We all have bedtime routines. What are yours? I brush my teeth, moisturize my face, brush my hair and clean the bathroom mirror; then I prop up my pillows and sit on my bed to pray and read before I turn off the light. Our bedtime rituals are often not intentional, but over time, they […]
When we were expecting parents, my husband and I constantly studied the name book to find appropriate names for our children. We wanted names that not only sounded nice, but also had meanings that we hope would reflect positive character traits in our children. Our son’s name means “man of God”. It’s a form of […]
Have you heard the complaint that kids nowadays do not show proper respect? I read an Agatha Christie mystery where a room full of eyewitnesses were not able to identify the culprit, because the murderer was dressed as one of the housekeepers in the hotel, and “no one ever looks at the face of servants.” […]
Soccer, basketball, scouting, karate, piano lessons, art lessons – we give our children many opportunities to grow. Have we also considered the character traits that we want our children to develop? It can be all too easy to let the prevailing culture’s values carry us along while we are too busy with the daily living. […]
How do you pray for your children? “I pray my son will take a nice long nap today!” “Please God, help my daughter to do well on her test tomorrow.” “God, please help my kids to get over the stomach flu real fast!” I often pray those types of here-and-now type of prayers for my […]
You know what a Stay-at-home mom is. But do you know what a Stay-at-home daughter is? I recently found Jasmine’s blog about being a Stay-at-home daughter. Jasmine is an incredible young lady who has chosen to put family first in her life. She is intentionally learning the art of homemaking, and stays home to serve […]
I remember sitting in a circle at a college fellowship group at church, each person introducing himself/herself. We were asked to “Tell us your name and what you would like to be doing in 5 years.” “My name is George, and I hope to be working for a graphic design company.” “My name is Denise, […]
Last week I met a 7th grade boy who was expelled from school for cyberbullying. He wrote something, must have been a terrorizing something, on Facebook directed at a girl at school. Honestly, I am shocked! I know about cyberbullying of course. I’ve read a lot about it. I know it’s a big issue. I […]
Last Sunday at church, I was called in to talk to a crying 8-year-old boy. “It’s not fair!” He told me in frustration. Another boy had grabbed a Pepsi bottle from his hand, and in anger he started to swing at the boy and the teacher. It wasn’t fair that he got in trouble, and […]
It’s a radical idea, but a good one. My daughter’s teacher, the school Christian club adviser, told the kids that her approach to dating is that she hopes to marry her first boyfriend. What did she say?? Let me clarify. She doesn’t mean she’s going to blindly marry the first guy she happens to go […]
