I used to pray my kids would grow up to do great things for God. I grew up and didn’t do anything great for God, but maybe my role was to be the MOTHER of people who did great things for God. So I prayed for that. What my kids do for God isn’t what burns in my belly anymore.
This summer I’m going to have fun here. Nothing heavy. Nothing long. I’m just going to post short little things about what I like. My kitchen hacks. My favorite make up. Shirts. Hair color. Books. Music. It’s Summer Lite. But I don’t want it to be about me. In the comments section, I’m going to […]
“Joy in the Midst of Navigating LGBT Issues”
by Andrya Dieter
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I’ve got such a fun treat for anyone who loves books and has kids who love books. And even if you and/or your kids hate books (perish the thought), it’s likely because they’ve never read books like these. Allow me to introduce you to Freddie Cottonmouth. An unassuming 10-year-old boy who has some pretty bizarre […]
This book is the perfect length for a bedtime story, yet it tells the epic story of God’s love for humankind from creation to the present in a simple presentation for children.
A reader asks, “Tell me, how are your children affected by your mistakes? Is it possible to make mistakes and still raise children who have a great relationship with you and can look back on their life and not feel like they’ve been really wounded?”
I’ve found it incredibly enjoyable to raise sons. I think sons need a few things to thrive in their relationship with you. If they get these things, the warmth of your relationship will foster a natural bent toward their being honoring and respectful toward you – with a desire to please and help you. Because that’s the bottom line. RELATIONSHIP. Here are the ones I can think of right now in no particular order:
How Much Money are you Worth?
If you’ve been on Facebook around Mother’s Day, or spent any time at all reading mom blogs, you’ll have seen numerous articles about how much real money a mom is worth. You know the ones. They add up the yearly wages of chauffeur, chef, daycare provider, psychologist, nurse, etc., and that’s how much you’re really worth, Mom! This past Mother’s Day, there was a very sneaky bit of advertising wrapped up in a video about how motherhood is “the hardest job in the world” and pays nothing. Nothing at all. (And now that you’re feeling guilty, kids, you need to fork over your whole allowance to buy an amazing gift for that completely unappreciated mom in your life!)
Eh. Maybe motherhood is that hard, maybe it isn’t. What I’m more concerned about is what it says about our society that we mothers so need our value to be defined in dollars and cents and hours “worked” that, instead of being ignored as the irrelevancies that they are, these things get passed around like a cold virus in a mid-winter Sunday School class. These articles, infographics, and videos all play to our desire to be appreciated, not by our own immediate families, but by the Joneses.
Read the rest of Cindy’s article HERE.
Toddlers are learning that they are separate from you, and this is a healthy part of their development. They need to have more freedom, but they need to have it within secure perimeters. I think it is important for them to know that you are in control (they are secure), but that they have choices (they are free). Here’s how that would look:
When Dad Doesn’t Disciple the Kids
Three kinds of “single moms” exist in the church: the literal single mom who is raising children on her own, the mom whose husband is an unbeliever, and the mom whose husband professes belief but does not partner in the spiritual nurture of the family. For the true single mom and the mom married to an unbeliever, the task is clear: train your children in the Lord because no one else will. For the wife of the believing father guilty of spiritual absenteeism, the lines are blurry. She lives in the tension between wanting to honor her spouse and wanting to spiritually equip her children. All three “single moms” desperately need the support of the church, but in this post I want to focus specifically on the third mom, a woman trapped in a dilemma.
Read the rest of this article by Jen Wilkin HERE.
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) influence on our culture is growing, and with that, unique opportunities to share the love and joy of Christ. Come be challenged to understand and respond, and to equip our children to stand strong in the face of this cultural reality.