Encouragement and Help for Your Parenting-Style Mistakes

  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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This Holiday Season Tide the Intrusion of Social Media into Your Family

    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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Growing Responsible Kids

  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 […]

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It’s Not Your (all) Fault

    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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Easy Way to Connect with Your Away-from-Home Kid

    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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If Your Mom-heart is Hurting Today. . .

    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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Why It’s Good to Release Our Kids

  Today is one of my favorite days to run—actually my only favorite day to run. Today is the first day of kindergarten in my school district. This morning I saw young parents and their little kindergarteners on their front porches and driveways taking first-day-of-school pictures. It was precious. Honestly […]

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5 Things Your Child Needs From You before Back to School

I have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. I’m ready to get back into a schedule even though I’ve had a ball spending time with friends and my family. But I also hate that the girls are going back to school and it will be weeks between visits. […]

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Do You Need to Forgive Your Child?

    I will start by honestly telling you I give my kids plenty of opportunities to offer me forgiveness. I mess up as a mom on a regular basis. My kids look into the eyes of a cranky, impatient woman and feel like she can’t be pleased. The perfect […]

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