At a counseling conference my husband and I attended in October, one of the trainers made an interesting statement: “If one of my counselees comes in with general depression-like symptoms, one of my first questions is how much sleep they’re getting.” He shared that his personal policy is to tell them to get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep…
Category: Grow as Mom
“The (On-Going) Talk” (Talking With Your Kids About Sex, From Birth to Age 2)
I recently shared my answer to the question, IS IT BIBLICAL TO TEACH OUR KIDS ABOUT SEX? …and it was so good to hear from you readers. Many of you shared your experiences, and many offered specific questions and suggestions for what should be included in this series. (By the way… do you have more questions/ideas on your mind?…
Are You Doing Too Much?
A few Saturdays ago, I sprained my ankle while coming down our stairs toward the garden. Moving too fast, I misjudged where the sidewalk ended, and the grass deceived me into believing the ground was taller than it was. My ankle rolled. HARD. I *HEARD* cracking noises, y’all. Yikes! But you know what? By Monday morning I…
Is Your Heart Prepared for the Holiday Stress? (Facing the Busyness Without Grumping, Whining, or Self-Pity)
The holidays are upon us. I made it all the way to Thursday when *BAM* someone says, “yeah, just one week until Thanksgiving.” EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Admittedly, this year I don’t have much to do for Thanksgiving. Several families are getting together, and so I have a turkey, and two other items, to bring. One of which…
Stop Waiting For a Zap
Today I want to ask you something: Have you been waiting for the elusive “zap?” What I mean by that is: Are you waiting for something to happen TO you in one of these areas: Is your child throwing tantrums and out of control? Are you in a marriage slump? Is your house a wreck? Are…
Is It Biblical to Teach Our Kids About Sex?
The topic is one that makes some (nearly all?) parents “gulp” and feel a little nervous. Do we really have to talk about it? How do we talk about it? What should we/shouldn’t we say? What if we say too much? What if we don’t say enough? What if we say the wrong thing? Are…
The Weirdest Thing About Diastasis Recti in Pregnancy
I never knew it could happen. There I was, going about my merry first pregnancy, growing bigger by the day. After having my 9 pound, 2 ounce son, I still didn’t know it had happened. My tummy never quite went back to its previous shape, but then plenty of women told me, “that’s normal; everything is…
“Make No Provision” For Your Yelling
We’ve talked about yelling before here. I’ve made it no secret that yelling has been a struggle for me as a mom… but I have also increasingly found self-control and “success” in this area. Perhaps you struggle with yelling… as a wife? as a mom? I don’t know your exact situation… but I want to…
Unprepared for Motherhood: Thanks, Feminism!
On a recent post, I received this (wonderfully honest) comment: “I must not be working hard enough, but I don’t remember feeling this same kind of exhaustion before kids. Nobody whines at work and quibbles constantly and interrupts my every task with the frequency of little kids. At work I did what I got a…
A Child Left To Himself
One day last year, I walked into our bathroom and found my 3-year-old, Moses, with his arms awkwardly positioned, slightly up in the air. Upon hearing my footsteps, he dropped his hands. His big, winsome smile didn’t fool me. 🙂 It was clear there was something in one hand he had pulled down and was trying to…