Encouraging First Time Obedience

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3 (NKJV) First time obedience is a goal parents desire for their children.  Parents desire it so children learn to respect authority, for their safety, and our sanity.  However I often wonder if the goal for first time obedience removes the human element from our children. Children are not robots. They have plans, desires, dreams, and wills of their own. Therefore children will get frustrated when …

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{Moms of Girls} When Clothing is an Opportunity for an Eternal Investment

Can you remember the days when you were able to dress your daughter in a cute little onesie covered in polka dots or a little seersucker sundresses with matching white underpants? Once upon a time, we were mommies who got to play dress up with our little girl. But then she grew up and older and morphed into a tweenager while you still wanted to hold her hand and guide every single choice. Now clothing is no longer  a matter of cuteness — it’s a declaration of independence. It’s the source of stressful conversations and potentially explosive drama, especially for …

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5 Ways to Know If You’re Giving Your Children too Much or Not Enough Attention & 5 Ways to HELP!

“And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” Genesis 25:28 (NKJV) There we were in the middle of aisle 5 of the grocery store when my little guy decided to make a scene. He was 4, impatient, and he wanted my attention RIGHT THEN! MOMMY! MOOMMMMMY! MOOOOMMMMMMMYYYYYYY!! I neeeeeeed you! I rushed to find out what my frantic little four year old wanted when I quickly discovered that what he was pitching such a noisy fit over was a box of cookies. . When I told him no, the noise escalated at warp speed and all …

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10 Things Single Moms Should Consider Before Dating

Hey single mom… I wish we were hanging out over coffee and chatting because I know what you’re going through. I’ve been there, so I understand how hard it is to be a single mom. Feeling the pressure and the pain that comes with trying to fulfill both roles of the mom and the dad is daunting. The physical, financial, and emotional strain of it all can wear a woman out. Motherhood is a beautiful thing but being a mom can be hard… and being a single mom… well, it’s just extra hard. I remember things like… Making a sandwich …

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The #RAISINGLEADERS Challenge & 10 Tips to Help

Do you want your children to grow up to have a strong faith, live godly lives, be courageous for the cause of Christ and serve the Lord all the days of their lives? I think pretty much most Christian moms do…but when you’re smack dab in the middle of parenting those precious little tikes from toddlers to teens, it’s so easy to get caught up in the moment that you miss the point of it all. Parenting is something we do every day, but parenting intentionally is hard. But parenting with a plan an a purpose is what separates intentional …

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Teaching Kids to Guard Their Eyes

Sex is everywhere. It is on the covers of magazines in the check-out line, the subject of T.V. shows, uninvited In pop-up windows while surfing the web, and sometimes graphically plastered on the walls of the boys’ bathroom at a local park. I can turn the T.V. off and put a firewall on my on my internet, but I can’t put blinders on my kids every time we leave the house. I could complain about the way other women dress or the culture that idolizes sex, but I can’t control the world. Instead I must teach my kids to guard …

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5 Things I Want My Kids to Know

Before we get started, I’m excited to announce the winner of yesterday’s giveaway of MAGNETIC by Lynn Cowell. DRUM ROLL PLEASE……… And the winner is – Micah Day! Congratulations Micah! You’ll be receiving an email with info about how to receive you book! SUPER EXCITED for you! —————————————————————–   My momma used to say, “Hind sight is 20/20.” But I never really understood what that meant until I was old enough to look back and discover that time is like a really good teacher that showed up to give you all the answers after you already graduated. Looking in the …

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See Coming Before It’s Coming & a GIVEAWAY ~ by Lynn Cowell

 Happy Monday! This is Stephanie and I’m super excited to share with you about Lynn Cowell’s new book, Magnetic! It’s definitely a MUST READ and Lynn is graciously giving away a copy to one blessed commenter to this post! SOOOOO… before you dive into today’s power-packed post by Lynn, let me tell you how you can enter to win.  ENTER TO WIN MAGNETIC: Packed with honesty, encouragement and perspective-changing truth Magnetic, by Lynn Cowell, will empower girls and young woman to reach their fullest potential by focusing on becoming who God made them to be! A girl who reflects God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, …

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5 Reasons Why You Should Read to Your Children?

Do you read to your children? When my children were young, I loved curling up against the headboard with my boys in my arms and a book in my hand as I read a story to them before I tucked them in. I LOVED story time – and so did they… even when they were older. But to be honest, with dishes to do, baths to take, teeth to brush, homework to finish and laundry to fold, I often struggled to settle down long enough to read to my children. Maybe you feel the same way too. Always something to …

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An Ever-Present Help for Our Children

It is something we never wish to think about, and yet, we must think about it. And talk to our children about it. And that is…child abduction. I read something recently that brought up a scary memory for me of what happened to my daughter. I lost my five year-old daughter (Merf, nickname) in a large department store at the mall. To say I was freaked out would be an understatement. This happened right after the abduction of Adam Walsh in 1981. (If you don’t know the story, seven-year-old Adam Walsh was abducted from a mall in Florida and later …

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