I don’t know where to start, because my thoughts are all so fresh on this one, and each one feels so delicate and raw. On Saturday, we were sledding with good friends, and had been for hours, when it all came to a halt. I’m typing this late on Tuesday, our fourth night in the hospital. I’ll start here…. […]

8 kids is a lot. It’s not “19 and counting” or anything, but it’s still a lot. The bigger our family has gotten, the more I’ve had to up my game when it comes to swapping out sizes and finding good organizing solutions for clothes. Here’s what standing in line looks like when I take my youngest…

Yesterday our family drove to Mount St. Helens, the famous volcano in Washington state that erupted in 1980. The eruption enacted complete devastation in the blast area. It “blew down so many trees that the toll was calculated at 4 billion board feet, the amount of lumber to build 300,000 two-bedroom homes.” The blast zone…

Last fall, I unexpectedly encountered someone I haven’t seen in decades. Mercifully, it was in a crowded setting where we did not have to interact, and I don’t think he ever saw me. I didn’t even recognize him at first. But when I was young and impressionable, that person-across-the-way deeply impacted my life through manipulative… […]

  Words can build up; words can tear down… this is true in the words we use regarding our children. Unfortunately, moms can often be heard openly griping about their children. I believe that we have to be intentional and thoughtful in the words we speak TO or ABOUT our children. And I believe those words ought to be… […]

{Today’s post is a follow-up from Monday’s– Christian Wife, Let Your Husband Be.— where a reader asked, “Beyond having a joyful attitude towards love making and keeping the home a happy sanctuary for him, what are more specifics things wives can do? I know every husband will have different things that are life-giving to him,… […]

Death and life are in the power of the tongue Proverbs 18:21 You may remember; my husband and I sometimes do marital counseling together. It’s heartbreaking to hear from a husband at his wits end. He comes downcast. Disheartened. He wants to be faithful to her; he wants to please her. He’s not perfect, of course, but he longs for… […]

“He struck me as a normal person, that was the horrible thing about it. He was cool, objective, matter of fact. ‘This is my war duty. I did my war duty.’ It was like I had to go out and cut down so many trees. So I went out and took my saw and cut…

Today I got to thinking that, in the last week, I’ve said several things to my children that I should take to heart. Here’s 10 that came to mind. ABOUT HEART ATTITUDE– “That heart attitude will only make you more and more bitter. What can you choose to be cheerful about instead of grumping?” ABOUT […]

So you’ve decided to homeschool. Or, not allow sleepovers. You don’t watch certain kinds of movies, Or, you don’t own a TV at all. Or maybe, even though they’re Christians, you’re convicted in ways that are obviously different from the convictions they have, or had. You can feel judged. They can feel judged. They can… […]

Each pregnancy, it happens at least once. A grocery store clerk, relative, older woman, a waiter– someone– says to my youngest child: “Are you gonna be jealous of the new baby?” Here’s what I want to say in response to that: “Be quiet!” (Of course I don’t say that.) What I actually say is, “Oh, no, (s)he is…

“She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. . . . She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.” Proverbs 31: 16-18, 24 As we discuss this passage, keep in mind that…

You’ve heard the advice. (heck, I’ve told you to do it!) “Postpartum moms, REST MORE!!” And yet, maybe you wonder… what does that practically look like? Especially when we have other children, and when they’re all/only littles, the advice can seem impractical. “HOW exactly am I supposed to do that?,” you might wonder. Well, look no […]

“She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. . . . She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.” Proverbs 31: 16-18, 24 As we discuss this passage, keep in mind that…