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Want to Destroy Your Family? Be a Perfectionist
This week I'm happy to have as my guest Dani Ross. She's a wife and a mother of three young boys living in Flower Mound, Texas, pursuing a double masters degree at Dallas Theological Seminary in Christian Leadership and Systematic Theology: I began my journey as a mom like most, staring into my baby’s expectant eyes with great anticipation for a sweet, sweet life to come. I was ready to tackle the wild, unknown world of parenting in a life I had preplanned. Expertly researched. The years of comparison with those who had come before me provided me with a nice tidy list of “I’ll nevers” kept in my back pocket.…
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Three Things About Suffering
These next few weeks bring a graduation with much celebration emphasizing the busy season in my life. I asked my friend Kimmy Tan to guest blog for me. Not only did she deliver despite the short notice, she also encouraged me! She reminded me of how precious our heavenly Father proves Himself to us every day. I dread taking my son to his well check-up appointments. When the nurse arrives holding the tray of immunizations, my heart starts pounding. Every single time I see the vials and shots perfectly aimed for my baby, my mind plans an extravagant escape route rivaling any “Mission Impossible” scene. On this particular, gloomy…
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The Path to Sticky Faith
I love being a mentor mom for a “Moms Together” group at a local church. I learn so much from these young women who are at the place I was 30 years ago when our children were small. Our current discussion topic is “Sticky Faith” from the book of the same name by Dr. Kara Powell. The book focuses on what we as parents can intentionally do to help our children have real faith that sticks throughout their teenage years and beyond the time when they live in our homes — what the author calls, “Sticky Faith.” Of course, that generated lots of discussion at our table, especially the statistic Dr. Powell…
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Mothers Have to Grow Up Too
A couple of months ago, I had to pick out eight pictures that represented the last 17 years of my daughter’s life. The yearbook staff at her high school kept sending me reminders of the deadline for the senior ad. So I did what I didn’t want to do—I pulled out photo boxes, inserted photo CD’s into the computer and I sorted through a lifetime of memories. There among the piles of “maybe,” “for sure” and “no way, she’ll kill me,” I remembered some of the advice I received as a young mother. Well, more like warnings than advice: Just wait, she’s cute right now, but when’s…
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Time to Blow Things Up
I do not like change. Unless, of course, it is something I initiate. For the most part, I am most comfortable when a certain ministry in which I am actively involved (MOPS, Bible study, small group) continues on year after year just the same. Well, maybe a few tweaks here and there, but essentially the same. One of my favorite ministry activities is getting blown up this fall. It feels very weird not to have it the same. But, it is the right thing to do. It was time to blow things up! Operation Kaboom! That is what Heather Zempel calls it in her book, Community Is Messy. In fact,…
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Missing the Mess
I try to keep my world uncluttered but as fast as I clean it up, the mess reappears. I'm not blaming people I love who don't seem concerned about their litter. They just walk around it, without a care. I wish I could do that. I wonder if I stopped my incessant organizing, sanitizing, and straightening, how long would it take for anyone to notice. Would we drown in the mayhem first? I remember reading about a woman's routine before bed time: letting the dog out, making lunches, locking doors, setting the alarm, signing permission slips, picking up clothes and toys, setting out clothes for tomorrow, fluffing the pillows…
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The Mother Heart of God
Two days ago we observed Mother’s Day in the US. I think Mother’s Day matters to God because mothers matter to God. And I think mothers matter to God beyond their necessity for bringing new life into the world, but because women reflect an aspect of God’s heart in ways men cannot. Every aspect of our femininity, it seems to me, comes from God originally. He made females in His image with the feminine attributes and strengths that come straight from the Father heart of God. The essence of our femininity is expressed in two main ways: responding and nurturing. One of the most wonderful promises in God’s word says,…
