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Recently in a Facebook group I am a part of, I saw a young mom ask for help. She said she was battling with laziness and needed encouragement and truth to be spoken into her life. She could no longer use holding her sleeping baby as an excuse and needed to get some things done. Cue the “just hold your baby. They don’t stay little” comments. It’s true. They grow up fast. But can I gingerly tread out on this social media thin ice and say something with a hesitant catch in my voice? Yes hold your baby. There is a time to hold your baby. But sometimes we need to do the dishes or cook our families dinner or do some laundry. We do fellow moms no favors by making one another feel guilty for NOT holding our babies 24 hours a day.  I say this as a bio and foster mom of eight tiny babies over the years. Eight sweet and precious little ones who needed to be held to bond and learn to attach and feel safe. Holding that wee babe is holy work. And so is serving my family an...

Here I sit. Waiting for my daughter. As a homeschooling parent I have to admit I’m not as practiced at this as many of my peers. It still sometimes feels a bit foreign that she is growing into a life outside of our home. Hear me- it’s a good and wonderful thing and I’m thankful for it. It sometimes just feels foreign. Tonight we planned to end our summer break at a local lakeside beach. We had a picnic dinner packed, suits on, sand toys stashed in bags. We were halfway there when the promised “20% chance of rain” turned into a severe thunderstorm warning. We continued on in hopes that it would blow over. It did not. And so we were ending our summer with an unexpectedly pointless road trip in swim wear. We were all so disappointed... everyone but our 13 year old daughter. Going to the beach meant not going to meet with her small group of 8th grade girls. While the rest of the family fought disappointment about the beach, hopeful tears brimmed in her eyes as she asked if she co...

Planning for the fall homeschool term. Feeling the same feelings I do every year and maybe I’m not the only one who needs a peptalk. You’re looking at this list and feeling overwhelmed. You’re thinking about how your plans never seem as pretty or picturesque or complete as those other moms. You’re wondering if you can do it. And you know what? You can’t. You cannot do this on your own. And the good news is that you don’t have to. God has given you everything you need to do what He has called you to do. You aren’t called to be that family on Instagram. You are called to be you- you, just obeying, empowered by the Holy Spirit, getting up every day and drinking all the coffee and doing the next thing and finding Him faithful. There is no perfect mom. No perfect education. But we have such a good and perfect God and He has not changed. So stop listening to the lies. He has entrusted you to mother and teach these kids in this season in this way. Trust Him. And do it. ...

I used to do all the things. Cloth diapers. Homemade baby food. Homemade laundry detergent. Grinding my own wheat. Fresh baked bread. Homemade yogurt. Good grief, overachiever. Calm down. Tonight I fed my family dinner that a friend graciously dropped off and we ate on paper plates with red solo cups. I buy disposable diapers in bulk at Sam’s club and am grateful Aldi sells Greek yogurt. And those baby food pouches? What a glorious invention. I still do all the things. The list is just different. And as different things come on the list, something’s gotta give. Hey you, mama, feeling like a failure because you can’t do what you used to do, or can’t do all your friend does, or what your Pinterest board says you should do- stop it. Stop trying to do it all. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, right? Don’t forget the context of that verse (Philippians 4:13)- Paul is saying he has learned the SECRET of being CONTENT- in any and every situation. What’s the secret? ...

My house is quiet right now. My kids were at work with me this morning, we grabbed lunch and groceries, and now the boys are playing with legos and my daughter is reading. It’s gently raining outside. The windows are open and my dog is asleep at my feet. Today is not a magical summer day. There are no adventures. Our calendar is much calmer this year, and for a few moments today, I began to feel  guilty about that. Sometimes it’s hard to resist the social mantra that tells me that I need to make summer magical. Make a bucket list. Go on adventures and have planned fun everyday. I’ve tried that in the past - I just end up tired, my kids end up tired and dependent on me to tell them how to have fun. Enough. Summer was magical when I was a kid because of the possibilities held in hours of unstructured time. Things to imagine. Books to read. Cookies and bread to learn to bake. (Even) TV to watch. Of course I loved swimming, and an occasional family vacation (usually to see extended...

As leaves fill the trees, graduation parties fill the squares on our May calendar, and thoughts of summer vacation fill our minds... questions about homeschooling tend to fill my conversations this time of year. Homeschooling is a fantastic fit for our family. We love it, our kids thrive with it, and I am so grateful for the privilege of teaching them. I love the intensive time of discipleship and relationship building it gives us and the intentional way we can engage life together as a family. Will we homeschool all the way through? I don't know. We are confident God will guide us step by step. Would we do this again? Absolutely. Could you homeschool, if that's what God is calling your family to do? No doubt. But should you homeschool? I don't know. I can't answer that for you. What I can tell you is that fear isn't a good reason to do [or not do] anything. Are you considering homeschooling out of fear? Or are you considering homeschooling b...

