For Crying Out Loud

The dust gathered around us like a cloud and tears glistened in my daughter's eyes. This was our last day in a poor fishing village, wrapping up our ten-day mission trip to Cambodia. We'd been warned about taking a ten year old on a trip like this - out of the country, out of her comfort zone. Questions about how she'd handle the long flight, the food, the new culture, the "squatty potty", but we felt a certain peace that we were doing the right thing. And on this last day in the village we'd  all  fallen in love with, I'd never been more sure of our decision to take her - honestly, even I was shocked by how exceptionally well she did. The language was a definite obstacle for the adults to overcome, but within minutes Madi was laughing and playing with children she'd never met and could not say one word to. Within the first day she had a best friend for the week and her ability to play with and enjoy the children only grew with time. Just a few ...

Several years ago, our pastor encouraged our church family to begin observing and celebrating the Lent season.   This was not a part of the Easter season in the churches my hubby and I had grown up in, and we were curious to learn more about it.   We honestly had never given thought to Lent, and were eager to initiate new Easter traditions into our home.   The more thought we gave it, the more it just made sense.   As a family, we spend several weeks anticipating and celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas... why should we give His death- which bought our salvation!- less attention?   In the past, we’d talked about the importance of truly focusing our hearts on the Easter season, but had no luck coming up with a way to make it a truly special  season , not just a special weekend. Enter, Lent 2005(ish). We began to look intently into the origination of this special season and it struck a chord with us. As a family, we began observing Ash Wednesday, ...

It all started on New Year’s Eve, 2010, when our oldest daughter casually said, “ Why don’t we see how much we can give to others next year? ” Surprised and proud of her, we thought it sounded like a wonderful idea, and we adopted the family motto for 2011 “ How can we help ? ” As a family we decided that when we saw a need, that's the question we would ask ourselves. When we had people over or went to someone's house, our attitude would be the same, "How can we help?" Giving to others takes many different forms and were excited to see what the year would hold. Over the next 12 months, unbeknownst to my family, I made notes of ways we had given each month. I didn’t note them as they happened, but at the end of the month I would brainstorm the ways we had given of our time, resources, encouragement, etc. The goal was not necessarily to make a list (and definitely not to show anyone else the list), but to make our kids aware of what one little family can do, when t...

Seven  by Jen Hatmaker, was in my stocking on Christmas morning and finished by the 27 th . To say I was excited is an understatement. Not only is Jen a phenomenal author, but also a dear friend. We met in college nearly  20 years ago and she is the real deal! She lives out what she believes.   In Seven , I was captivated by Jen’s transparency, passion and humor from the get-go.   In an effort to avoid being a spoiler, I’ll give enough scoop to dangle a carrot…then let you go get your own copy!  Jen was tired of the way she and her family were living and consuming, so she decided to do something about it.   They embarked on an experiment that took nearly a year, and involved 7 different fasts, pertaining to 7 different areas in which they felt out of control.   Food, clothes, cash, giving, green living and stress were just a few of the areas under attack. Her husband and a loyal group of girlfriends   jumped on-board, along with her kids f...

I just finished a "must read" for all moms, "Out of the Spin Cycle" by Jen Hatmaker. This book is a fresh, new devotional to help "Lighten the Mother Load". : ) And help, it did! The devo is both practical and hilarious. I found myself laughing and tearing up in the same reading. Topics covered in this 40-day devotional range from worry, priorities, marriage and the comparison trap. You will not be disappointed by this book! Each day's read, ends with a thought provoking, often painstaking question to ponder (or answer in your journal if you're into journaling). Jen also challenges you to take a step toward becoming a better mom, wife & woman by throwing out an idea as to how you can apply what you've just read. For instance, on the day where she taught on the importance of communicating in the language that each of our children speak (this will be different for each child in your home), she ended the reading with the challenge, "C...

There are some weeks in life that no parenting book can prepare you for. Last week was one of them. I'm sure you know the kind of week I'm talking about. More on your list of things to do than you could possibly get done + a natural disaster  (baseball-sized hail, anyone?) with the phone calls and insurance adjusters to chat with, and there seems to be no sign of daylight. On top of the daily mommy craziness, our children decided to add their own flavor of drama. You know what I mean... the one's who seemed to have gotten better at getting along, somehow managed to have forgotten how, coinciding with the baby showing new signs of...ummm...independence...all making for more noise and "teachable moments" than this mama had energy for. Add to that a speeding ticket (haven't gotten one in YEARS!), my 3 year old's birthday party to plan, a speaking engagement to prepare for and a a toddler throwing up Saturday morning (as we were on the way to a birthday pa...