Recently, on an older post about exhaustion, I received this comment: “I don’t want to offend anyone but why do people keep having more kids if they are already exhausted with the 1 or 2 they do have?” There are so many answers I could give, but for me, it all boils down to this:…
Search Results for: mom on purpose
Avoid Burnout: Intentionally Steward YOU
Burnout can come to any of us. Sometimes it comes because we’re in a high-stress season, and sometimes it comes because we’ve over-committed. There are times, though, when burnout comes because we have not treated ourselves as human beings worthy of care. Whether because we’ve been a “mommy martyr” or because in the busyness of life,…
Hot Topics
Parenting, Sex, and Birth Control are “hot topics” I often get asked about. Here are my boiled-down thoughts on these things. MY THOUGHTS ON PARENTING My favorite book on the subject is Raising Godly Tomatoes, by Elizabeth Krueger. In general, my thoughts are: GREATLY LOVE & show affection to your children. Keep them close to…
Embracing Spiritual Growth (Without Despising the Growing Pains)
When our children are little– still young and immature– the discipline and structure we give them is for their good, because they do not yet possess the guardrails that will help them, for example, to get the rest they need. But note: they do not often see these things as “good.” They want to do…
A Skillful Producer (Proverbs 31:17-22, 24)
“[SHE] MAKES HER ARMS STRONG. SHE PUTS HER HANDS TO THE DISTAFF, AND HER HANDS HOLD THE SPINDLE. SHE OPENS HER HAND TO THE POOR . . . SHE IS NOT AFRAID OF SNOW FOR HER HOUSEHOLD, FOR ALL HER HOUSEHOLD ARE CLOTHED IN SCARLET. SHE MAKES BED COVERINGS FOR HERSELF; HER CLOTHING IS FINE LINEN…
21 Ways to Help Your Family Thrive Through Transition
One of the unique qualities of our family is this: WE’VE DONE TRANSITION. A LOT. In not-quite 14 years of marriage, we’ve lived in 13 primary residences, and in 8 temporary living situations (each 1-2 months). 5 of those residences were overseas, and almost all of those moves were with children. A number of you have asked…
God’s Word: A Firm Foundation
“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent word! What more can He say than to you He hath said— To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?” HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION, YE SAINTS OF THE LORD IS LAID FOR YOUR FAITH IN HIS EXCELLENT…
Are Unrealistic Expectations Ruining Your Holidays?
Moms, on today– Mother’s Day– let’s purpose to be thankful for whatever we are given, however small. Frankly, any holiday can set us up to have unrealistic expectations. Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries… younger women are now even told to expect a “push present” for having birthed a baby. Again and again, we women are primed by our culture…
5 Questions About Your Spiritual Growth
We have a bush, a beautiful bush that used to grow in our yard. (It was a Japanese Barberry— love them!!) But that was exactly the problem. It grew in the yard-– it had been planted in the middle of the grass. For two years, I mowed AROUND the bush, week in, week out. So earlier this…
Who is the Captive: Your Thoughts Or You?
Last week, I noticed I was feeling anxious. I’d been running the budget numbers again, trying to do accurate projections for what would happen when. We’re trying to sort out what we should do with our house, and when/if we should list it. Normal things to think through in a time of transition. But I…