I know the lies anxiety tells you. That you’re a failure because you didn’t finish everything you should have today. That your kids deserve a better mother, a mother who is able to do it all. Worry about everything and nothing simultaneously gnaws at you. There are even times when you worry that you aren’t worried enough! The simplest of tasks become nearly impossible since it feels like you are doing them while walking through thick mud, in heavy fog. The prospect of any seemingly insignificant change to your carefully crafted schedule is completely overwhelming and sends you into a panic. Papers cluttered on top of the counter and toys on the floor, along with the spills, make you cranky. You hold your kids back from a lot of ... Read More...
4 Ways To Raise Thankful Children
My seven-year-old loves to read her Illustrated Children's Bible on her own each morning before breakfast. From the kitchen, I'll often hear commentary like "oh boy, here they go again." She's discovering that the Israelites weren't always so grateful. In fact, they were usually downright selfish complainers. God had just delivered them from slavery in Egypt and was providing for their physical needs in the wilderness, as He led them to the Promised Land. Yet, they still found reasons to moan and groan. Our kids are prone to the same type of behavior. They have safe, warm homes with rooms full of toys and plenty of food to eat. Video games. Friends. Loving parents. But somehow they're not satisfied. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us that ... Read More...
Why It’s Okay That You’re Not Enough For Your Kids
I have always been a perfectionist. I guess it comes with being the oldest child, especially growing up in a family that tried to maintain a wonderful outward appearance while crumbling apart on the inside. I've carried that legacy, or should I say bondage, right into my own family. I have never felt so inadequate as the day a nurse handed me my newborn son, and I looked at him and literally thought "Now what am I supposed to do with this?" You would think that ten years later and with another child under my belt, I'd feel equal to the task of mothering. But I still struggle with my mommy alter-ego. You know, the one who shows up to point out everything you're doing wrong. She keeps me down and focused on how NOTHING I do measures ... Read More...
7 Things Every Good Christian Mom Does
What makes a good mom? If you ask 100 people this question, you'll probably get 100 different answers. We often imagine someone who is always patient, available, and bakes cookies from scratch. Someone who never has emotional outbursts or gets irritated with her kids for making messes. The ideal standard is hard to live up to. And Christian moms face this pressure even more. In our quest to elevate the role of motherhood and encourage one another that it is a worthy calling, we've gone to the opposite extreme of equating mothering with sainthood. I can think of no mother I know who would even remotely qualify for this status. Because we're all human. We're imperfect, saved sinners just trying to do our best to raise children for ... Read More...
How To Delight In Your Kids Instead Of Deal With Them
“It must be so much fun to be her”, my husband said to me. My daughter had been singing her heart out in the shower, like a little girl should. She was completely free of cares and worry. Meanwhile, I was preoccupied with all the things that still needed to get done that evening. My to-do list loomed large in front of me like a giant that stood in the way of enjoying anything carefree. These past couple of weeks, we've been slogging our way through homeschooling. Sending my kids off on the big yellow bus would have been more than a little satisfying, to be honest. I eventually realized an important element was missing from our daily routine. I had become more focused on discipline, lesson plans and managing a home, than delighting in my ... Read More...
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