Introducing a faith path for family discipleship. Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, there was a farmer. The only thing this farmer had left in the world was a small garden and a fist-sized leather pouch of seeds. But she wasn’t worried. She had confidence that her soil was good. She had confidence that the sun would shine and the rains would come and in due time, she would receive a harvest many times bigger than her small leather pouch could hold. So she borrowed a spade and turned the soil, chopping up clumps, pulling out stubborn roots, and sprinkling in some compost. Then she borrowed a hoe and made neat, straight rows in the dark, moist soil. Last, she pulled out her prize possession: the small leather pouch of seeds. She sprinkled them into the furrows and brushed soil over top. When she had … Read More
5 Sanity-Saving Christian Picture Books For An Anxious Child
Use these Christian picture books for an anxious child! Type the phrase “is childhood anxiety on the rise?” into any search engine, and you probably won’t receive a single “no”. Instead, the headlines look like this: The Decline of Play and Rise in Children’s Mental Disorders The Rising Epidemic of Anxiety in Children and Teens Childhood Anxiety Steadily On the Rise Since the 1950s Mental disorders. Epidemic.Steadily on the rise. It all sounds very serious, and the sad part is that it’s true. Childhood anxiety IS on the rise. There are many factors, from lack of play and sleep to increased school stress and time spent online. One book I read said that children are actually more intelligent in each generation, and intelligent people can easily tend toward anxiety. There are no simple reasons for childhood anxiety, and as parents, this can make us feel helpless. I have written about multiple … Read More
Are you following Jesus or stalking him?
INSIDE: Learn the difference between stalking Jesus and following Jesus, and how to make the switch. Have you ever stalked someone? Even just a little? When I was in high school, there was this guy I liked. He was a childhood neighbor that I had lost track of. It was a shock to discover, many years later, that he was a friend of a friend and attended a nearby school. I didn’t know much about the guy (we lost touch after grade 1) so I asked around. I found out a bit more about him from his friends, including his email address. And I’m super embarrassed to admit this on the internet, but I created a new email account and emailed him a few times anonymously. And NOW you know what a nut job I am. Go ahead, laugh. Please remember this was half my life ago. Stalking means to … Read More
How to teach your kids to ask good questions (about their faith)
My middle son asked the same question for an entire year: how do I know God is real? You might expect this question from a teenager, but this kid was 4 years old. Do your kids ask questions? Mine don’t so much as ask questions as make very random statements that they think are fact. Like “God is like a street sweeper” or “You can never run away from God…or blankie.” Or this one keeper: “I can tell you the whole Bible in 3 words: God loves you.” Now, these are awesome and cute sayings from small children who are completely confident in their faith. But what about when your 4 turns to you and says “how do you know God is real? I can’t see him?” Or when your 12-year-old asks if Jesus really existed? The worst thing we can do as parents is to jump into a lecture … Read More
What Does The Resurrection Mean For Moms?
We talk a lot about Jesus being the substitute for us when he died on the cross, but why does the resurrection matter? When I was a child, I read a story about a boy who, through his own greed, became a dragon. He was a horrid, self-centred child, and becoming a dragon basically showed the world exactly what he was like on the inside. But as a dragon, he began to experience kindness, friendship, and love in a new way. His heart started to change. One night, he was awoken by a great lion who brought him to a pool of healing water. The boy wanted to slip in and receive relief from his dragon body. He scratched at the itchy scales, and he was surprised to find that they peeled off. Delighted, he stepped out of his old skin. But he was still a dragon. He scratched at … Read More
Bible memory for the chronically forgetful
Bible memory stinks. Well, it doesn’t stink. Rather, I stink at Bible memory. It frustrates me because I have so many great ideas of verses I want to memorize, but when it comes right down to it, I…forget to get right down to it. Sometimes I joke that I’d forget my own head if it wasn’t screwed on tight…I say it’s a joke, but deep down I know it’s the truth. I forget to memorize Scripture, but when I do get something in my head, it’s not long before I also forget what I memorized. My long-term memory seems have to have a leak. (Fun fact: I can watch a movie several times and still not remember what happened in the movie. Sometimes I don’t remember even watching it. Ask my husband about how much he loves that…) I stink at getting the Bible into my head, but I love … Read More
The Prayer Of Blessing That Will Transform Your Family
A nightly prayer of blessing can have surprising ripple effects on the faith of your child and in your entire family. He screamed and clutched me as if monsters were trying to drag him into the pit of hell. Maybe that’s how he felt. The first day of kindergarten can be rather rough on a child, but I wasn’t expecting the teachers to have to PEEL my son off me. I walked into the parent meeting, late, brushing tears off my cheeks. This parenting gig is hard on the soul. I find it extra hard to help my eldest with his emotional struggles. He’s a sensitive and creative fellow with an anxious streak a mile long. I had always hoped that his separation anxiety was more of a trick to induce mommy-guilt than a real, true-blue anxiety, but it turns out I was wrong. The anxiety was real, and it … Read More
3 truths to remember when the storm rages
Snowflakes swirled around us as we said goodnight. He brushed accumulated snow off his car, then drove away, leaving deep tracks in the road. No one else wanted to drive tonight, but he had to get home. And home was 2 1/2 hours down a dark and slippery highway. It was a weekend like any other. My fiancee had driven all afternoon on Friday to stay with my family for the weekend, only to drive all the way back home on Sunday evening. It was no big deal. We did it every weekend. Except for the snow. An anxious chill nipped at my heart as his car disappeared into the blizzard. He’d be fine, right? He was a good driver. The cool fingers of fear tugged their way into my mind as the hours went by. Snow piled higher on the fence and drifted across the driveway. This was a … Read More
What Micah 6:8 means for moms
I’ve been feeling spiritually dry recently. I’m sure it has a lot to do with the fact that schedules are changing around here – Dodger has given up his afternoon nap so my at-home afternoons are no longer as quiet as they used to be. Going back to work in April has also been a challenge because our office space has changed: I used to have a room near the back where I could shut the door and pray in peace, and now I have a shared office with a giant window that’s right off the main area. Not that those are insurmountable odds, but it makes spending time in private prayer and the Word a little more challenging to work into my schedule. I imagine there are others of you who struggle with the same thing, no matter what kind of life you lead! For some reason, what is … Read More
3 reasons to meet with God every day
The motto of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, is “Nisi Dominus Frusta”, which means, “without the Lord, frustration”. This is a feeling I know well. Nothing in my life has showed me the extent of my sinfulness and inabilities as parenting. Being a mom has brought out parts of my personality I would much rather have remained under the surface! I’m sure that I am not alone in this confession. Docile women become angry moms, flexible people become brick-wall parents, and unflappable men find themselves snapping in irritation at their children. No one is a perfect parent, but you and I have a choice about how we respond when we’re overwhelmed: a) Will we continue to parent out of our depleted reserves? b) Will we try to fill up our own reserves with me-time and hobbies? c) Or will we turn to the Well that never runs dry to be … Read More