“Be ready in the morning to…present yourself to Me.”(Ex. 34:2 TLB) The first shards of dawn’s light fell abruptly through the slits of the bedroom blinds and rudely awakened me. Before I was ready. But I got up…quietly. And dressed. Walking outside into the cool, dawn air, wrapping my fuzzy, blue blankey around me, I watched God make a morning. As the horizon released the sun, soft wisps of yellow, amber, rose, coral, and tangerine mingled with the delicate blue sky, delighting my eyes. A gentle brush of wind caressed my cheeks. The fragrance of a multitude of blossoms gratified …
What every child deserves…
It’s 8:45 a.m. and I pull up to my neighbor’s house for our morning carpool. My daughter hops out of the car and runs to the porch to get her friend, like usual. A few minutes pass, then instead of her and her friend *Sophie coming back out, Sophie’s mom hurries over, a worried look on her face. “Is she not coming to school?” I ask, thinking Sophie might be sick. “I can’t find her,” she says. “She went outside to look for the cat and hasn’t come back… and that was over twenty minutes ago.“ I’m immediately concerned. Just …
Mama Needs A Time Out–GIVEAWAY
Hi sweet moms. I love coming here, to the Mom Initiative, everyday for encouragement. In fact, we all need it, which is why I wrote the book, Mama Needs A Time Out. As a new christian learning to walk with Christ and not having an example or strong foundation; I felt like I was floundering being a mom and woman of God. One afternoon, my daughter spiked a fever that lasted for 12 days. She cried nonstop and during this time, God used it to break me of my self reliance and independence. He taught me about his character to …
Mentoring Decoded
She came to my house to pray. I longed for the time and loathed it too. My kitchen was a mess. Dirty dishes lined the sink and crumbs littered my table. My living room looked like a toy store threw-up in it and I didn’t have time to get my house tidy before she came. I planned to pick-up, wipe-down, and clean-up, but time eluded me. I couldn’t rescind the invitation. It was too late. When she arrived, I opened my door and apologized for the mess. She said, “Angela, I wish I played more and cleaned less when my …
How Parents Support (and Sabotage) Student Success (Part II)
As parents, we want to help our children succeed in school. In my twenty-two years as a classroom teacher (twenty-one as a parent), I’ve seen parent strategies that pay big dividends. I’ve also seen well-intentioned efforts that actually cost the kids. Today is Part 2 of a series in which we explore one support strategy and one form of sabotage. (You can find Part 1 here.) Support 2: Expand your child’s listening vocabulary. A child who starts school with an enriched listening vocabulary has a huge advantage over a child who does not. Sure, when they’re both learning basic …
When You Struggle With Infertility and Loss
A Post From My Blog Last Fall *I was going in for a routine ultrasound, only to learn the unexpected, my baby had died during the week. No heartbeat. “My prayer this morning as I waited for the doctor, was somehow, there would be a heartbeat. I requested she try again for my sake and sadly as I knew, there was none. Even though I didn’t hear one, I was comforted as I laid my heart in God’s hands. Fresh tears well up with each passing moment as I continue to grieve the loss of my child. I grieve the dreams that were attached …
10 Summertime Safety Tips
I’ve always loved the fun in the sun that defines summer. But it’s also a time when children experience more injuries and make more visits to the emergency room than any other time of year. Before the last bell of the 2011-2012 school year ushers in the approaching summer season and before a momma starts filling her days with a plethora of plans for the kiddos, it’s wise to consider safety first. The M.O.M. Initiative wants to help your summertime be filled with fun and accident free, so we’re offering 10 summertime safety tips to help you have the best …
Plant a mentee, watch her grow
As the weather warms and growing seasons take root, are you planting anything? If you want plump, juicy tomatoes, now is the time to plant. If you want bunches of cilantro for guacamole, now is the time to sprinkle seeds. If you want to have a mom with her ear turned to the Lord, now is the time to plant a mentee and watch her grow. While soil is soft and sunshine frequent, lovers of all things veggie carefully dig and plant and water. Summer is the perfect time to nurture a mentoring relationship that will take root, sprout new …
To be Normal—or Not
The older I get, the more firmly I believe normal to be nonsense. It’s just plain Jabberwocky! You know, “’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; / All mimsy were the borogoves, / And the mome raths outgrabe,” from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. What society deems normal makes about as much sense as the words of that famous poem; yet we strive so hard to fit the standard. I have a confession. It’s one that does not fall easily from my lips. In fact, it kind of makes me a little nauseous …
Avoiding The Summer Meltdowns, 8 Tips How!
Tis the season for whining, crying, complaining and more. It’s summer time! Usually that means fun in the sun, but if you and you’re kids are like mine, meaning they strive on downtime, structure, and routine; I’ve got some timely tips to help you and your kids ease into summer! In fact, you could be the next ‘child whisperer’ among your peers! STOP and HALT No I’m not talking about stop signs, I’m talking about listening to the instincts that God has graciously instilled in us as mothers. Okay, so you’re trying to get stuff checked off on that fabulous to-do list …