I’ve discovered a crazy thing about kids. They just keep growing up. Today I’m baking brownies for my firstborn’s sixth birthday treat. Next week, baby sister turns three. I call this “birthday season” in our family, and every year it melts my heart to a nostalgic puddle. To me, birthdays aren’t just childhood milestones. They’re a chance to shout, “Yay, God!” for creating each daughter unique, beautiful, and according to his perfect plan. More than that, I celebrate my girls’ birthdays as a type of anniversary for me—(1) the day I entered motherhood, clueless, bidding a shocking farewell to my …
When Prayer Overcomes the World
Yesterday, I walked into my women’s Bible study group with thoughts consisting of my own problems and circumstances. There is a physically-handicapped woman in our group who greeted me with a huge grin and asked me how I was doing today. I lied and told her I was fine, thank you. We sat in our chairs and as our leader began with prayer requests, this precious woman asked if we could say a prayer for the crisis going on in Midland City, Alabama. Just down the road from my house, a school bus driver named Chuck Poland was shot last …
Gift of Grace
Nine years ago marks one of the most difficult, yet most important Christmases in my life. It would become a Christmas that would change my life and how I celebrate the birth of Jesus. In October, we had found out we were having another baby. This baby would be our ninth child and we were just as excited as if it were our first. However, our excitement changed to sorrow when we found out two months later we would never see this baby come full term. We later found out I had a virus that attacked my sweet baby and …
Where Can I Go? The Solace of Psalm 139
I know my kids pretty well. Even before my youngest could communicate with words, he had a myriad of sounds I could easily translate. There was the whiney, fussy noise he made most often, which meant that he was hungry (that’s why it’s the sound he made most often). The scream of pain – I don’t like to hear that one, but I know it well from his toddler tumbles. The giggle that gurgles through even when he’s tired and crying but just can’t help but laugh because I’m playing peek-a-boo or giving him raspberries on the tummy. There is …
The End of the World?
IT LOOKS REALLY, REALLY BAD Once again we turn on the media and hear a new spin of an old tale, “This is it! The end of the world is here! The end of the Mayan calendar will abruptly bring all life to a sudden end!” SPECIAL, SECRET KNOWLEDGE Can this prophecy known by the Mayans, media, and select scientists be trusted? How do we comfort our children when they are hearing things that make our own stomach swim? Where can we find reliable, time proven truth to tell us exactly what the end looks like? MAYAN PROPHECY VS BIBLICAL …
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 …
Talking to kids about the Storm
You could pull the curtains and claim it’s sunny, but more than 1/3 of the United States will experience Hurricane Sandy first-hand. Anxiety surfaces for some children, and questions arise for others, but all young minds do some mental filing and processing as this “Superstorm” strikes the East coast of the United States. Don’t be fooled; they’re thinking about more than lost Halloween candy. How do you talk to kids about a storm? What God says about the storm God’s word is not silent about storms. This opens the door for moms to use natural questions, to help children understand …
A Holiday-Ready Heart
Maybe November and December are your two favorite months of the year. Perhaps preparing for, living through, and cleaning up after the holidays don’t phase you in the least. You may have your Christmas shopping all done, your cards ready to mail, and your menus completely planned. If these are true for you, then The PURSE-onality Challenge “A Holiday-Ready Heart” is not designed for you. (But please join us anyhow and give us your best advice!) However, if you… dread dragging out the holiday decorations… wonder how what should be “the best of times” often ends up …
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 …
Unsung Heroes of Motherhood Series
Today’s Great Giveaways! Prime Time Together With Kids & More Prime Time Together With Kids by Donna Erickson A wonderful collection of suggestions for creative family time. It includes chapters on outdoor activities, environmental and recycling projects, and many other fun things to do for a variety of ages. Best of all, the projects use simple and inexpensive materials and are easy and fun to do The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian Bestselling author Stormie Omartian inspires women to develop a deeper relationship with their husbands by praying for them.The Power of a Praying Wife—now with a …