Election Lessons: What Our Kids Can Learn From This Election

Presidential elections can show us just how divided our country can be, and vitriol from all camps has been served to us through the airways, on social media, and in conversation for months. As an adult, I have found this season to be difficult to tread through. I can only imagine what it must be like to be a child watching adults verbally bash the candidate they like the least, and the people who follow that candidate. My husband and I have chosen to have honest discussions with our children about the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate, and about …

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When I’m Told to Take Care of Myself: Thoughts on Biblical Self-Care

My house is a chaotic mess right now. There are couches stacked on each other, clothes and toys everywhere, and we can’t even get into our living room because the floors are being redone.  All of this, coupled with my struggle with anxiety has made it very difficult for me to keep a clear head nowadays. My husband just came back from an extended work-related trip, after which we took a family vacation. It is in desperate times like these, I wonder, how in the world do other moms do it? I know I can’t be the only one struggling. …

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Election Day

Election Day and empowering, enduring truths for moms

Every mom can be empowered by earthly elections. While the whole world isn’t voting for a leader today, it’s Election Day in the United States, and much of the world waits to see the outcome. No one watches our individual responses as closely our children. No matter the outcome in our process of choosing a president or electing a leader, today is a day to model strength and faith for our children.   Future leaders learn from us today.  Some moms will balance toddlers on their hip to watch them cast their vote. Others will snap pictures outside of polling stations …

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Stories of Life-Change from The MOM Initiative

We are honored to serve moms and the children they are raising around the world. It’s what God called us to do when we launched The MOM Initiative in 2012. To minister to moms who know Christ and reach those who don’t. To make mentoring missional, impacting over a million moms and the children they are raising. We believe that if the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world, then the church that mentors those hands will win it. One. Mom. At. A. Time! if the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world, then the church that mentors …

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Let’s Say Grace: Pizza Meatloaf

The glory of God’s grace is that He will not waste a moment of our lives. Let us pray: Father God we confess that we often do not understand what You are doing in the trials or hard times in our lives. And Lord there are times it is difficult to know that You are a God who can and does work miracles, but seems silent in our dark times. But God we know You and Your character. We know that You are a God who promises to work all things out for the good of those who love you. …

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When You Feel Like a Failure

We all feel like we have failed at something at one time or another in our lives. And that can be hard to process. But, if we can remember that our identity lies in Christ and not in the things of this world, we really do ourselves a favor. Our identity is not in being the best at something, in our job, or in another person. Our identity lies squarely in who God says we are. We also need to acknowledge that these failure feelings are not from God. The devil would like to keep us in a state of …

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Mirror, Mirror of the Word – Tips For Effective Bible Reading

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” How many times have we heard this line from the story Snow White? The Wicked Queen asks the magic mirror this question every day, and until the appearance of Snow White the reflection responds that she, the Wicked Queen, is the fairest. The only problem with this answer is that the mirror is only looking at outward appearance. It does not judge her evil heart, blackened with jealousy and cruelty. What would she have done if the mirror had pointed out her wicked ways? There is no such thing …

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Life Doesn’t Have to Become Unravelled When Mom Is Sick – 5 Things to Help Your Home Run Well When You Aren’t Feeling Well

I’m sick. Feeling like pooh (and I’m not talking about Winnie)! Sniffing, snorting, sneezing, fever, just-want-to-crawl-under-the-covers sick. Somewhere between chills and Kleenex, my blank mind wandered to a time when my children were young and being sick wasn’t something I had time for.  I wasn’t prepared. Proverbs 31:21 gives us an inside peek at the intimidating Mrs. Proverbs 31’s home life. “She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet.” She wasn’t afraid of what lurked beyond the four walls of her house because, like a girl scout, Mrs. Proverbs 31 was ready. I …

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Emotions and Truth

The heart is deceitful above all things,     and desperately sick;     who can understand it?  Jeremiah 17:9 ESV There are a lot of emotions in my house. I have three kids, a wonderful husband, and two dogs – one who has an anxiety issue. Not to mention my own emotions. Sometimes those emotions are in harmony and we laugh and enjoy talking to each other. Other times those emotions are a cacophony irritating the ears of all who experience it’s splendor. God created emotions and we mishandle them. As an adult I have more tools so I have learned to handle …

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Lavish Grace Week 7: The Glory of Grace

Welcome to Lavish Grace Week 9 (our final week):  The Glory of Grace from Kathy Howard’s new bible study Lavish Grace. Throughout this study, we have been examining how God’s lavish grace intersected and changed the life of Paul. In this lesson, Kathy challenges us to discover that “God graciously uses our trials as a testimony to others.” I have seen this first hand both in my life and in the lives of my friends. I have watched as a dear friend buried her five-year-old child and sought to give God glory even in her grief and pain. I have …

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