How to Be a “True Christian” Mother-in-Law

How to Be a "True Christian" Mother-in-Law

Over time, a family with four sons develops a unique tone, a guy-culture with a certain decibel level and a distinct way of doing life. As a mother of some now-married sons, it has been a joy to welcome other women into this circle, women who love my sons well and have also opened their… Continue reading How to Be a “True Christian” Mother-in-Law

9 Resources for Parenting Your School-Age Child

9 Resources for Parenting Your School Age Child

I have a complicated relationship with parenting books. As a new mother, I read all the books, analyzed all the angles, second-guessed all the decisions, and the only thing that saved my sanity is that Google had not yet been invented. That tightrope walk persisted for years until I learned to view the books with… Continue reading 9 Resources for Parenting Your School-Age Child

Praying the Words of Jesus for Your Teen

Pray the Word of Jesus for Your Teen--John 17: "Lord, they are yours."

For one short season of our parenting journey, my husband and I felt as if we were hanging onto the reins of a runaway horse. Daily battles over curfews and negotiations around boundary lines had taken the place of warm conversation and laughter around the table, and we mourned the loss as we searched for… Continue reading Praying the Words of Jesus for Your Teen

Parenting Rooted in Orthodoxy

Day to day parenting decision are deeply rooted in timeless truth. #Orthodoxy

"Hey, Mum, a bunch of the kids are going to Moody's for pie after rehearsal. Okay if I go?" One prerogative of motherhood is to meet every question with more questions: Who's going? Who's driving? Are you going anywhere afterward? Can you remember to let me know if your location changes? This has become a… Continue reading Parenting Rooted in Orthodoxy

The Beauty of Sacrifice and the Joy of Giving

When our children learn to live generously, they become world changers in a changing world.

It's the terminal milestone on the parenting journey: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." III John 4 Even so, there are a good many ways of measuring its achievement. It's what we aim for and pray for, but how do we know that are children have made the leap from… Continue reading The Beauty of Sacrifice and the Joy of Giving

Following the Trail Back to Hope

Hope, Transition from Complaining

Sometimes it’s the very thing that makes you wild, the thing that feels as if it may be your undoing, which ultimately saves your life. For me right now, the pebble in my shoe is a 15-foot speed boat parked parallel to the north side of our house. The college-aged son is a project magnet… Continue reading Following the Trail Back to Hope

Intentional Parenting with a Vision for Your Family

Intentional Parenting with a Vision for Your Family

Consider is a word that pops up all over the place in Scripture, and was even on the lips of Jesus as he invited a crowd gathered on a hillside to "consider the lilies of the field." For most of us, there's hardly an area of our lives that would not profit from a dose… Continue reading Intentional Parenting with a Vision for Your Family

Motherhood: Learning the Ropes of Joy

Motherhood: Learning the Ropes of Joy

Motherhood, for me, started out like a tightrope walk. To keep my balance and maintain my place on the tightly stretched wire, I read all the books, analyzed all the angles, second guessed all the decisions, and the only thing that saved my sanity is that Google had not been invented yet. I'm still in… Continue reading Motherhood: Learning the Ropes of Joy

Parenting After the Fall

Parenting After the Fall

The front-and-center project that's consuming time and thought these days is a parenting workshop that my husband and I will be teaching in March. Preparation includes reviewing everything we've read about parenting in the past couple of years, remembering everything we've stumbled upon in the past two decades in the trenches of parenting, discussing all… Continue reading Parenting After the Fall