Gaining a heart of wisdom
Roots and wings are the gifts Christian parents pass on to our children. We establish rules, give them responsibilities that build confidence and skill, and water those deep roots with lots of love and prayer, knowing that strengthening wings will soon carry our children away from home, out of reach of our influence and our… Continue reading Three Biblical Ways to Pray for Your Adult Children
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
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
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
Armed with passwords and last year’s tax forms, we gathered at the dining room table with my youngest son and his new wife. They had asked for help in the annual ritual of completing the FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which college students must submit in order to qualify for scholarships of… Continue reading Mothering Ourselves Out of a Job: Launching Our Children into Adulthood with Joy
I observed as my small grandson placed one hand on the door frame, shifted his weight to one foot, and then put the other small boot toe-down on the floor. Looking at his dad, he checked his hand position and then assumed the facial expression he deemed appropriate to the occasion, a conversation among “the… Continue reading To the Boy Mum Seeking Hope and Help in Raising Her Son with Solid Character
The parties in this mini-drama will remain unnamed, but I will reveal that the scenario is taken from an old journal entry (which accounts for its truncated style): The Dad: [Reading from the Bible] “My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother; They will be a graceful ornament on… Continue reading 3 Reasons to Embrace the Precious Pitfalls of Family Discipleship
The email landed in my inbox from a total stranger, and it arrived with an almost audible thud so heavy were the emotions it carried. It came from the heart of an expectant mother who had just received the news that the baby she was carrying was a boy. She had been hoping for a… Continue reading Mother-Son Relationships | How to Build a Love that Lasts
Hope has become one of those words that might show up on a couch pillow or stenciled onto a wall hanging. We’ve domesticated the word, taming it until it’s become a floating, sentimental abstraction: "Faith, hope, and love... now you may kiss the bride." The truth is that hope is our lifeline, but we do… Continue reading The Peril of Hoping in Hope and the Solid Joy of a Better Hope
“Hey, do you think you can get this stain out, Mum?” He handed me his T-shirt, still warm from his body, and I assured him that boiling water would make short work of blueberry juice on cotton. As the kettle boiled and the water poured and the steam rose from the kitchen sink, I thought… Continue reading What Does Hope Look Like? (Meditations Over a Stained T-Shirt)
Living Our Days 