Gaining a heart of wisdom
"What's that, Mum?" asked my son, pointing to a small plastic something-on-the- ground. "That's just a barrette," I replied, off-handedly. "What's a barrette?" he asked -- framing in one simple question the deeply entrenched boy-culture and the essence of the testosterone-laced air that I have breathed for the past two decades. With this as background,… Continue reading The Art of Being a Wife
You're sitting around a table at your favorite restaurant. The kids are just cleaning up their plates; you're fiddling with the debit card, when along comes the little lady with the big smile and the kind eyes. "I just have to tell you how much I enjoyed seeing your children this evening . . ." she begins,… Continue reading Raising Uncommon Kids
There are times when our kids surprise us -- or even surpass us -- with their insight. This was certainly the case with my youngest son: "It's too much," he said. "I've got all this music to learn for honors band. I'm buying a sheep. I want to work with Cyprus (his 4-H heifer). I'm… Continue reading Peace and Purpose in a World of Crazy
From time to time, I experiment with timelessness by taking off my watch. That naked wrist feels as daring and vulnerable as a bathing suit in a January blizzard, while every glance to check the time quickens my pulse to the rhythm of the question that my heart needs to hear: What’s your hurry? Contriving… Continue reading What’s Your Hurry?
My heart is becoming more elastic these days – not tougher, I hope, but more willing to be stretched, more willing to love on less-than-ideal terms, to accept conditions that I would not prefer, and to take the risk of loving anyway. As happens so often, the Apostle Paul is leading the way, and I… Continue reading For a Short Time
What do you call a dentist who cleans an alligator's teeth? That's a great question to ponder on a car trip or a plane ride or a lazy, rainy Saturday, and it's just one of the many jokes and riddles found in Rob Elliot's and Jonny Hawkin's latest collaboration for kids: Laugh Out Loud Pocket… Continue reading Creativity and Fun in Your Pocket
We live the questions, holding one another's feet to the fire. We raise our kids and pray for each other on those "I'm a Rotten Mom" Days. They know us at our worst, and they love us anyway! They are our Soul Friends: What Every Woman Needs to Grow in Her Faith. Dr. Leslie Parrot writes… Continue reading Soul Friends: A Book Review
One of the rites of passage in our family of four boys has been the one-on-one camp out with Dad. Around the age of ten or eleven, before they were interested in girls, before their bodies started to take on a mind of their own, my good husband took them away for a weekend of canoeing and hotdogs;… Continue reading Getting Explicit
If you're looking for a parenting resource that reads like a how-to book, that comes with a list of add-water-and-stir-guidelines and neat solutions, and that points the way to emulating the perfect life of the author, then Sand in My Sandwich is not for you. However, if you have a special needs child and wonder what it… Continue reading Sweet Relief and Hope
A house full of "young men" doesn't happen overnight. Slippery things, boys are, one minute covered in chocolate frosting, And the next minute starting a career and a family. But there's always the baby, right? Sweet voice and smooth cheek in a baritone and bearded world. Until -- I look in the mirror and know… Continue reading What to Do When the Baby Turns Thirteen
Living Our Days 