Back when my husband and I got married, my parents gave us a copy of Love and Respect to help us build a strong foundation to our marriage. Of course, with the distractions of life, it took us a while to get around to opening it up. But now, 13 years and 3 kids later, my husband picked it up and started reading through it. I haven’t had a chance to dive into it yet, but my husband has been telling me about it and video blogging what he’s been learning. Although he’s talking to gamer dads, there’s a lot
Discipline. It’s probably one of the most controversial parenting topics out there. There are so many schools of thought about how to discipline your children, and I feel like culturally I’m told to discipline my kids less and less. But I know I need to discipline them because I love them : My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. Personally, I find disciplining my kids one of the hardest parts of parenting . It’s so easy
I didn’t used to think I was a selfish person. Then I got married. All of a sudden, my life decisions weren’t all about me anymore. I needed to include someone else and learn to put his desires before my own. After a few years of marriage, I thought I’d learned how to not be selfish. Then I had kids. All of a sudden, my time really wasn’t my own. I needed to sacrifice basic things like sleep and hygiene over the needs of this tiny, helpless person that couldn’t do anything for themselves. Then I did it again, and
If your family is like mine, when you’re trying to shuffle the kids out the door, there’s a lot of chaos, bickering, barking, and frustration. And usually all our emotions jump into overdrive because we’re already running late and I’m trying to hurry. That’s the keyword there: hurry . I keep trying to do more than I can. I don’t give myself enough time to do what I want to do, and get frustrated that I’m late. I’m also easily distracted, which slows me down even more. Then I try to compensate by hurrying everyone along which feels a lot
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
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