I shared this story with a group I’m part of on Facebook. We’re a group of moms whose kids are venturing out into the world—maybe for the first time, maybe forever leaving the nest, or maybe circling back home after a time away. This story resonated with them and I […]
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I’d like to think at some point in my life I will no longer struggle with the temptation to eat more calories than I burn in a day. However, I love food and the sooner I realize this will always be a weak spot for me the better I […]
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Recently friends and family have made a similar comment to me—“So are you and Gene back to normal now that the kids are back to college? You both have so much going on—I bet you don’t even miss them.” Their comments were full of encouragement and affirmation. However, I struggled […]
Read More...It’s happened again. We have allowed one more neutral cultural trend to become a god in our lives—social media. I cannot walk through a Target store without seeing half of the customers engaged with their phones—whether or not they are with someone or even their small children. As […]
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Photo from:https://www.etsy.com/shop/shopcocoprints I often encourage parents that their kids’ choices are their kids’ choices. They cannot take the blame or guilt of their kids making poor decisions. And that is true. And the converse is true too—we cannot take credit for their good decisions. All that to say, I’m […]
Read More...Monday I talked about our kids’ issues with us not always being our fault. And that is true. Yet, as in every relationship, we have influence. We cannot determine someone’s response to us, but we can provide fertile the ground in which the relationship can grow. I’m […]
Read More...I hate that feeling. I hadn’t experienced it for a few years so maybe that’s why it disturbed me so much at the end of a recent phone call with one of my girls. If you’re a parent of a pre-teen, teen, or young adult child, you’ve been […]
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“My efforts to show Katie (and all our girls) that I love them no matter what has been more about me changing than her changing. This is the key to a meaningful relationship with our kids: we must let God help us be the parents they need. . .We must […]
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One thing I miss most about my girls being on their own is our daily interactions. I miss doing life with them. I found a way to keep the connection in a way that works for everyone. This is so simple you might miss it so read slowly. […]
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I can’t believe I’m starting my third year as an empty nester. Our youngest, Kerry, worked on campus this summer so we didn’t have her home over the summer and her classes start tomorrow. I haven’t written much about my process of releasing her and being an empty-nester […]
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brenda@brendagarrison.com