Janet Thompson Archives - The Mom Initiative

Parenting Tips to Help Your Family Remember God

“My kids are driving me crazy. I’ve tried everything . . . reasoning with them, yelling at them, taking away privileges, sending them to their rooms. Nothing is helping! My husband and I are exhausted and frustrated and on the verge of losing it.” That’s a paraphrase of one mom’s cry for help on Facebook. She was so desperate that she aired her parenting problems to the world and admitted she and her husband were close to the breaking point. All their usual parenting efforts had failed, and I could tell that she felt like a failure as a parent. …

Little Visits with God

“My grandkids are coming this weekend. Could you please pray for grandpa and me to have wisdom when we need to discipline the kids or they exhibit bad behavior.” That was my prayer request one week at our small group, prior to our grandkids’ visit without their parents. One of the group members then told me about a little book that she used when her kids were small called Little Visits with God. She said if it was just one of her kids acting out, she read it with that one, but if it was both of the kids, she …

Spiritually Dressing for School

My good friend was distraught. Her daughter was starting middle school and every morning she threw up on the way to school. This daughter had never shown signs of anxiety before and always did very well in school. She was a “star student.” My friend was at a loss of how to help her daughter. There didn’t seem to be anything medically wrong with her. I asked my friend if she prayed with her daughter before she left for school. She said yes they had tried that, but she was still throwing up. I then suggested she pray the spiritual armor of …

A Prodigal’s Plea to Parents: Never Stop Praying!

Following is a testimony that will encourage every parent of a prodigal. Alycia Neigbours is a professed prodigal who put her parents through years of worry and pain throughout her childhood, and for eight years, they lived the nightmare of not knowing if she was alive or dead. In her own words, Alycia shares her prodigal story and why it’s so important for parents to never stop praying for their prodigal child, even when they don’t see any change and things may look like they’re getting worse. Prodigal On the Run by Alycia Neighbours I Ran From My Family and …

Friends Helping Friends

Forever Friends is a favorite topic for my speaking audiences. I have skits in that talk to show what it means to have trusted and treasured friends and to be that kind of friend to others. Are you the kind of friend you long to have? Click To Tweet I am currently in a scheduling crunch with my writing and speaking ministry, but I had a blog post due today. “Help!” was the subject line in an email to my good friend Kathy Howard. Kathy is a TMI guest contributor so I asked her if she could help me with …

Why Your Teen Needs Peer Pressure

Dr. David Stoop is a Christian psychologist and family counselor and ordained minister. His doctorate is from the University of Southern California and he is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California (also my Alma Mater). Dr. Stoop is an adjunct professor at Fuller where he teaches courses associated with family therapy. I was privileged to have Dr. Stoop as one of my professors at Fuller and have always admired his work. Dr. Stoop has authored over 30 book, and was the co-editor of the Life Recovery Bible. You can learn more about Dr. Stoop at his website. I follow Dr. …

It’s Not About The Juice!

I want juice! Mommy please, please, please can I have juice…? (After you’ve said no for the 10th time) I have to have juice or I can’t get up! (After throwing themselves in the aisle of the grocery store) You HAVE to get me juice. I don’t want water, I want JUICE! I don’t want that kind of juice! I don’t want juice in that glass. I need more juice. I won’t stop crying till you get me juice. You’re not a nice mommy if you don’t get me juice. You’re chuckling because you’ve resonated with these “demands” and manipulative …

Don’t Ignore Infertility But Be Careful What You Say

Many of the mommies-in-waiting sharing their stories in Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby? A Companion Guide for Couples on the Infertility Journey expressed the sorrowful complaint that they felt ignored by friends and family, even in the church–especially in the church. With 1 in 6 couples experiencing infertility, that’s a large part of the population ignored. You probably know someone struggling with infertility, or maybe it’s you that is struggling to be a mommy, or you know the painful misunderstood struggle of secondary infertility. Often we ignore the infertile couple because we don’t know what to …

How Are You Celebrating National Grandparents Day?

Did you even know there’s a National Grandparents Day? I’ve been a Grammie for almost fifteen years and we’ve never acknowledged this special day in our family. When I told my daughter it was on September 8th this year, she laughed. I said: No, seriously there is a Grandparents Day. Her response: You aren’t expecting a gift are you? LOL! Have you been planning a celebration for your grandparents or your children’s grandparents? Admittedly, Grandparents Day certainly doesn’t get the recognition of Mothers Day or Fathers Day, but for those of us who are grandparents, we know what a blessing it …

10 Tips for Couples Praying Together

“Bless you both,” I heard as my husband, Dave, and I opened our eyes after praying over our dinner in the Seattle airport food court. I looked up to see an elderly gentleman and his wife beaming at us from the next table. Instantly, we had something in common—God! When Dave and I acknowledged the husband’s comment, his wife gleefully added, “And I said to my husband, ‘Look they’re holding hands while they pray!’”. As we chatted with the couple, we learned that they were from Canada and waiting to board a plane to Orange County, our former home. I …

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