Joy in the Journey

 My friend's son accepted Christ as his Savior this week! He is five, and it is so exciting. As my friend told me about it, I got all goosebumpy and teary-eyed. I think the most impactful part of the story was that the little boy didn't answer an alter call or was prompted by a VBS or Sunday School teacher. His decision was the result of a conversation with his mama. His mama had the privilege of leading him to Christ. Something all of we mamas should do.  bcachurch.com I'm not saying that if our children have said the sinners' prayer with someone else then we have failed. We never know when the Spirit is going to move their little hearts to repentance. I'm just saying that our daily actions and conversations should lead them to Christ. I'm sure that the super-exciting conversation my friend just had with her son was not the only one they have had about Jesus. And because I know how much my friend loves the Lord, I know that her son has experienced the love of G...

Holy cow Mamas, I feel like I've been ranting, venting, and sharing about the preteen mom life for ages now... It has been four years, but still, it seems like I just go 'round and 'round on this. Today sucked! Like really sucked. Like by 10am I was texting my husband "I hate today" and had already, first thing after leaving my room (I do all my personal care stuff first), had a fight with my daughter... Again! Over being late to get her stuff done. So that happened and then I tried to calm myself down and pull myself up by the bootstraps and be a good example and yada, yada, you know what I mean. And I did, sort of. I started laundry, I meal prepped, I did school with my eldest, I was still "crushing it"... Then the second fight of the day, with the same kid ... I was less self controlled, less gracious this second time around and honestly, I was just plain TICKED! The disrespect, the sass attitude, and the snide response got under my skin. I yelled, wa...

A very special post by:  Guest Writer: Brooke Glazner Bio: Brooke is a mother of two beautiful daughters who has suffered with debilitating, sometimes life-threatening GI issues. After years of suffering she recovered in 2019, got pregnant, and then lost the baby and her health went downhill shortly after with a new struggle with mild to severe joint pain. At the beginning of each year, I pray for God to give me a word to focus on. The word that God gave me for 2020 was steadfast . I wish I lived up to that ideal. My joint pain started in May. Out of the blue, my body started falling apart again in a whole new way. I’ve become reacquainted with pain and limitation, and I haven’t handled it well. I’ve been angry. I’ve been discouraged. I’ve panicked in terror over what my life might become. I’ve wanted to throw fit like a two-year-old in the corner (still do sometimes). I’ve wrestled. The war in my heart and mind between steadfast faith, and abject despair, has been very real. I’ve...

I'm struggling today. I feel the angst. I feel the discontentment. I feel the monotony and the purposelessness... and there is the lie . I ask myself, " Is it true? Is it purposeless what I'm doing day in and day out?" I have two preteens and a toddler. I juggle homeschooling and housework and trying to connect with other. I feel worn out, tired, discouraged at times. It just goes on and on and seems to all blur together, the days and the weeks, the laundry and correcting schoolwork, the housework and the cooking, nothing seems to be breaking up the monotony and I feel it! The angst is normal, it comes. It's hard living a life of littles and small moments with the big weight of raising kids to adulthood at the same time. It's hard to do the same little tasks over and over and over and OVER and not get so sick of it! It's hard to deal with bad attitudes and tantrums and whining and back talk and fits. It's hard and the angst of "really, thi...

My 10 year old sits next to the baby in the car. We were on our way home from a road trip the other day and this is what I hear coming from the seat behind me: “I think he’s pooping…Aww, he’s smiling!... Ahhh! It’s coming out the side of his diaper!” The baby was just in a diaper and onesie, and apparently he was sitting at just the right angle to send his poo right down his leg. And, of course, onto his buckles and car seat. I know boys are competitive, but does this one really have to compete with his big brother for the most diaper blowouts??? I guess some babies just have more forceful bowels than others! Thankfully I was not stuck somewhere in traffic or road construction or anything and I was able to pull over right away. I’m also thankful that I always travel with a roll of paper towels and a big container of baby wipes. After the marathon of cleaning up baby and car seat and finally getting my hands to where they felt clean, I looked down at the pile of ...

How do you deal with anger in your children? Or in yourself? For years, I reacted pretty similar to my kids. If they got angry, so did I. If they yelled, I'd yell louder. If they slammed a door, chances are, I would too. This morning my lovely nine year old went down hill quickly. It was already a sleepy morning, the dense clouds making everything dim and gloomy. The lack of school schedule (Spring Break) making things more likely to get off to a difficult start. Sure enough, early in the morning the difficulties began. First my daughter did not complete her chore. When she was told that meant another chore she proceeded to stomp and slam and fling everything she was working on in anger. She was sent to take a break to calm down, which resulted in arguing, more stomping, and a dramatically slammed door. When she came back from her break I assumed we'd get back on track for the day but my daughter was still simmering with anger and everything was pushing her right back i...

Have you heard the saying "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"? I've heard it before but didn't give it a lot of thought until my husband mentioned something similar. My husband talked about it differently. About me, the Mom, being the heart of the home. Being a leader of the attitude of the home. I hold a special place of influence when it comes to my home's flavor of interactions. Why was my husband speaking this to me? Because I'd let other's negative opinions effect my outlook and, as a result, my mood. Instead of leading my family in gentleness and with love I was harsh, irritable, and impatient. Because of my special role as "heart of the home" my whole family was effected as I put a negative attitude forward. My kids felt pressured, frustrated, and worried. My husband was tense because I was unhappy. Our hearts are intertwined as a family and the Mom, typically, leads that heart. She is of great influence in the way ...

Did you know that love spreads?  Well it does!  For me it's easy to see that brokenness, hate, and hurt spreads; through family, through media attention, and from hurt people who in turn hurt others.. The loud speaker of social media seems to proclaim every horrible tragedy and it spreads! My heart aches when I look at all the destruction and hurt that goes on in our world.  But love spreads!  And LOVE >Brokenness always!  It's hard for me to believe that sometimes, as I see the deterioration of so many things in life, but love still is stronger than hate. Every. Single. Time. Love wins! Love spreads like fire, from person to person. An act of love gets passed on and it not only spread it can  multiply!  Love is stronger than hate because love can overtake hate, but hate can NEVER overtake true love! Let me show you some of the simple ways that love spread. Have you ever been brought meals after a surgery or when you had your bab...