Do you ever feel like you’re just too tired to be Mom? Like you know you should say “No” but it’s just easier to say “Yes”? Like you really wish they could fix their own breakfast so you could sleep in? Like you’re too tired to do the mountain of laundry and so you sniff to find the freshest smelling clothes in the pile and then commence to throwing them over your children’s head as you rush out the door to drop them off at school? Or like you could care less that you can’t figure out what type …
Pursuit for the Perfect Pediatrician
I still remember my firstborn’s baby room: light blue paint with Peter Rabbit border, rocking chair in the corner, brand-new crib with matching accessories. My time was spent making sure everything was just right. I had a great time planning everything for my babies first year. In all this fun planning, though, I didn’t save a single thought about his pediatrician. I didn’t realize at the time how important and stress relieving it is to have a great doctor on hand. I wish then what I know now. On your pursuit for a pediatrician, what should you look for? A doctor …
When Other Moms Intimidate Me
I couldn’t help but notice her. She was the perfect mom. Her children seemed like little angelic beings with halos hovering over their heads and they sat like little mannequins in church. Quiet. Still. Perfect. She was the perfect mom, married to the perfect husband and they both had perfect kids. I began to wonder how I could be like her. How could I get my boys to sit still in church for an hour and a half, or stand quietly in line without poking the child beside them, or spinning around with their arms straight out as they smacked …
10 Ways to Make Mentor Mania Missional
There’s something stirring in the hearts of women around the world. Hearts are beating with the thrill of changing the world and young women are no longer satisfied with doing motherhood alone. Mentors are on the march and mentees are once again ready, willing and able to begin a journey that will encourage, challenge and change women’s lives on both side the mentor/mentee equation. No longer are young mothers wandering their way through life, struggling to figure things out on their own. The older generation is rising to the challenge and answering the call to be Titus 2 women in …
What My Heart Tells Me (and Those I Love)
For the last 60 days, I’ve been watching my words. They’ve told a lot about the condition of my heart. During May’s The PURSE-onality Challenge (and now June’s TPC “lite”), I’ve blogged almost daily about my journey of “replacing ‘baditude’ with God’s word and gratitude.” Using my Complaint-Free bracelet, I’ve been intentional about curbing complaining, criticism, gossip, and even sarcasm. My goal has been to become aware of my “baditude” habits so I can surrender them to God and replace them with scripture and praise. A Change of Heart During the last few weeks, despite typical end-of-the-school-year chaos, I’ve …
To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool in the Summer
The theme song to a popular kids’ television show sings, “There’s a hundred and four days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it.” That may or may not hold true for us homeschoolers. Since we have freedom to work with a much more flexible schedule than those in traditional school systems, we have a choice: to homeschool or not to homeschool during the summer months. I have been homeschooling since 2000. Over the years, we have worked our calendar a variety of ways. In the beginning, I worked an office job, so our dedicated school days …
I Want My Mommy… Still!
I remember it like it was yesterday. My mom had bought a television… FOR MY ROOM! That was a really big deal in 1976 and I was one excited teenage girl! But Mom had become a busy working woman whose priorities had changed. Not long after that gracious gift assumed its rightful place in the corner of my room, my mom and I had a big blow out. In the midst of the mayhem my sweet mom looked me in the eye and cried out, “Good grief, Stephanie! We bought you a television for your room! What more do you …
When Momma Blows It
I didn’t always get it right. The mom thing, that is. In fact much of my mentoring comes from times when I’ve blown it and the lessons I learned from the mistakes I’ve made along the way. I remember when my oldest son came home with a bad grade on his report card. It was an opportunity to help him see that failure is never final. I could have spoken life into his crushed self-image and taught him that failure does not define him. The grade was just an indication that he needed a little help, not an indictment on …
Wearing White In The Everyday
I never got to wear a real wedding dress. Instead, three weeks after my 18th birthday, I walked down the aisle resembling a big piece of pink cotton candy with a rain coat. I was seven months pregnant with the groom’s child. Each step was supposed to be joyful. Instead, I remember vividly how ashamed I was. As I looked at my friends and family dressed in T-shirts and jeans, I remember the wedding of my childhood dreams. I wanted to be wearing a big stark white, ball gown princess dress. My hair up in a knot with ringlets of …