Finding Grace-Filled Confidence in the Chaos
As I was returning home from an errand a couple of days ago, I glanced out my car windows as I rolled slowly down our small town streets. I couldn’t help but notice several high-school age kids walking down the windy street, the guys punching each other on the shoulders, the girls laughing. Knowing some of the situations […] Read more…
“Mom, I just can’t stop thinking about Minecraft. My mind keeps wandering with the possibilities, what I can do with it, how I can build this house, what other structures I can build. I can’t think about anything else!” So was the breathless excitement in my 9 year old’s voice this afternoon as he described […] Read more…
Many times I hear that THE solution to people feeling bad about themselves or motivating them to be a success is to raise their self-esteem. Believe in yourself, that’s the place to start, sings a popular kids’ show jingle that my children sometimes watch. That sounds all well and good, right? Who doesn’t want their child […] Read more…
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, it’s hard to get our kids to listen to us. At times, although I try to remain calm, my voice gets louder and higher in pitch and then…well, you know how it goes! Lately I’ve been learning that putting myself in my kids’ place helps me find a better way […] Read more…
The other day I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed and I came across a local news story about a child who refused to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. It wasn’t for religious reasons (Jehovah’s Witnesses will not pledge to the flag) but just because “he didn’t want to”. The child was […] Read more…
Anyone whose children LOVE doing chores, raise your hand high!! Not all at once please. ;) Perhaps you have children like mine, who started out as toddlers very excited about helping mom with household chores or dad with outdoor tasks but have somehow morphed into a slumped-shouldered, sighing, elementary-aged individual who believes chores are for […] Read more…
Spring is in the air in many places around the country! Where I live, there is still snow on the ground (!) but it is almost gone, thankfully! I am ready to open the windows for good and see some flowers opening for the bright sunshine! In celebration of this fresh season, I bring you […] Read more…
What’s the most important thing you can teach your child this year? The precious Word of God! As our family works to learn Scripture together, there are a variety of methods we have used to help make the Bible verses stick. An simply and fun way for children to learn Scripture is to make a […] Read more…
We teach our children the proper and polite words to say. We discipline them at home to help guide them in the right direction. We pray over them and show them Scriptures that teach character. And it’s working! And we feel good. And then, there’s the fit at Target. Or a meltdown at at playdate. […] Read more…
Remember the story “The Monster at the End of This Book“? Grover begs the children not to turn the page because he is scared of the monster in the book, but it ends up being none other than himself. This is what I think my children believe sometimes. They are so scared, even scared at […] Read more…
Are you a mother of boys? I have two so far! When they were babies, it was fairly simple to figure out how to handle the situations that arose because they were mostly centered around eating, sleeping, playing and reading. As my firstborn grew, I realized that although I had a lot of things covered […] Read more…
Not a day goes by in my house where many, many questions do not get asked. Some of these are questions that are easy to answer, like, “Can we get an elephant and keep him in the backyard?” but others are not so simple. Some of them are technical questions, like when my 7 year […] Read more…
Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be re-sharing a few posts that I published last year as part of a series called Spring Into Summer. My blog has grown much, thanks to all of you, in the past year, so many may not have seen these posts. I hope to give you […] Read more…
Thanks for joining me for The Busy Mom’s Guide to Teaching Character series! If you haven’t yet had a chance to read all the posts, here are the topics we’ve covered so far: The Right and Wrong Motivations for Teaching Character {aka What Does it Mean to Teach Character in Our Kids?} Laying the Groundwork […] Read more…
When the kids are whiny and ungrateful. When the kids are fighting and unforgiving. When we want to teach good habits like diligence, obedience, good attitudes but don’t know where to start. I’ve been there. Likely you have too. And when I was reflecting on my post topic, “practical advice for character building moments”, I […] Read more…