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The Power of Light…Seeking The Brightness”
Have you ever had to sit in the dark without lights for a few hours, perhaps overnight or a few days? Years ago, my husband and I were traveling from Texas to Delaware. This was a two-and-a half-day drive, so overnight stops were on the agenda. One stop was in Knoxville, Tennessee where we had stayed before and did not expect any surprises. Our hotel was booked for the night and there were a few restaurants close to our location. But as we approached the area, we noticed something was different and a bit strange. The streetlights were out, buildings were dark, and the whole area was in shrouded in…
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Renewed vows to my kids.
Please Welcome the words of my dear friend, Laney Wooten. Laney lives outside of Longview, Texas. She is wife to Jon and Mom to six energetic children, with a mosaic of special needs and talents. Her beautiful words are encouraging and full of promise for a bright, blessed year in this journey of parenting. Well, I’m about 15 years in to this mothering thing and I’ll admit, I’m getting burned out. I know I’m not the only one either. You, like me, probably feel like you’ve just loaded the billionth pile of laundry fully aware that you’ll see it right back in the same place tomorrow. Maybe you’re stuck in…
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Preparing kids for the Lemonade Stand; Parenting from a place of your Redemption
Our recent adventure in parenting involved trying to decide how our boys could have summer jobs despite their young ages. What began as a way for our kids to sell the flowers from their garden morphed into making homemade jellies and apple butter. Turns out that making jellies and apple butter is hard work, and it is not independently done by young kids! After several weeks of working in the kitchen, the boys created a nice stash of apple butter to take to market. We added fresh baked cookies and banana bread to our menu and carefully worked late into the evening on Friday night preparing for the Saturday morning market. …
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Boundaries That Protect
A child doesn’t have to be burned to learn that fire is dangerous. It’s not necessary to be hit by a car to learn that a street is not a safe place to play. Children need consistent reinforcement of truth to learn it. For most children, this will be enough to shape their thinking and influence their actions. While they are very young, we take them by the hand moving them out of danger while reinforcing with our words, “It’s hot, don’t touch it or it will burn you. It is dangerous to go into the street. That is a no! This is a yes.” Our actions and words influence…
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PRAYER NEVER DOES NOTHING
Prayer is a dialogue. Prayer is not just a conversation; it’s the place where faith meets command and obedience is born. Can we really reduce it to a formula of what, when and how to speak to God? Does one size really fit all? I think not.
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Abortion. A response to Culture; combatting fear with community
Recently on social media, I have observed a variety of statements, carefully and well meaningfully crafted, to support the concept of abortion. In particular, former supreme court Justice, and women’s rights champion, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s quote, stood out to me. Interestingly, I agree with her sentiment, just for different reasons. “The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When government controls that decision for her, she is being treated less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.” “The decision whether or not to bear a child…
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Teaching Toddlers
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.” Seriously! Teach toddlers about God!
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Pray or Play? Agendas Can Be Changed
“Grandma is praying and not playing.” A few weeks ago, those words were shared by our granddaughter to her parents. Being a grandma is so much fun, but sometimes playing is not on the agenda when prayer is necessary. Our granddaughter and her mom and dad had come to our house the evening before my husband’s reverse shoulder replacement surgery. Our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter wanted to spend some time with us before his surgery. We were enjoying the evening and spending time as a family, until my husband’s phone rang. Our good friends whom we had not talked to in a while learned about my husband’s surgery and called…
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He is Bigger Still
The pediatric dentist had delivered bad news. Our son needed oral surgery on not just one or two teeth, but on multiple teeth. And given the extent of the dental work anticipated and our son’s medical history, the procedures would need to be done in a hospital and under anesthesia. I began reviewing the cost estimates the dentist’s office manager had given to me as my husband drove us home. Hospital operating room + anesthesiologist + dental work = big bills. And it wasn’t just about the additional medical and dental expenses. (Though those were sufficient stress alone.) It was also that, due our son’s other medical needs, he’d already…
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“Train Up a Child…”- Proverbs
What better book to help train up a child than Proverbs? Granted there are some subjects in Proverbs that are too much adult information for a child. Nevertheless, I believe that there is much in every chapter that would profit our children and help them grow up to be wise adults. It is an important balance for the parent or teacher to allow a child to be a child while teaching them the important principles that will train them up to be wise adults. Too many adults in this generation lack wisdom. Even those with lots of street savvy or book learning, many times, do not have the wisdom to…
