One of my favorite passages in C.S. Lewis’ fiction is from his book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. For background, Eustace is a wretched, spoiled boy who constantly complains and makes life miserable for himself and everyone else. He’s unexpectedly come to Narnia with his cousins Edmund and Lucy. The ship they’re on visits several islands, and…
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August Mailbag: Circumcision? Breastfeeding in Public? When Your Child Says, “I’m Bored?”
TO CIRCUMCISE OR NOT TO CIRCUMCISE? Q: To circumcise or not to circumcise? I’m anxious about the subject and my husband and I disagree. What do you guys do? And what were your reasons? Thanks! First, don’t be anxious (this is a biblical command for believers!) and stop reading nonsense anxiety-giving mom stuff on the…
Mama, Are You Thinking Ahead?
One major struggle of women who have a hard time transitioning to the “empty nest” time seems to be that they never really thought their kids would be gone. They didn’t really think of their kids as future adults. Parenting wasn’t thought about in terms of raising MEN and WOMEN. It was just “my baby”, “my little…
Fading Beauty, Mom Jeans, & the Realities of Marriage
On a post last year about the growing expectations on young woman to look physically perfect (and increasingly generic), a commenter wrote: Quick thought from a guy – Know what really hurts? When a girl spends a mountain of care and attention trying to win over exciting but unsaved “bad boys”, but then discovers the…
When Your Kids Need You To Be Stubborn
We all start out with high hopes for our children. But over time, as moms, we get worn down. The years… the fussing… the hormones… the reality of daily life with sinners– it all swirls together and we find ourselves in a mental “place” we could not have foreseen when we stared down at our…
When Your Life Is Devastated
Yesterday our family drove to Mount St. Helens, the famous volcano in Washington state that erupted in 1980. The eruption enacted complete devastation in the blast area. It “blew down so many trees that the toll was calculated at 4 billion board feet, the amount of lumber to build 300,000 two-bedroom homes.” The blast zone…
12 Things Every Mommy Needs to Remember (Mom On Purpose, Day 1)
Yesterday we asked: AM I DOING THE MOST ESSENTIAL THING? Thoughts about essentialism and how it squares with my job as a mom have been swirling in my head for weeks. Saturday, it all came to a head when I realized I didn’t have my phone. My hands patted and searched, frenetically panicked like Bilbo Baggins’ hands when…
The Postpartum In-Between: Searching for Joy While Waiting for a New Normal
Have you been in this place? In between sizes In between hormone swings In between “normals” in your daily routine In between feelings of competence & incompetence In between very little sleep and normal amounts of sleep In between a variety of very STRONG feelings My precious little man is 8 weeks old today, and I’m there. The…
The Proverbs Woman (No, Not THAT One!)
When prompted to think of “the Proverbs Woman”, anyone who has read a handful of books, skimmed a few blogs, or heard a sermon or two aimed at Christian women will automatically call to mind the Proverbs 31 woman. Land investor, wise guru, accomplished seamstress, careful shopper, generous philanthropist, and dependable wife and mother all rolled into one,…
Why Your Kids’ Appetites Matter
Parents instill appetites in their children. We know it’s generally true with foods. I didn’t grow up eating: Russian goulash Thai peanut chicken over a bed of sprouts & star fruit for dessert Ethiopian injera I did grow up eating: pancakes tacos spaghetti Even as an adult, while I might occasionally try something new, or discover…