“Where are all the Titus 2 women?” my 28 year-old self asked. I remember it like it was yesterday but that was 21 years ago and now my boys are men. Yesterday, I had a conversation with a mother who asked the same thing. And while there seems to be a resurgence of women who are ready and willing to take on the Titus 2 mantle, many of them still wait in the wings wondering if it’s it is realistic to think they can be a mentor. You see, while we know it’s what we are called to, we also …
Why Having “The Talk” Is Not Enough
There is no question the culture in most developed nations is sexually charged. Sex sells everything from shampoo and deodorant to lawn mowers. According to a report by Harris Interactive in 2007 68% of TV shows have explicit sexual content. The “wardrobe malfunction” of the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show reminds us that even sporting events are not safe. In a world where our young girls are being sexualized (see Toddlers and Tiaras), is it reasonable to think that one sex talk is enough to combat what our culture throws at our kids daily? Instead I challenge you to begin …
10 Questions To Help You Parent With A Plan And A Purpose
“Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (Amplified) What would your life look like if you had a vision for your life and for your family? Most of us tend to let life happen and respond to each day as it comes. And at times, we get so caught up in the dailies that it’s hard to do anything else. But what if we looked at parenting our children through the lens of who we long …
Choices
That afternoon changed everything. Our happy, church-going family was suddenly thrown into unimaginable pain. Like so many of my sweet sisters in Christ, this was the afternoon I stumbled upon porn on our computer, and the pornography ended up to be just the tip of the iceberg. It seemed each day brought new, unimaginable confessions from my husband. I was plunged into pain so deep and heavy I could hardly breathe. The shock that this could have come from my husband, practiced in my own home, was incomprehensible. Where was God in this? Why didn’t He protect me? And what …
Stop. Breathe.
A misty drizzle spritzes the window while I relax in the recliner and listen to my children’s laughter. When what to my wandering eye should appear, but a miniature sleigh and…Oops! I guess I got too relaxed for a moment. It’s a rare occurrence these days to have time to daydream. I’m a freelance writer and editor, but I also homeschool my children. School’s in full session, as is all the busy-ness that accompanies this season of life. We have classes, gymnastics, Taekwondo, baseball games, church events and sleepovers. Not to mention deadlines, doctor appointments, Bible studies and holidays. Complicate …
Are You A Frazzled Mom?
By Featured Guest: Amanda Beth Sometimes I feel like I’m running a hundred miles an hour in fifty different directions, but not getting anywhere. Do you ever feel that way? Since having my fourth child two years ago, I’ve been worn down. It’s almost impossible to do anything without having to constantly stop and take care of something. Even when I started typing this post, I had to stop and break up two fights, put one kid in time out TWICE, fix a broken toy, and clean up not one spill, but THREE spills (not joking!). A five minute …
The “Joy” of Parenting in the Friendly Skies
Oh no, I groan inwardly as I slide into my seat on the crowded Southwest Airlines plane. The only remaining isle seat is not just at the very back of the plane. It’s also next to a woman sitting next to her preschool son. Her loud preschool son. This is going to be the longest hour-and-twenty-minutes of my life, I gloomily predict. I am wrong. As time literally flies by, I am first amazed, then awed, and finally deeply moved by the vibrant relationship I witness beside me. After we land, I wrack my brain for a way to tell …
10 Ways to Help a Single Mom
As the sun began to sneak a peek through the horizontal lines of my mini blinds, I was reminded that another hectic day awaited me. It wasn’t easy being an early bird and a night owl in the same skin, but as a single mom who was struggling to be all and do all, I didn’t have any other choice. Each day held its own basket full of burdens for a girl who wore too many hats and juggled too many plates. An overflowing to-do list is a constant in any mother’s life. There is breakfast to cook, lunches to …
Revelations of a Mama Prayer Slacker
Let Me Be Honest I don’t know about you but I’m one of those gals that doesn’t ever really get around to praying except at meal times, church, or I’m not getting my way with our Almighty Maker. I have to say that was me until recently. The dynamics of prayer time has changed and so has my heart towards it. First I’d like to say God does hear all of our prayers, every one of them. Secondly, prayer time is a way to build your relationship with Jesus who intercedes for us. And thirdly, it awakens the power that was instilled …
Kids and Technology: The “Guinea Pig” Generation
I should have seen it coming. Almost two decades ago, Daniel and I scrutinized the ten or twelve boxes of cutting-edge “educational software” at CompUSA, finally settling on Reader Rabbit. Back home, we devoted the evening to learning the program, ourselves, so that we could help our daughter with it, during the upcoming weeks and months. We stayed up past midnight, and I’m pretty sure we high-fived each other for being such with-it, tech-savvy, forward-thinking parents. Forty-five minutes. What had taken two college-educated adults hours to figure out together took our 3-year-old less than one hour, all on her own. …