Yes, you read that right. I think you and your daughter should start planning her wedding as soon as she understands what a wedding and marriage is. My 15-year-old daughter has been talking to me for years about the kind of wedding she wants. She even has a Pinterest board filled with ideas. The girl’s got good taste. It used to annoy me when she would interrupt me what felt like every five minutes to show me a wedding dress on the Internet. I thought about it and decided I’d rather have her dream about her future wedding than sit …
Got Strength?
Last week I was under a bit of stress and feeling hard pressed on all sides and quite frankly I wanted to flee or hide in bed with the covers over my head. I wanted the problem to just go away and that was clouding me from making a wise decision. You have heard that old saying, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I wonder if that means the tough should buckle down and work harder or if the tough should get the heck out of dodge. In my recent bind the last thing in the world …
Do You Laugh With Your Kids?
Samuel, my ten-year-old, came into the kitchen and held out his hand. “Look Mom, I’m double-jointed!” He went on to make motions and wave his fingers around my face in comical ways. I tried hard to keep a straight face, while visions of Spock and Captain Kirk danced in my head. “So, what exactly does that mean, son?” Looking up at me, he stared straight in my eyes and said in all seriousness. “It means that no one can ever break my fingers.” After he left the kitchen, I busted a gut. Now, there’s a difference between laughing at your …
5 Reasons Why Kids Act Differently When Momma Is Around
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 There she was over in the corner talking to some friends when I brought her children into the room. I had been watching them all day so she could help her hubby with some work around the house. But it was time to take them home. I loved spending time with her kids. They were funny, cute and occasionally a bit mischievous in the sweetest kind of way. At least most of the time. But the minute they were within a stones throw from …
Small Beginnings
When my daughter was thirteen she wrote a letter, sealed it and tucked it away. I thought that was pretty cool. “What are your plans for this letter, Meg?” “I’m not going to open it until my twenty-first birthday.” She smiled. It got me thinking, as a mom, if I could go back in time, what words of wisdom would I want myself to know? What lasting encouragement would I share? It didn’t take long to figure out the message I’d want to leave: Don’t despise the days of small beginnings. Really, Lord? I was blessed with four children. At …
Strategies for Shopping with Youngsters
The little one rounded the corner, alone, crying, carrying her pink, velcroed, tennis shoes. She was maybe three years of age, at the most. “Are you looking for your, Mommy?” I asked. I looked around, expecting to see a frantic mama in search of her child. No one matched that description. Then out popped a young mom from behind the shelves of shoes. I suppose she was fearful of me, a stranger, talking to her child. “Oh, look! There’s your mom. See she won’t leave you. She’s right here.” The woman gave me an icy stare and said, “I was hiding to …
Why Moms Should Keep Their Promises
“The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children who follow them,” (Proverbs 20:7, NLT). I spent fifteen dollars on a snow cone. Crazy, right? Of course this wasn’t just any snow cone. This was a super-sized, rainbow flavored, tantalizing treat scooped into a commemorative Tinkerbell mug. Yes, my husband and I took our girls to the Disney on Ice show, and one glance around the arena told us we weren’t the only parents forking over ridiculous cash for souvenirs. Why? What kind of mother buys a fifteen-dollar snow cone? A good one, I think. Not because good mothers pay …
Did She Just Say That?
“Satisfy us with your faithful love every morning. Then we can sing with joy and be glad all of our days.” Psalm 90:14 (NIV) When my daughter made a statement one day that didn’t line up to God’s truth, I knew the day had come where outside influences were pressing on her heart and mind and she didn’t know what was true to combat what was false. Instead she was operating on what others were telling her. This generation (those born between 1982 and 2002) has been called the Mosaic generation. Taking bits and pieces from friends, media and their own …
Mothering in Grace and Truth
“You just don’t understand children!” she stomped her foot as tears wet her eyelashes. My heart boiled hot and anger flashed, but no words flew out of my mouth. No angry tirades and somehow peace. . . Peace beyond me settled in my heart as my mind whirled. What do I do with that Lord? I prayed and pondered as I turned and said with an edge in my tone, “You will put on those clothes by the time I get back or there will be consequences.” As I left her to put on her church clothes a still small …
Solution Revolution
“You’re not doing the same things,” my husband said when I was working with my second son when he was 2, 3 and 4. “Yes, I am,” I remember answering, somewhat frustrated. “The same things aren’t working.” Regardless of the age, sometimes “the same things” don’t work. Developing children requires a diverse strategy arsenal. For academic development, we used alphabet puzzles, flash cards, animal alphabet cards, Bob Books, Now I’m Reading Books. One learned to spell his name first in sign language. Another chose Garfield over classics – our home library is stuffed with Garfield, Snoopy, the classics, World War …