“My soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23 It was quiet, too quiet. All the rush of people in and out of the room the days before had all come to an end. The darkness, even the newborn bed that was made specifically to be lit up and warm was completely dark and still. My eyes went back to the unlit lamp over my son’s …
10 Sanity Saving Crock Pot Recipes
We never have enough time in the day for our kids and the biggest headache is supper time. I’m right there with you. So here’s an idea that has been working well for me. Crock Pot days. No–I’m not saying I’m a little off my rocker, I’m talking about that amazing tool sitting in your kitchen. So here’s a few of my sanity saving recipes that I use on a weekly basis, this prevents me from needing so many time outs from my kids (Yes… that was an intended plug for my book, Mama Needs A Time Out). Anyhow, the …
Wende’s Story
By Featured Guest: Kathy Howard How does a mom keep going when she knows she could lose her son any moment? Wende’s answer comes without hesitation. “I couldn’t have done this for five minutes without God.” Ethan was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition when he was just ten years old. Arterio-venous Malformation (AVM), an abnormal formation of blood vessels in the brain, can cause seizures, hemorrhages, and strokes. Larger AVMs, like Ethan’s, results in progressive neurological deterioration. And a ruptured aneurysm is a daily possibility. Wende smiles when she describes Ethan’s early childhood years. He was in the gifted …
What My Heart Tells Me (and Those I Love) – Part 2
Two weeks ago, I shared about how the words I say aloud and the thoughts I think have been changing. Drastically. Today, as promised, I’ll be describing some of the practical, intentional choices I’ve been making to “change my mind” as God exchanges my heart. Replacing “Baditude” Although I wish I didn’t have such a fresh example, let’s look at an incident from this morning. I’m taking an online class, and I was trying to quickly post an assignment. But every time I hit “save,” the hyperlinks wouldn’t work and extra characters showed up. I stayed calm and …
The Making of a Marriage – When Holding On is Tough
Marriage is hard. Sometimes couples slip apart. Sometimes they just let go. We don’t always love well. We don’t always live selfless lives. We don’t always do what is best for the one we love. We don’t always love the one we said we would spend the rest of our lives with. We don’t always like each other. We don’t always serve one another. We aren’t always nice to each other. We don’t always say kind words to one another. We aren’t always in a good mood. We don’t always have candlelit, romantic dinners. We don’t always tell each …
Move, You’re In The Way
How many times have you been forced something to happen in your own strength? This past Sunday, as the Pastor touched on the Lord’s Prayer. He described a story of a little boy who wanted to help his Daddy move a desk across the room. The father began pushing and the little boy braced his shoulder against the desk, and told his father, “Move Dad, you’re in the way.” Daddy of course chuckled and obliged his son’s request.The four year old little boy, pushed with all his might, but the desk would not move. Have you been there? Maybe you’re a …
A Mother’s Heart…50+ Things to Do with Bored Kids
Running out of things to do with the kids yet? Take a look at what I found. In my search for fun ideas, I found a bazillion things to do. Narrowing them down to fit here was difficult. My biggest resource was Pinterest. If you’re on Pinterest, do a search. If you’re not on Pinterest, you’re missing some great things shared there. Some of these make great science projects. I won’t jabber on so I can leave space for all the links and suggestions. So, here we go: * Instructions for things to make 1) Make your own lava lamps. …
Too Tired to Be Mom
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 …
Summer: Season of Friendship
Growing a friendship makes me a better mom. Toddler moms may be tempted to think they will never have time for a friend again, unless they happen to be named Dora and wear a backpack. Teen moms may be tempted to think they’ll only have time for friends who cross paths on sign up sheets at sports meetings. But our children and our husbands can not meet all our relational needs, and it’s unfair and unrealistic to expect they will. Even a mommy, especially a mommy, is meant to have a friend. Mom-friends grow in summer In addition to the …
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 …