The Struggle Lynn Cowell “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 (NIV) “Why can’t we just get past this?” The agitation in my voice revealed the frustration in my heart. I just wanted to fix this relationship problem and move on to happy. My mind and heart were weary from the extended battle. I’m a fixer at heart, especially when it comes to my kids. When I see one …
Just Try to Push Me Away by Lynn Cowell
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.“ Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV) When our children were little, our discipline had a pattern. When they disobeyed, we disciplined them correct the behavior. Then when the punishment was over, we would take them in our arms, reassure them we loved them and life would get back to normal. But what happens as they get older? Sometimes even stronger or bigger than us? We stop. We still discipline. But those moments of loving kindness after the discipline …
How to Start an Advice Sharing, But Not Preaching, Conversation
There is a painful reoccurring story; you’ve probably heard it too. Good girl falls for bad guy. I can’t tell you how many times I have received prayer requests from moms, broken-hearted over their daughter’s new boyfriend. The type of guy she had always taught her girl not to go for. And her daughter agreed…for a long time; or at least it seemed like a long time to the girl. Then the waiting for the godly type of guy got too long…and she went for what was going for her. With two daughters now 18 and 16, not to mention a son who is …
Pain Blocker
As a mom, when my kids mess up, it pains me especially when my child experiences pain as a result of those mistakes. My emotions want to take over at times like these. Anger wants them to feel the full force of their choices, while sympathy wants to step in and take away all the consequences. Either way, my emotions try to become the driving force behind what happens next, which rarely ever turns out good! Before we have make decisions, we should look to Jesus and see how He handled difficult situations when He was on earth. Jesus didn’t …
What Does the Future Hold?
Did any of you have a graduation this spring? The Cowells did! It is so hard to believe our middle daughter just graduated from high school. Millions of seniors all over the country, in both high school and college, recently counted down the days, maybe even hours until they had that diploma in hand. So, after just experiencing the big event, what are they hoping for in their future? The Barna Group sampled 602 teenagers. The question: What do you think your life will be like roughly 10 years from now, when you are a young adult, around age 25? The biggest …
Faith of a Child
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NIV) “You expect her to have the faith of a 44 year old when she’s only 14!” Ouch. My husband hit the nail on the head. I want our children to grasp hold of our faith, yet it is hard to know how to do this in a way they can receive. I often make the …
Did She Just Say That?
“Satisfy us with your faithful love every morning. Then we can sing with joy and be glad all of our days.” Psalm 90:14 (NIV) When my daughter made a statement one day that didn’t line up to God’s truth, I knew the day had come where outside influences were pressing on her heart and mind and she didn’t know what was true to combat what was false. Instead she was operating on what others were telling her. This generation (those born between 1982 and 2002) has been called the Mosaic generation. Taking bits and pieces from friends, media and their own …
Mean Girls
The words on Facebook glared back at her. “You are so ugly! You are fat, annoying and I hate you!” Lindsay just sat there, staring at the screen, baffled. “What did I say? What did I do?” Maybe this has happened to one of your children, or in some way they’ve faced this same type of painful rejection. Maybe you have felt it yourself. I recently spotted a t-shirt at the mall that read “You’re no one until someone talks about you.” What a sad state of affairs. Growing up in a world where “Mean Girls” and “Gossip Girl” are movie …