Kids should have time to go outside and play. To sit in a pile of dirt and not care how messy they get. To let their imaginations wild as they pretend they’re exploring a jungle, hiding from pirates, or discovering a new species of life. I want my kids to go outside and play. Being Content with Reality But the reality is they have two parents that work full time, and while the older two could go play in the backyard by themselves, they have a little brother that’s just a little too young to have no supervision in that
Category: Blog
My blog articles spanning a variety of topics, from parenting advice and thoughts about mom life to Bible insight and more.
I wrote this a few years ago, and I find myself coming back to it every once in a while, when those hard, negative feelings about myself start to surface. I hope it helps encourage you, too. Truth Over Feelings I feel like I’m not good enough. Like a failure, With no value, Nothing going for me, A fraud. I feel like I can’t do anything right. Like a screw up, With no promise, Can’t handle responsibility, A joke. I feel like a terrible friend. Like a wet blanket, With no compassion, No warmth, A dud. I
I could look around my house and feel like I’m failing. There are toys everywhere, the sink is full of dirty dishes, and laundry (both clean and dirty) is piled up. But today I’m choosing to give myself grace. I can’t do it all, and my value has never been in my ability to keep the house under control. Choosing Grace I’m choosing to look at the successes I had today. In the time between when I finished work and put the kids to bed, I: Ate dinner with the kids around the table together (it was chicken nuggets, but
Here’s a shock: I’m impatient. I want what I want when I want it, on my time table. I hear myself telling my kids that waiting is part of life, and I know it is both intellectually and experientially, but sometimes I catch myself thinking ahead to what I’m looking forward to, that I don’t see what’s right in front of me. This is especially true with my kids. At ages 3, 5, and 8, it’s not uncommon for me to think ahead to how much “easier” or “more fun” life will be when they’re older. Looking forward to milestones
How connected is your family? Do you regularly spend time focusing on each other? As cell phones have helped us stay in touch with those not physically with us, it’s distanced us from those we’re sitting next to (see Eric Pickersgill’s Removed series for a powerful visual of our attachment to mobile devices). How do you make the most of the time you have with your kids? As a working mom, I only have about 3 hours between when I get off work and I tuck them into bed–that includes traveling to and from the office, the time it takes
As I shared in my previous post about David , my mom and I have been reading Chasing David by Rene Schlaepfer and seeing King David in a whole new light. I definitely recommend you give it a read! Here are a few things that stood out to my mom and me as we continued in Chapter 1. Family Dynamics When Samuel showed up in Bethlehem to anoint David, I’d always imagined he went straight to Jesse’s house and started looking at his sons that happened to be there. But if you actually read 1 Samuel 16:4-13 , the Bible
Last year my mom and I started a virtual Bible study together. Since we’re both busy and don’t always have overlapping time to actually meet, we decided we’d both read the same passage and then email each other our notes. Although it isn’t the same as an in-person Bible study, it was interesting to see what each of us took from the various passages and the perspectives we shared with each other! The Sermon on the Mount One of the passages we looked at was Matthew 5:1-26 , the Sermon on the Mount. As I read through this, I realized
I’m not a farmer. I’m not a gardener. I tried being a plant mom, but after my plants hobbled along for a couple of years, I decided to focus on other things. Despite my thumb being far from green, there are important lessons all of us can learn from plants. Sowing good seeds Twin Lakes Church shared a devotional for mothers this past May, and I really liked what one of them wrote based on Galatians 6:7b : “You will always harvest what you plant.” As it began to dawn on me that I would never have children of my
Does anyone else ever argue with their spouse? I like to think my husband and I have a pretty strong relationship, but that doesn’t mean we don’t ever disagree. At least so far we’ve been able to talk things out and resolve the conflict, but that doesn’t mean our conversations don’t get heated. When you disagree with your husband, how do you react? I took a training for work a while ago that talked about when we’re in crucial, emotional conversations, our brain goes into a fight or flight mode and either shuts down or amps up. When you’re in
We’re natural complainers. It’s in our human nature. I see it in myself and my kids–even my two-year-old. We want to make sure we get to have what everyone around us is enjoying, and if what we have doesn’t measure up, we complain. But think about it. Would you rather spend time with someone that complains all the time or someone that has positive things to say about others? I think we naturally gravitate towards the latter, but naturally behave like the former. What does the Bible say about complaints? In Philippians 2:14–16a , Paul tells the church: Do everything