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Speaking Forgiveness to Kids
By Allison Hull My eldest son is amazing. He is always looking to do more to help others. He pushes to go to church, not once, but at least twice on Sunday. He guilts me if he has to miss. He begs to go on shut-in visits and sing to everyone. He talks to anyone he meets about Christ and church, and invites strangers to come to church all the time. I routinely get told that we are raising him right, that he’s a joy to be around, how wonderful he is when asked to do something, and how selfless he is. We have been told that he truly shows…
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Devotional Diary Resource
Monday through Saturday, it’s easy for me to forget about Christ while living out my many and varied roles in life. Even on Sundays, it’s hard for me to tune into the sermon when my little kids are escaping from the sanctuary! To curb this falling away, I try to do my personal devotions before bed each night. However, much of the time I forget what I read and what insights I gained before I wake up the next morning. I created this devotional journal with the intention of impressing Christ on my heart and mind during my daily quiet time. This provides me with much needed structure to dig deeper into the Bible…
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To Love Your Spouse
By Allison Hull Recently there was a Facebook trend called “The Love Your Spouse Challenge”. You were supposed to post pictures every day of you and your spouse expounding on why you loved them and challenging others to post the same. I admit, when it first started I rolled my eyes and was quick to thank God I wasn’t challenged. And then I was. Oh, how cheesy and dramatic. But I shrugged and decided it wouldn’t be too much work and would be an easy task. I was wrong. Finding pictures of JUST my husband and myself was almost impossible. There was always a kid thrown in there, usually if…
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Male and Female He Created Them
By Katie Fischer We live in confused times. Not only is the secular culture in which we live confused about what marriage is and when life begins but it also is confused on what it means to be male and female. The fact is that our culture is secular. While we may be frustrated or beaten down by its narrative we must stand for what we believe, what our words mean, regardless of what others say. Our words are of the Church and of the Bible, and we must speak in ways that guard against the words and meanings of the world. This is why we need to hold fast…
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Communicating (or not) with Memes and Soundbytes
By Mary Abrahamson At supper one night, one of my “someones” showed me one of those facebook images with something short and pithy written on it. At least I think it was intended to be short and pithy. Perhaps a bit humorous. Perhaps a bit snide. You probably know the kind of thing. Sometimes it’s a quote, sometimes an image with a caption superimposed. Sometimes it’s a short video clip with commentary alongside. I don’t really remember even, what the message or the image were in this case. But I do remember the conversation that stemmed from that incident. It was a great conversation, and it made me wonder if…
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Junk Food
By Allison Hull My kids love junk food. I give it to them all the time. Every meal they get soda with as much caffeine as it can have, candy with either chocolate or chewy gummies, cookies, cake, chips, and anything slathered in sugar. They love it. They beg for it. And when I see their eyes light up and get wide, their mouth dripping with chocolate and their body humming with energy I feel happy that they’re happy. Sure, there are the sugar lows, but that just means they need a little pick-me-up from a chocolate chip cookie. Yes, some people say you need vegetables and things for growing…
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An Open Letter to My Four Kids
By Vanessa Rasanen To my four children: I am no perfect mama. I am very much a poor and miserable sinner of a mom. But you don’t really need me to remind you of that. Even at your oh-so young ages you’ve had the blinders removed and seen me in some of my darkest moments. Okay, maybe not the 1-week-old as much, but I’m fairly certain he has spent the last several months hearing my raised voice when I get angry and feeling my body shake from the sobs when that guilt hits afterward. Parenting is hard. I know it probably looks like such an easy thing from your perspective. Dad…
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On Miscarriage: Pregnant, Not Pregnant
By Christina Hamilton Miscarriage is such an awkward and horrific thing. Horrific for the woman who loses her baby and awkward for those who love her. No one knows what to say or do. It happened to me. Just a few weeks before my twenty-fourth birthday, I was surprised to discover I was pregnant with my second child. I was late, of course but that is not always the reason. However, I knew for sure that I could be pregnant when my telltale sciatic nerve began acting up while I was giving my two-year-old son his bath. A quick test the next day and a trip to the OB-GYN confirmed it.…
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When You Need a Break
By Allison Hull I recently saw something online from someone I know who had reached her tipping point. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m burnt out. I can’t pour from an empty cup.” She was talking about life, being a mother, and just trying to get by. I wanted to say something, but it seemed like she was inundated with other people and their thoughts. So I thought it best to just sit by and pray for her. We’ve all been there. At least I know I have. Kids are a lot. They’re needy and demanding leeches of energy. I was at my parents’ house, and my mother voiced she didn’t…
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Resisting the Blessing of Rest
By Vanessa Rasanen Months ago I posted a meme on my Facebook page pointing out how parents view non parents who claim to be exhausted — basically, with hysterical laughter. It earned me some pretty heated comments, as well as some unfollows. I probably should have expected such a reaction, given our propensity these days to take everything as a personal affront or insult. No matter how many times I tried to explain the point of the meme — not that non parents aren’t ever tired, but just that there is an extreme level of exhaustion inherent in parenting that one can’t fathom until one experiences it — I still…
