When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions, most of us can show our kids how to start well and fizzle out. Thankfully, we’ve seen how important it is to start this year by Remembering What Went Right. If we look ahead and aim for nothing, we’ll hit it every time. Goal setting is a skill to be learned. January invites moms to teach their children how to reflect on the past year and smile at the future with some thoughtful planning. You can use a simple pattern to guide your child through basic reflection and goal setting for their new …
Where are the Continuing Education Credits for Motherhood?
Don’t you wish there were Continuing Education credits for motherhood? Back in college there were classes for just about everything: Music Appreciation, English 1101, Calculus, Religion, you name it and it was there. Unfortunately, I have yet to see a college level class on Motherhood. Sure, there are classes you can take while you are pregnant, and even some awesome mommy and me type classes, but where are the classes for: bandaging up boo-boo’s, pre-pubescent anxiety, peer pressure, broken hearts, and helping your child find their identity in Christ. Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the …
Preparing Your Child’s Heart for Christmas
by Debbie Taylor Williams I will never forget when I was a child and my Sunday School teacher challenged my class to memorize the Christmas story found in Luke 2:1-14. What seemed a daunting task became manageable as my mother helped me memorize one small section at a time. “And it came to pass” “in those days” “there went …
Casting vision for your child’s future
Being a mom is a lot about marketing. We “sell” our kids lots of ideas, both true and false. We may tell them they can be whatever they want, that there’s nothing they can’t achieve, that Santa eats our cookies on Christmas Eve, and that God won’t give us more than we can handle. Moms are master marketers. But how do we genuinely cast vision for our children to reach their true potential? The truth: God designed them to be better at some things more than others; they might not be able to be a professional football player or an …
Carve a Pumpkin Day…and Point Your Children to Christ
Standing beside mama, I watched with wide eyes as she took a kitchen knife and cut a circle in the top of a bright orange pumpkin. Carefully, she lifted the top off and told me to look inside. Standing on tip toes, I peered into the pumpkin. “It’s yucky,” I announced. …
Misunderstood Momma
* A flask of gunpowder and a bag of bullets were absent from this quick-draw-duel with my four-year-old son. One child stood alongside me in the elevator nice and happy. The other stood determined on the outside not about to get in. His glare along with his high-pitched voice screamed his defiance as he stood his ground. He had been testing my authority all morning and saw this as yet another opportunity. Time stopped as the showdown began. Who would win this battle of the wills? As my mouth told him to get in, my brain cried out a prayer that this time he …
Good mom, good wife?
Is being a good mom the same as being a good wife? From the time a child enters into a family, they can’t help but try to take over and secure their spot at the center of our world. At first, they seem so innocent and helpless, but their power to dominate slumbers like a morning nap under a mobile with a nursery rhyme. It may be years before a mom realizes that her precious children can unseat her husband’s unique place in her heart. If we aren’t careful, children can take the place of our mate. They are a …
Mentoring thru the School Year
Subscribe today for your FREE copy of… FACING YOUR FEARS – 31 STORIES FROM M.O.M. By now many schooling families have written or received their first progress reports. Areas of weakness emerge, the lunch menu sounds dull, and new pencils have broken tips. Moms who have a mentoring mindset will succeed, even when school year challenges stack up against us. How can mentoring give you a Grade A school year? Teacher to Student Whether the parent wears the hat of “academic teacher” or shares it with another adult, teachers have the potential to mentor …
Unsung Heroes of Motherhood, Military Wives
Subscribe today for your FREE copy of… FACING YOUR FEARS – 31 STORIES FROM M.O.M. Have you ever met an extraordinary mom? One that catches your attention, and whose story amazes you? This series introduces you to a few unique moms living amid various trials. Have the challenges that have crept into their lives strengthened their faith or crushed it? How is God working in their families? Joanna Rummel married her loving husband David 20 years ago. He has faithfully served in the military as long as she has known him, and …
When Our Children Are Afraid
The Boogeyman, the monsters under the bed and the hideous looking clown from a friend’s birthday party – they’re all so scary. Especially for a little mind that isn’t capable of distinguishing real from make believe. Most children struggle with fear at some point or another. They are afraid of the dark, afraid of insects, afraid or pets, afraid of their own shadows. Fear happens. And whether or not the object of their fear is real, the fear they feel is definitely real. Just as real as their momma’s fears. A couple weeks ago we released our first book. It’s …