Put a Little Love in Your Voice

Put a Little Love in Your Voice

My mom has a saying—“put a little love in your voice.” It’s her advice to my sisters and me when she hears us crabbing at our kids. If only she could be in my house at 7:30 every morning to remind me.   “Are you done with your breakfast?” I rushed past the kitchen table and grabbed my daughter’s lunch bag off the counter. “It’s time to brush your teeth! Hurry or we’ll be late for school.” Imagine those words poured sweet as syrup from a momma’s lips. The inner dialog sings, “Sweetie pie, did you get your fill of pancakes? …

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If You Give a Mom a Minute

I steal from my children. The loot is nothing tangible—I don’t swipe quarters from their piggy banks or cookies off their lunch plates. What I steal is more valuable. Time. Bit by bit, I snatch precious time from my kids—in increments of just a minute. “Mom, can I please have a cup of juice with my breakfast?” Sure, sweetheart, just give me a minute. “Come see my picture, Momma! I colored it for you!” Wonderful! I’ll be there in a minute. “Mom, I need your help. I can’t pull the cap off my glue stick.” Okay, just a minute. “Will …

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The Indescribable Gift of Christmas

  What gift have people from around the globe longed for since the beginning of time, arrived exactly as predicted over two-thousand years ago, is not able to be bought or manipulated with money, given to us freely but paid for by the death of the innocent life of a King, wanted by all but rejected by most?   Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15    Jesus Christ the Messiah, Lamb of God, the Way, the Truth, the Life, Rabbi, Son of the Most High is our Gift!   Why is this gift a big …

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Surviving December With Small Kids

What do you get when you mix two young children, one tired mom, and a Christmas to-do list? Definitely not peace on Earth. “Don’t step there!” My hand jerked toward my toddler’s ankles, but too late. Her foot crunched a row of Christmas ornaments arranged meticulously on the rug, prepped for hanging. “I sorry, Momma!” Her sock hovered over a sparkly blue star, crushed into five pieces. “I told you to stay on the sofa! Sweetie, if you want to help Mommy decorate the tree, you need to be very careful around the ornaments. Now it’s broken.” Her bottom lip …

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I Should Not Do That

I Should (Not) Do That

I suffer from a common condition. It’s called “shoulditis”—otherwise known as I should do that disease. Symptoms flare up under the most ordinary circumstances. When my friend calls to say she’s taking a Zumba class, I think of how long it’s been since my Nikes hit the gym, and my own voice whispers in my head, I should do that. When I scroll through Facebook and see a dozen photos of cutesy craft projects other moms created with their children, I’m deflated. I should do that. When my parenting magazine plugs a recipe for brownies using hidden carrot puree, I …

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Moms Grow Up, Too

This time of year, my husband treks to the Wisconsin northwoods—to hunt. I can measure motherhood in hunting seasons. Six years ago, on opening bow weekend, I stood at the living room window and waved to my hubby’s truck with tears welling in my eyes. While he climbed trees and relished pink sunrises, I scrubbed bottles and rocked a fussy baby. Hours crept. Conversations were one-sided. I was lonely, frazzled, and desperate for a nap. When little sister blessed our world, I juggled baby food jars and preschool crafts. My then three-year-old missed her dad almost as much as I …

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A teachable change of seasons

Tomorrow is the first day of Autumn. We’ll watch the leaves dry up in the waning sunlight, just to be pinched off their twig by a gust of chilly wind and tossed to the ground with a crunch. Winter will follow, with life lurking beneath what appears to be dead. This is the perfect time to help our children understand the truth of life out of death. God has shown us His redemptive plan through His own creation and the change of seasons. Are you ready to watch the show of color that comes with Autumn? This year, do more …

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When You Want What They Have

“Mom, I wish we lived in that house.” Perched inside her playset lookout tower, my daughter cast wistful glances toward the neighbor’s yard a few houses north. “Why? I thought you liked our house.” “Well, they have a pool and a picnic table.” Ah. I see. “But they don’t have a sandbox. Or swings. Or all of your favorite toys inside,” I reasoned. “Just because they have a pool doesn’t mean that house is better. We belong here, in our house.” Wise counsel, O Super Mom. Maybe you should take it yourself. How many times have I wished for someone …

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Are You Broken?

  “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”  (2 Corinthians 4:7) Two compassionate dark eyes squinted while looking for a particular clay jar in a large storage room. This man knew each of the shelved vessels intimately from His time bent over His potter’s wheel. He skimmed the shelves looking for one that refused to attract attention to itself. He hoped to find a large vessel, a bit broken, and covered with just enough dust to be overlooked and unnoticed by the untrained eye. Then He …

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Raising Brave Kids

She mounted the twisted iron ladder to the monkey bars. Surely she could slip and smack her nose. So I yelled to my six-year-old before she reached the second rung. “Be careful!” Those words fly out of my mouth about a hundred times a day. When my daughters dance dizzy in the living room, run barefoot through the yard, fumble with poster paints, or beg to pour the milk—my mommy reflex blurts, Be careful! Accidents are not on our agenda today. The way I see it, God entrusted these children to my care, and I am determined not to mess …

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