What will your teen do over Spring Break? Maybe you’re in the sippy cup years, looking ahead with fear and trembling to the Facebook years. How can we watch out for our teens in today’s world? Last night I feel asleep to the sound of laughter drifting upstairs from young women in our basement. Two are on the threshold of college; two others are are signed up for the ACT. All are counting the days ’til spring break. If the teen years are such a vibrant time of life, why do we dread parenting through it? You can prepare yourself …
A Mother’s Heart…of Love
“If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?” so said Milton Berle. I love that. But as we all know, a mother can do ten things at once, right? She must do all and be all to her children: nurse, chauffeur, economist, counselor, laundress, chef. As the saying goes, she is chief cook and bottle washer! But a mother has a surpassing divine mission: to be a godly influence in raising her child. Sarah Josepha Hale said, “No influence is so powerful as that of the mother.” An unknown author wrote, “The formative period for building character …
Expecting Stretch Marks
During the 40 weeks of pregnancy, a woman’s body does things she never imagined it could do. It begs for us to use the word “miracle” to describe the whole, amazing process. When our skin stretches more than it’s happy to, reddish or purplish marks develop that remind me of childhood poison ivy moments, minus the scratching. Primarily due to heredity, stretch marks may appear on your stomach, chest, or behind, anywhere the body is doing the miraculous work of growing to accommodate carrying and bearing new life. They appear gradually, so you may not even notice them at first …
Show Me Your Friends, I’ll Show You Your Future
Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 NKJV In our home, when faced with making a decision or setting rules for our children, we tend to measure them by two categories: negotiable and non-negotiable. Here is an example of a negotiable: My middle son Jake, at thirteen, was a drummer in a worship band. As a band member the only garments he wanted to wear were hideous skinny jeans, a t-shirt and an equally hideous headband. As a mom who, in some ways, took pride in how our family presented ourselves, this was a hard …
Say You’re Sorry
Recently I watched my daughter-in-law teaching her little girl to say, “I’m sorry!” It was a heart-wrenching but beautiful thing. She’s only 2, but in many cases, she is already well aware of what is right and wrong. She understands that saying mean things, talking back to her parents or adults, taking toys away from her friends and lying are all bad behaviors. The Bible teaches us that we are all born with a conscience (Romans 2:14-15) and so we naturally know some things are just wrong. Understanding the scope and gravity of other behaviors and attitudes comes with time. That’s …
Conception
From the time the chromosomes collide, fertilization takes place and a baby begins its journey in life. It takes about three days for the baby to makes its way to the womb where it will reside for the next 39 weeks or so. But make no mistake about it, this little life tucked in your tummy is now your child. Scientifically speaking the processs goes something like this: After ovulation the egg which has been released into your fallopian tubes awaits fertilization. When one sperm cell penetrates a mature egg it becomes a fertilized egg and instantly the sex of …