Loving People

Loving People: How Moms can Make Life a Lesson in Loving

People don’t love people much anymore, and those known for loving people don’t get much press. Jackie Deshannon wrote “What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love” in 1965, and over forty years later, we still need it. Meanness is a magnet for the media. So, is it possible to teach our kiddos it’s worth the time and effort and investment to love others in a world that often doesn’t? Moms can make their own lives a lesson in loving people. Loving people who are… Near you First of all, lessons in love begin at home with those we …

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When Mom is Sick: 10 Brilliant Survival Tactics

When mom gets sick her magic of juggling a gazillion tasks comes to a screeching halt. But, we all know these responsibilities are never allowed a sick day. How can mom and her busy household survive when fever, aches and chills knock her off her feet? Use these ten brilliant survival tactics this flu season: Click To Tweet Hunker down with your kiddos in a safe, small space in the house. Bring your little ones in the bedroom with you and lock your door, or make your bed on the couch near their play area. Staying close will help you …

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A Mother’s Persistent Prayer

Desperation can lead to unusual actions. Many were the days that I locked myself in the bathroom or closet after a crazy day just to have a few much needed minutes of peace and quiet. Other times, I unashamedly made a special trip to our town’s grocery store to grab a bag of spicy gumdrops thinking they would relieve the mom-stress I was dealing with. (That doesn’t work, by the way!) But, nothing leads me to more frantic and determined action than seeing one of my children in deep trouble. I’ve had my moments of sheer panic for my children. …

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Bait and Switch: How to Drop Your Gloves When Your Kids are Challenging You to a Fight

Kids seem born with an innate knowledge of how to push their mommies’ buttons. Especially when teenagers or kids of any age know they are wrong, they take pleasure in seeing just how many buttons it takes to send mom over the deep end. And when we put on the gloves and enter the ring with them it may feel good for a little, but in the end we all lose. We not only lose our cool, but we lose a teaching moment. We lose the opportunity to show an example of how adults ought handle difficult people and situations. …

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The Heart of Mom Anger

Angry? Me, angry? I never thought so. In fact, if anyone was a “nice girl” it was yours truly. A people-pleasing, don’t rock the boat, smile-always-on-my-face nice girl. Everyone said so. I took pride in my desire to make everyone happy (even though I never achieved that.) And then I became a mother. As my oldest hit the toddler years, I transformed into someone I didn’t recognize. I was angry — most of the time. I didn’t often look angry. But there it was — my anger, thinly disguised behind a weak smile, ready to burst on the scene in …

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When Your Daughter Thinks You’ve Moved to Mars

At one time we lived on planet earth, according to my eleven-year-old daughter, Ainsleigh. Then I got married in June of 2014, and she said that we had moved to Mars. On earth, Ainsleigh could mostly eat what she wanted, stay up as late as she wanted and pretty much do what she wanted…all of the time. For the first ten years of Ainsleigh’s life, I was a single mother who worked full time as a high school English teacher. And what they say about teachers is true. We are way under paid and always over-worked. So, Ainsleigh got to …

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How Being “Good” Crippled My Parenting

I’ve always been a rule-following “good” girl.  As the sensitive, youngest child in a loving, but dysfunctional Christian home, I quickly slipped into the role of peacemaker and people pleaser. My mother suffered from an untreated mental illness. On top of that, extended family issues were complicated and nightmarish at times. More than anything else, I longed for validation and stability. I stuffed my own opinions and feelings. I worked hard to earn my worth. The most “rebellious” thing I ever did was get my ears double pierced. Crazy times. But my “good girl” persona came at a high cost. I …

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When My Imperfect Parenting Meets God’s Perfect Love

Don’t you love how God teaches us through our experiences? Recently, I had the honor of meeting and working with another mother for a few hours. This woman was about 20 years my senior, and we had a wonderful time talking about our children. As she talked, she began to cry about the choices one of her children was making. I was moved by this, encouraged her as best I could, and prayed with her. Later, as I was reflecting on our conversation, I began to think about a lie that I have believed for most of my parenting years. It …

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Are You Praying for Your Children?

1 Chronicles 29:18-19 “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people and direct their heart to You; and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision.” Among all the things we do for our children there is one crucial act that will surely make a difference in their lives. We must commit to pray for them regularly and specifically. A …

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How to Teach Your Children to Practice Hospitality

  The door to the bakery jingled as I opened it. Inside the bakery were many signs that Valentine’s Day was almost here. Heart-shaped balloons and stuffed teddy bears the size of small children greeted the entrance, and iced cookies personalized with “I Love You” lined the glass shelves, tempting me in all their sugar glory. Love was all around, that was for sure. Approaching the cashier, I told her my name and what I had ordered. She came back with four sets of Valentine’s cookies for my kids’ teachers and two large boxes of assorted cookies for our doctors. …

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