“Finding your own beautiful has a lot to do with deciding what kind of person you want to become.” – Chelsea Crockett It’s official. I’m the mom of a teenager. Technically I’ve been one for a year now, but this past September it became real when my daughter started high school. I immediately saw a…
10 Great Harvest Books for Kids
Is it just me, or is Halloween getting spookier and more ghoulish every year? I had to shield my preschooler’s eyes from the gory displays when I walked into my local big box hardware store last week! Fortunately, there are sweet and fun alternatives to Halloween that we can enjoy with our little ones this time of…
Why Our Family Doesn’t Celebrate Halloween
There are many schools of thought about the observance of Halloween by Christians. Should we participate in the activities around us? Do we dress up and hand out candy? What about the harvest festivals hosted by local churches that are intended to offer an alternative? Our family has made very deliberate, carefully considered decisions about…
Bear Picks a Pumpkin (Pumpkin Spice and a Little Bear That’s Nice)
By the time you read this blog post, you’ll have already been inundated with pumpkin spice everything. It feels like every year the flavor pops up earlier than the last. And it’s not just pumpkin spice-flavored coffee and lattes anymore. It is in donuts, muffins, bagels, and even pancake mix (which I happen to have…
Teaching Children Love Acts as Much as It Feels
I don’t feel like going to school today. I don’t feel like cleaning my room. I don’t feel like asking her to be my friend. It seems as soon as our kids could talk, they learned to utter some version of the “I don’t feel like it” statement. What started as them asserting their independence…
How Love Can Transform Our Children’s Lives
When it comes to parenting, most of us regard Proverbs 22:6 as our primary parental mission statement from God: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. This means that during children’s formative years, we make it a priority to pass down…
Celebrate the Harvest Season with Your Family
har·vest //ˈhärvist the consequence of an effort or activity the season for gathering crops the yield from plants in a single growing season the gathering of a ripened crop gather, as of natural products The harvest is the time when you reap what you sow. As a verb, to harvest something means that you pick…
The Importance of Reading Aloud to Kids (and Getting Truth Deep In Their Hearts!)
I didn’t grow up in a reading home, but when I was in the sixth grade my family moved next to a library and that changed everything. I fell in love with books, and I was swept away to imaginary worlds. Yet so many times I wished I had someone to talk to about the…
Grace: Resist the Funk
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. — Colossians 4:6 Thought for the Day: The reason I can give grace is because I so desperately need it. I like this verse. I really do. As a matter of fact, I’ve challenged my Proverbs…
F is for Fall Fun
Fall is my favorite season! I think I’d go in mourning if I ever had to move to an area of the world that doesn’t experience the crisp, cool breezes and vibrant colors and scents of autumn! What’s not to love? There are so many wonderful things to experience and eat during the fall—everything from…