A list of books to encourage your family now (Psst: A special book giveaway at the end!!) When it comes to reading great books, most women I know (including me!!) only wish they had more time. I have some blurry memories of days curled up with a great novel; days when I couldn't put the book down it was so good....Anyone else have distant memories like that?But when it comes to books about parenting and family life, I find time. I can't imagine life without them! I may not lose
Encouragement and faith
For the days that matter. {every day} A word of encouragement.
Hi friends...While I've been away, I've begun the daunting task of looking over hundreds of posts in my blog files -- some published, some unpublished...some inspired, but unfinished, others clearly begging to be trashed. ("blog spring cleaning" --it's a big job.) Anyways, I found a special post tucked away that for some reason was never published. I thought maybe this was a good time to share it. I hope there's something in it for you.BTW: This post was written 4 years ago -- (I
Why Meditate? (with printable 5-minute Bible Meditation Cards!)
**Scroll right to the bottom to get the cards!**This time of year is full of excitement and anticipation. But for some of us, (most of us,) it can also be draining, and even anxiety-ridden. This year I want to encourage you to slow down a little (with me)...and one way I want to do that is by using meditation. But not just any meditation...I hope you'll read on and see what I'm talking about. {and find a free printable to help you at the
When I Heard my Kids Describe my Marriage.
It all began in the car. The boys had just finished school, and we were headed to the beach...All six of us, or "the whole fam-damily" as my mom used to say.The crew of excited boys were clamoring in back, loud as ever, while I thumbed text messages into my iPhone. My husband drove quietly, lost in his many thoughts--likely thoughts of hospital patients, or our skate park project. He's a thinker. Not a big talker.In the middle of it all, one of our boys, the chattiest one, leaned
Yoga, Meditation, and my (Christian) faith
If you've been around my blog for a while, you probably know that I am a Christian. You've also likely heard me talk about doing yoga.Christianity and yoga...Some of you hear those two things and you're like, Yea, big deal. What's the point?Others hear that and red flags start waving. How do you combine the two? Christians shouldn't do yoga! Isn't yoga an eastern religious thing? Well, over time a lot of people have asked me about this, and I've kind of put off responding. If
3 of the Most Important Parts of Parenting (That aren’t Really about “Parenting”)
We like to talk about parenting around here. There's something satisfying about learning new tips and tricks and adding fresh methods to our parenting tool box.But there are a few other things that I believe are really foundational to raising good kids. These things are a little trickier though, because they are...well, more personal. In fact, they're all about us. The list could be long, but I am breaking it down into three main categories. I know I'm hitting on a few touchy subjects
What My Boys Have Been Reading…
We all know that reading is super important for kids, but it isn't always easy to get our kids to read, right? We are competing with so many demands on our kids' time, and we are especially competing with all of the digital things (yes, books can be digital too, but most often that isn't what we're competing with.)When we first started homeschooling, I used Sonlight Curriculum, which (at least in the early years), is pretty much ALL reading aloud. I love that in theory, but somewhere
Parenting Without Anger: A Vlog
In my recent post talking about the Anger-Lecture Cycle, I mentioned that one of the worst moments in parenting is being confronted with a behavior that absolutely warrants a consequence, yet being completely stumped as to what the consequence should be. In that moment, mad as heck, my mind often freezes. I see red. Smoke begins to billow out of my nostrils (not really, but maybe really.) I wish I could think on my feet, but I simply cannot. Sadly, this is a total set-up for mom to lose her