When it came to guys and dating as a young women, did you feel like you went at it alone? No one gave you any direction on figuring the whole thing out? My youth pastor tried. He told me to make out “my list” – …the one with all of the qualities I was going to look for in a guy. Wow, was that one long list! Faithful Honest Stable Hard-working Kind Funny… With my list in my head and in my heart, I began the search. What someone failed to tell me was when you’re 19 years old, finding …
How to Mentor Your Children Through the Holidays
As we find ourselves full-steam into this holiday month, I am especially sensitive about the opportunity to intentionally mentor my children through the holidays. I want to help them embrace the fullness of remembering the Christ child’s birth, without heaping on extra responsibilities rooted in traditions that become a drain on their schedules and deplete their rest and joy. The challenge, however, is that my children are in distinctly different developmental stages. Oh the Teens My oldest, fifteen, is studying for finals while primarily being concerned with seeing her friends as much as possible before the long, family-focused break. …
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 …
For the Over-Taxied Mom
I’m in the heavy duty taxi driving season of mamahood. No matter how simple we try to keep our calendar as a family, it seems the engine stays running. I think that’s one of the reasons why this C.S. Lewis quote touches me so: “God made us; invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on gasoline, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed …
Psalms and Cell Phones?
Today I am so happy to share with you my precious partner in ministry, Bonnie Wallace. She is so gracious to work alongside me, in whatever way I need. She does it with a smile; expecting nothing in return. Listen to the wise words from this beautiful mother of 5. Lynn Cowell …be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord, Ephesians 5:18-19 I am a mama of five and I have four older teens living in my home. I’ve been training my children …
5 Questions to Help You Connect with Your Teen
After living with teenagers for nearly 18 years, you would think I’ve figured out exactly how to connect on a heart-to-heart level, right? Of course, you may be wondering how does one live with teens for that many years? Well, my husband is a boarding school teacher, so I’ve literally spent my whole adult life with tweens and teens from around the world and across the United States. We eat together. Worship together. Enjoy life together. I get to see what they are really like when their parents aren’t watching and especially as they try desperately to gain the approval …
The message your girl needs to hear
“You are more than a body.” That was the powerful message of the 20-something, handsome young man speaking at the podium. He continued, “‘You are beautiful. And I want to be clear. If any boy does not respect you and your boundaries, they aren’t good enough for you. Period.” It sounds like something a mother might say – should say. But coming from this young man, it had an especially entrancing — and hopefully lasting — effect on the middle school girls in the audience. As part of a spring Mother/Daughter Bible Study at our church, I had asked our area’s Young Life Director …
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. …
Who Else Wants Clear Direction?
I blew it. Days of swimming through murky teenage “stuff” paired with this new stage of parenting resulted in my not-so-pretty meltdown. Late the same evening I found myself on the edge of my teen’s bed. His now huge 6 foot, 15 year-old frame had his back turned towards me as my quivering words spilled out, “I’m so sorry. I blew it. My words were awful. Will you forgive me?” Parenting is hard. We stumble through one developmental stage, look back on that point in time with confidence as we emerge, then find ourselves knee-deep in doubt …
Girlfriends, Curfews and Grades…Oh My! Parenting Today’s Teenager!
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:18 NLT Moms of teenagers, buckle up, all the bumps and bruises you went through in the baby, child, and adolescent stage start to prepare you for the adventure of parenting today’s teenager. I’m not trying to scare you at all, just speaking the truth in love from one mom to another. So, let’s put on our safety harness and walk through some of this together, shall we? As the mom of two teenage boys it …