And… [Continue Reading]
A Forever Home ~Hope for Orphans
A Forever Home ~Hope for Orphans I know my writing work is important because I get emails, tweets, and Facebook notes from online readers. But God reminds me often that my ministry isn’t just online … it’s offline, too. There are seasons when the most important heart I can touch is within arm’s reach. My… [Continue Reading]
Sometimes Love Grows {Adoption Hope}
Sometimes Love Grows In my 25 years as a mom there have been many homecomings as I brought my children home for the first times. When Cory was born, I was a 17-year-old single mom, and we returned to my parents’ house. With Leslie and Nathan, John and I lived in low-income housing while he… [Continue Reading]
How to Enjoy Motherhood Without the Mom Guilt
How to Enjoy Motherhood Without the Mom Guilt Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Jennifer Blossom of Blossoming Mom & Baby about how to enjoy motherhood without the mom guilt. It was a great conversation full of help and hope for moms in the trenches. Blossoming Mom and Baby is all about supporting… [Continue Reading]