Holly Smith Archives - Page 3 of 5

Eek-ing the Toothpaste

Many years ago, I was in charge of the newsletter for our women’s ministry at church. I enjoy newsletters. I like to read them, too! It has been such a blessing to share the stories of various women in our church and to use my gifts to do so. There is so much of this-n-that, which can be tied together into a theme–to bless, encourage and give others a reason to laugh or pause to think. I have greatly enjoyed locating such material. In one book, I found a story where Elisabeth Elliot shares a tidbit that she learned, while scraping …

What If…

What if: You found out that by staying at home and raising your children, yet accomplishing nothing that can be seen or noted at the time, you found out that the job you did really mattered? What if: By working your job day by day and finding it toilsome, you found out that your simple presence and hard work had greatly impacted another individual? What if: by taking time to patiently listen to the ramblings of an older person, you found that because of that person you became a better person and even used some of the “ramblings” to springboard …

Over-Reacting

Sometimes, our parenting can get skewed and off-base by our perceptions. We begin over-reacting–in effect teaching from a false place of understanding. As a result, we lead our children astray. For instance, one of my very favorite movie scenes is from Jurassic Park, where the jeep is going along the road and you see the mirror with a reflection of a T-Rex running after the jeep. Then you read it: Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. Aaaah! Well here is an ad with an opposite occurrence and the same meaning–sometimes we misunderstand what we are seeing. Whether we …

Get Back to Baseline as a Family

It’s 7 pm and the doctor has ordered me to fast, so that blood-work may be taken and tested first thing in the morning. So I fast from food and keep hydrated with water, knowing that 12 vials of blood tomorrow will necessitate being super-hydrated. Why does the doctor order the fast, you might wonder? He does so to get a baseline account of where I am with no influencing values created by eating certain foods. You see, some foods could elevate certain numbers, causing the doctor to be more aggressive in treatment than necessary. Thus, a baseline value gives …

Homeschooling Sydney

When I found out I was pregnant with our fourth child, I was already 10 weeks pregnant. To say that we were joyfully surprised is such an understatement. But early on, I heard the Lord whisper to me, “This one will be both a comfort and a joy to you.” And she is exactly that! An August baby, we made the call to enroll her in kindergarten earlier rather than later. She had already been in pre-K for a year and she was ready! Or so we thought. Within two weeks, the teacher had her pulled out regularly for extra …

Praying Paint and Other Back-to-School Tips

It is that time of year, so I have some Back-to-School Tips for you! Some of you have already begun your first week. Summer is shorter every year, it seems. This year we have two in our local public high school, one in sixth grade (in our school, they still have 6th grade in elementary, which I LOVE) and one in second grade. I am homeschooling her. So back to school in the Smith household can be rather crazy, trying to get everyone established–forms filled out, doctor and dentist appointments, school supplies, new clothes and curriculum gathering and planning. It kind …

Our Blessing Box

When we were young married’s and college students, my Chris and I began to do a Blessing Box. A blessing box represents a life of God taking care of His own. And it reminds us that He has been faithful, is faithful and WILL BE FAITHFUL in the future. Our children get to have a front row seat to what God is doing around us every single day. I have no idea where this idea originated (and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my original idea), but we have made it our own over the past 23 years. I cannot find the …

Lifting My Eyes: When Infertility Happens

My Chris and I married in college. I was 20 and he was 21. I even transferred from one rival school (University of Texas) to another (Texas A&M). We finished at A&M and headed to Little Rock for my Chris’ grad school at University of Arkansas, where Chris says I got my PHT (Put Hubby Through). I had a wonderful job and we loved living there. During this time, we began to talk of having children–it had been about 3 1/2 years into our marriage and we never knew we’d be facing infertility. We began to try for our first …

Ill-fitting Armor

Recently I had an intriguing conversation with a friend, who was struggling. She told me that she was afraid she was becoming verbally abusive towards her child. She shared that she had been verbally abused as a child, too. I asked further into the situation and gleaned that she was not following the footsteps that had been her experience. But she was allowing certain words to rule and reign in her heart. For her, it was ill-fitting clothing, not suited for her beautiful heart for her family and her root desire to be a godly mother and wife–for she is …

A Cup of Cool Water

Have you ever had someone speak a good word over you, like a cup of cool water on a hot, hot day? I have, and it changed me. At least it led to changing me. I have pictured it to the left. When I was 20 years old, I married my Chris. I was a junior in college and transferred from University of Texas in Austin to Texas A&M. I found that at UT, Campus Crusade for Christ was a life-source to me and led me to know Jesus in a way I never had before known. He became my …

Page 3 of 5
←
1
...
2
3
4
...
5
→