Gaining a heart of wisdom
On the first Sunday of every month, everyone in our Sunday school gathers in the sanctuary for a short teaching time followed by muffins, juice, coffee, and shenanigans before the sticky trail of crumbs takes us all to our regular classes. When I can, I like to use that time to reassure the kids that… Continue reading Seize Teachable Moments and Point Children Toward a Loving God
A tall platform at the Colorado Springs Zoo gives patrons a once-in-a-lifetime, eyeball-to-eyeball experience with giraffes, the gentle giants of the animal kingdom. Not quite two, my little grandson fed lettuce leaves to his new tame and very attentive friends. “Look at those big brown eyes!” I crowed. “Big, beautiful eyes like yours!” “Long purple… Continue reading How Can I Discourage My Son’s Potty Mouth and Encourage Good Manners?
“Do you always read to your kids like that?” she queried. My friend was referring to my rendition of a Dr. Seuss classic delivered at tongue-twister speed from a rocking chair in the church nursery: “Would you like them in a house?Would you like them with a mouse?Would you eat them in a box?Would you… Continue reading How To Cultivate a Healthy Relationship with Time When You’re Hardwired for Hurry
Along the wooded trail behind my home, a birch tree arches in a graceful curve as it stretches across the pathway. It’s a veteran of a good many northern New England ice storms and knows what it is to bow low under a weight of snow and frozen rain. Even though its tip-top branches have… Continue reading Solid Theology and the Gift of Community: Keys to Resilient Mothering
The spring of 2019 showed up bleak and gray, but we barely noticed. The weight of waiting occupied every minute, with question marks bristling where daffodils had been delayed. An army of friends prayed for our family when we could not, waging war on our behalf, inquiring with kindness about obstacles that made no sense… Continue reading Do You Think There Is Such a Thing as a Successful Prayer Life?
By the time I was 21, I had been thoroughly inoculated against any threat of marriage by the wistful comments of my married friends: “Oh, you can do that now, but just wait till you get married and have kids…” They painted an image of a small, constricted world with no scented candles (dangerous open… Continue reading 3 Mothering Insights I Learned on the Job, but Wish I Had Known from the Start
When you’re five years old, baking cookies with your Sunday school teacher at her house on a Saturday morning is just about the best thing in the world. The moment I arrived to pick up my son, I could tell by his beaming face that he had enjoyed every minute of the baking, the snacking,… Continue reading Managing Big Feelings in Little People: 5 Strategies for Emotionally Healthy Kids
Remember when most households consisted of a married couple and their children? Friends my age who grew up in single-parent homes back in the 60s and 70s have confided to me that they felt the weight of their uniqueness in the pit of their stomachs. By contrast, statistics reveal today the proportion of households consisting… Continue reading 3 Parenting Insights for Raising Emotionally Healthy Men, Good Husbands, and Strong Fathers
Part of the delight of spending time with my oldest grandson is that he takes nothing for granted.Nothing.“Bam, why bubble pop?”“Because you stood on it.”“Why?” Well, good question. Why indeed, and even now, our conversations still routinely run on in this vein of relentless curiosity. Now that he’s old enough to have moved from bubble… Continue reading The Practice of Curiosity and the Rewards of a Lifelong Quest for Knowledge
Happy Father's Day! If you have a loving dad in your home, or if you grew up in a home where there was a supportive and involved father, you have so much to celebrate! Children are blessed when their father contributes his unique gifts, perspectives, and personality to the family. One of the best gifts… Continue reading The Best Father’s Day Gift: A Loving Dad
Living Our Days 