Valentine’s Day. It can be a mix up of emotions for many of us, especially if we end up looking for love in all the wrong places. You know, the love we read about in romance novels or on the Hallmark channel. Let’s face it, we’ve bought into the hype that Valentine’s day is the one day of the year that we go over the top to show our love for that special someone in our life. You know how it goes, it’s the day where we spend more than we should and stress about getting everything “just right”. For …
TherMOMeter: Setting The Temperature In Your Family
As a young mom, I had no idea that my mood could and would set the temperature for the entire house; actually I wasn’t aware yet, but I was the therMOMeter of my home. If I was in a bad mood, it eventually bled over and made everyone else have a bad mood too. My boys were little when I decided to test this idea out. I decided that no matter how I “felt” that day I would take a few notes and see how quickly my attitude started affecting how the kids (and even my husband) were behaving in …
5 Things I Wish My Mom Had Told Me
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. Proverbs 1:8 NIV Sweet mamas, oh how I wish we could sit down over a cuppa coffee and talk through these together. I don’t have all the answers, but if you’ll let me, then I’d love to share with you 5 of the things that I wish my mom had told me when I first got married and started having kids. My “babies” are now almost 21 and 19. By all accounts they are “adults” and so I’m coming to sit alongside you as a mama …
Expectation: Living with Your Eyes on Christ
My eight-year-old heart thrummed excitedly inside my chest. My body practically vibrated with excitement. It was Christmas Eve. Thirty years later I pray my heart will thrum excitedly and my body vibrate with expectation on Christmas Eve as well. This time though I hope my excitement isn’t because of what lies under paper covered packages, but something far better. In fact I pray I live all my life expectant – pregnant with the promises of God. Ready to go through the painful labor the Holy Spirit will bring upon me to birth something new – a healed relationship, an adjusted …
When he walks out and you lose your ability to receive
The living room twinkled in hues of blue from our eight foot tall white Christmas tree, decked out in blue lights peppered with homemade ornaments. Tori Grace sat at its feet, tucked in between the tree and fireplace. In all her silly brilliance, I laughed over her funny story when I said, “Baby girl you are so beautiful,” but her response caught my eye. Ever so quickly, she set her jaw and froze over the compliment before smiling and saying, “I don’t like that.” “You don’t like it when mommy says you’re beautiful? What about when I tell you …
We Can Train Them Up But–
Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 NKJV Chances are if you’ve been around any mom of faith then you’ve probably rubbed up against this verse a few times. It’s sort of like the parenting “go-to” verse. It’s a great truth that I’ve clung to many times while raising my boys…but, there’s one part of it that I never fully was able to grasp until now. Here’s what I’ve been learning on my twenty first year as a mama bear, we can train up …
Motherhood Is Hard Work
Without a doubt being a mom is one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had in my life. Never would I have imagined the sheer number of emotions and the intensity each one brings with it. It’s true, motherhood is hard work, and it’s time for moms to stick together. It’s my heart that by coming to you as a “seasoned” (that’s a nicer way of saying “older”) mom and sharing a little bit of what I’ve learned on the journey of being a mom. Here’s what I can tell you…it doesn’t get easier. Yeah, not the answer you expected, …
Clearing Out The Clutter
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace… 1 Corinthians 14:33a NLT If you are like me there are some cabinets or closets in your house that are shoved, jammed, and packed full of “stuff”. So full, in fact, that when you open them you have to be on guard and ready for anything to happen. My tupperware cabinet is like that, you pretty much take your life into your own hands if you want to get in or out of that cabinet. Right now you’ve already started to think about that cabinet or closet in your …
How To Change Your Stinking Thinking
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ~ Philippians 4:8 Mom, it’s so easy to get stuck in some stinking thinking. Believe me, I know…I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt. Trust me on this though, this is one place you just don’t want to hang out in because it will start to affect every single aspect of your life. We’re going to jump in today and talk about how to change your stinking thinking. Your marriage, …