I have a great giveaway I’m excited to offer! I recently had the pleasure of receiving a wonderful gift set called The Shepherd’s Treasure: The Lost Sheep. It’s designed to teach children about the true meaning of Easter and how Jesus shows his love for us. It does this in a winsome and fun way.
Read moreMaking More of Jesus at Christmas with Teens
Making much of Jesus over Christmas isn’t only about commemorating our Lord’s birth. Making much of Jesus is about following his example and living in a way that brings glory to God. As Christians, this what we are called to year-round, but the holidays are a special time of year, where people are often particularly sensitive to the things of God. @@We can use the holidays as an opportunity to be a light in the world for Jesus@@ and we can lead our kids, through our example, in what this looks like.
Read moreWhen Your Teen is Struggling With Their Faith
“If our kids never struggle with their faith, they will have borrowed convictions.” –Josh McDowell
I was raised in a Christian home. My mom was a children’s pastor. I felt like I was always at church. But when I got to high school, I started having doubts about my faith. I was no longer interested in taking everything my parents said at face value. I had to figure it out for myself. More importantly, I needed the Holy Spirit to help me…to change my heart. I could no longer rely on my parent’s faith. It had to be my own.
Read moreHolding Hands: love that lasts a lifetime
They walk very slowly up the aisle of the church, wrinkled hands clasped, and take their places together every week, front and center. Always together, softly swaying to the music, lifting hands in prayer, never letting go with the other set of hands. They are one. When the music turns lively, their hands swing together to the beat and the man’s feet start a little jig.....
Read moreHow to Teach Our Children to Trust God
As a mom of older kids, I often feel like my job is most accurately defined as taxi driver. We spend a lot of time in the car. When I start to complain about it, I remind myself that some of the best conversations happen in the car. I want to know what my kids are thinking and how they’re doing. I want to know what’s on their hearts. They’re so independent now, but at least they still depend on me for rides (most of the time). I try to remember to appreciate this part of our life, knowing that it won’t always be this way.
With tweens and teens, anything beyond surface conversations will only happen on their own terms. If I want to know the good stuff, I have to be available to listen when they feel like talking. And with my kids, that’s usually in the car. One such conversation happened earlier this week.
Read moreSimplicity Parenting: Then and Now
The book, Simplicity Parenting, by Kim John Payne, is a great resource. It has influenced my parenting choices over the years. A main idea of the book is to question whether we are building our families on the four pillars of “too much”: too much stuff, too many choices, too much information, and too fast
Read more6 Applications for Grace in Marriage
God shows his love to us through his grace, and grace is an essential ingredient in a strong marriage. If we want a marriage that filled with grace, there are some practical applications we can focus on. Here are six of them.
Read moreAre we Overvalued by God?
Parents who overvalue their children are more likely to raise narcissists. That’s the finding of a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. I don’t think any parent, myself included, wants to raise a narcissist. The headline got my attention.
No, I thought, that’s not right. I’m pretty sure that I’m overvalued by my heavenly Father- and he’s knows what he’s doing.
Read moreHer Smile: parenting through the hard stuff
That first real smile from a baby is one of those precious gifts that elicit feelings of pure joy upon the lucky receiver. It’s often followed by the craziest of antics of the silliest sort of baby talk, regardless of how dignified said receiver is under normal circumstances, all in order to get another smile from the baby. And the first laugh? That can send many loving caregivers over the moon with happiness! Of course, a baby’s smile or laugh is adorable, and all but the grumpiest of people can’t help but smile back when they gaze upon a happy baby.
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