This one's for you, Mama. For you when weariness wakes up with you - when sleep is fleeting, eyes are heavy, no coffee strong enough. For you when tantrums rage and you cry hidden tears of frustration and exhaustion. For you when you read the news headlines and look at your precious ones and fear lurks at the edges. For you when children stretch tall and hormones rage and doors slam and every emotion possible somehow shares the same ten minutes. For you when no one can find their shoes. Matthew 19:13-15  Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.   Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there. Familiar verses... but linger a moment with me, Mama. Some days our work feels small, unimportant, unworthy of notice. That's how the dis...

Reading news headlines brings back memories. Thoughts of water park trips, the feeling of dropping at dizzying speeds through twists and turns of slides with names like The Toilet Bowl . The thrill, the moments of breathless panic, the utter exhaustion. It makes me want to hold my breath - this downward, ever faster, desperate pull of our world. Huddle the kids close. Strap lifejackets on tight. I don't want them caught in the undertow and pulled to the deep. As culture degrades, politics divide, social media dishes depravity and broken identity, how do we help them find their footing? How do we prepare them to stay afloat in the deep, not try to isolate them on the shore? Today we finished the last page in Long Story Short . As we have journeyed through the lives of Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah - men growing up and living for God through exile in pagan Babylon - the truths they held close, truths that inspired faithful lives in an unfaithful land, ring out loud and clear. Bet...

The owner of these cute little toes recently turned ten. Somehow an entire decade has passed. A decade of diapers, milestones, crayons, bandaids, tears, time outs, babydolls, zoo trips, library visits, hikes, snuggles, and discoveries. My little girl isn't quite so little anymore. We gave her clothes for her birthday and she was thrilled. Times have changed. As much as my mama-heart feels nostalgic and a little sad to see her stretching up tall and looking less like a child, I am thankful. She is growing in her understanding of the world. She is growing in her own abilities. She is growing in love for others. She is growing in her love for Jesus. She is my biological child, but my greatest privilege and blessing has been mothering her spiritually. John says it well, speaking of his spiritual children - there is no greater joy. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4 In the past week we have opened a new c...

Let’s have a little pep talk, shall we? I need it - perhaps you do, too? Life at our house is often a blur, but the last couple of weeks have been frenetic. Our biggest ministry event of the year, followed immediately with a sudden three day road trip. Then, still several hours from home, we received a call from Job and Family Services - we brought home our newest foster baby, another newborn baby boy, the next morning. And just to make it more exciting, baby-arrival day was also our five year old’s birthday, I had a speaking engagement on Saturday, and our kids were participating in our church’s Christmas concert. Homeschool was shelved for the week. Doctor appointments, errands, laundry, paperwork, and all manner of other little details came crashing in. And oh yeah - we have a newborn in the house. And it’s Christmas. What’s a girl to do when life gets a little cra-cra? Here’s a pep talk I’m giving to myself for the upcoming week, some pointers I need to remember....

The weather outside has been unseasonably warm. Inside, not so warm. Our kids have had short tempers and sharp words with one another in the past couple of days. Several months ago I had introduced them to the old J-O-Y acronym – Jesus first, then others, you last! They had locked onto that and bring it up from time to time. Today, when having a little family meeting to apologize and repair broken relationships after a rough morning, LB said the way they had been acting was like “YOJ.” Putting themselves first. As it is December first, we came up with a quick advent project: JOY missions. {It’s not a pinterest-worthy label and it’s crookedly scotch-taped on, but it does involve scented markers and a mason jar we found floating in a lake while canoeing this summer. Does that count?}  ;) We wrote out some secret missions: Let someone else go first. Clean someone else’s room. Make someone’s bed. Choose a toy to give away. Write an encouraging note. S...

A few weeks ago a friend was telling me how organized and on top of everything I seem to be. And I burst out laughing. I certainly don’t feel organized and on top of things! In our hectic life, I usually feel like I am two steps behind and holding on for dear life, constantly running late and wondering what I am forgetting (or very well aware of what I haven’t had time to do.) However, after struggling to learn the ropes as a mother, homemaker, homeschooler, and a part-time work-from-home-mom, there are a few tips I can share with my friends who want to know how we do things. I certainly don’t do it “all,” and I won’t even claim I do these things well… but I can tell you how we seek to manage certain aspects of life to maintain sanity and some semblance of order. :) Women’s lives are exceptionally seasonal. Every day, week, year is so different. In these years with young children, they grow and change and just when we find something that works… it doesn’t anymore. For me, I have fo...

I vividly remember having some serious emotional breakdowns around kindergarten and first grade. We’re talking, sobbing suddenly and uncontrollably at the water fountain for reasons that are hard to explain. It’s no wonder I married a mental health professional. We joke about my childhood emotional instability, but watching my six year old struggle to hold on to any kind of rationale when strong emotions are swirling and bubbling out of control inside of him is no laughing matter. Lately he has fallen apart over quite a variety of things, most fairly inconsequential. Somehow, when my son is losing it over things like slight frustration with his shoes, or not getting to play the game he wanted, or running into a tiny bit of difficulty with his math, any shred of patience and perspective seems to vanish from his mother, too. Once again, I am thankful I married NP. NP and I have been talking a lot recently about examining our thoughts and feelings, accepting (aka, not living i...