Sin outside our home… sin inside our hearts… the stresses and strains of life in a family… (Acts 17:26-27) It has not taken God by surprise, and it is not a travesty or mistake that your child was ordained to be born HERE, in this time and place, with these cultural challenges (as opposed to Christian families […]

Q: How do you share with your husband what you are learning about teaching and parenting? I spend so much time learning how to be a better teacher and mom but I feel like his mindset about parenting is not growing like mine. I analyze my childhood and why I feel and do things that I don’t […]

On a recent post, I received this (wonderfully honest) comment: “I must not be working hard enough, but I don’t remember feeling this same kind of exhaustion before kids. Nobody whines at work and quibbles constantly and interrupts my every task with the frequency of little kids. At work I did what I got a […]

This is my third article in a series about talking with your kids about sex. Here are the others: The reason this series is “The (On-Going) Talk” is because I believe this is not meant to be a one-and-done topic. One mistake I believe we can make, as parents, is to compartmentalize this issue in a way we […]

Sometimes we can feel like it’s wrong to ask, “why, God?” When hard times come, it’s often a natural question of our hearts… but I don’t think it’s a wrong question. The only concern I have is that I think we don’t ask it soon enough. I want to encourage you to ask it now. […]

This might be the hardest part (for me) of having a big family. It’s the part I didn’t really expect, because, prior to having kids, I always saw myself as an extrovert. A quite marked extrovert. Not only that, but I always liked being around kids. Loved it, in fact. Playing, wrestling, tickling, laughing, snuggling down to read… […]

This might be the hardest part (for me) of having a big family. It’s the part I didn’t really expect, because, prior to having kids, I always saw myself as an extrovert. A quite marked extrovert. Not only that, but I always liked being around kids. Loved it, in fact. Playing, wrestling, tickling, laughing, snuggling down to read […]

Important moments of life are often overrun with busyness, planning, stress, and “must-dos.” And the big “goodbyes” of life are often overshadowed by sorrow, a busy schedule, and stresses like packing, funeral planning, or travel plans. The expression of genuine emotion gets overlooked, stuffed down, or put off for a “later” that never arrives. Here… […]

Like many Americans in the 80s and 90s, (maybe like you?) I grew up with one sibling. So I didn’t really know what to expect as a mom of many children (we have 9 now). Some things we can anticipate: (laundry, food, and stacks of clothes bins!), but what I wanted to talk about in… […]

Will you help me by taking a simple 10-question survey? Click here, or on the image, to access the survey: It is an extremely big help for me (and for Doug & I together, as we sit down regularly to discuss the direction/timing/aim of my writing endeavors) to hear specific feedback from you! I look forward […]

Like many Americans in the 80s and 90s, (maybe like you?) I grew up with one sibling. So I didn’t really know what to expect as a mom of many children (we have 9 now). Some things we can anticipate: (laundry, food, and stacks of clothes bins!), but what I wanted to talk about in […]

Lately I’ve talked with some friends who are hurting. I should say, who are *also* hurting. From my tiredness, feeling like a towel that has been wrung, all I feel is twisted and dry. I feel very cautious about saying anything about the hurt.  Though poets and celebrated authors have received acclaim and income from […]

Q: Any advice on consequences for the older kids? I’m having trouble coming up with ones that actually work. For example, when a task is asked of them and they stall/dawdle? Or schoolwork isn’t completed thoroughly? Taking away privileges doesn’t seem to work, adding more work doesn’t either. A: I like ideas that drive home the “cost” of […]

As women, we are apt to be controllers. We tightly grip the things that matter most to us. We clutch our children, control our husband, treasure our possessions, count calories meticulously… whatever it is that matters to us, we tend to hold it tightly. But… it happened to me again this week: whatever we try to […]