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The Gift of the Liturgy for Mothers
By Holly Scheer Mothers of babies and toddlers who take them faithfully to church and still deal with crying (theirs, and yours), and feeling harried, please know that church is so important for them, and for you. Attending a traditional, liturgical church is a lasting gift to both your children and yourselves, both in this life and in the next. If you’re struggling with feeling overwhelmed, or that it might be best to come back when they’re bigger, please know that church is the best place for you and them now! It’s been a few years since I’ve had to take any of my own kids out of the service…
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To Compare or Not To Compare
By Vanessa Rasanen ”You cannot compare your children to each other.” I receive this admonishment at nearly every well-child visit. I hear it so often from our pediatrician that I now anticipate it as much as I do her sweet hellos to the kids. This latest appointment for our youngest’s 18-month check up was no exception. Yet it was. Immediately after reminding me not to compare my kiddos, she asked me if any of our older kids had similar body proportions (ie, bottom of the charts for height and weight but top of the chart for head size). I laughed. Inside, of course. I’m not completely rude. Most of the…
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Some Dreams Have to Wait and That’s Okay
By Vanessa Rasanen Years ago during my active blogging days I attended a conference for Christian bloggers and writers. It was a disaster for many reasons, none of which are pertinent here, but there’s one piece of advice a fellow writer had offered to me — unsolicited, of course — that has nagged at me since. We had been discussing how to write a novel while being a parent with young kids. Her advice? Don’t put it off for years. Get it done. Make the time. It was really the only piece of advice I heeded from that awful weekend, and I set to work on my manuscript. I worked…
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The Sacred Work of Mothering in the Pew
By Shelley Hurt Mielke I was recently talking with a friend about the challenges of worshiping with small children. She was lamenting how hard it is to teach her children how to participate in the liturgy while juggling wiggly siblings and easily distracted littles. And with every fiber of my being, I got it. I have blogged here and here and here and probably scores of other places about how hard worshiping is with little ones. I can’t count how many times I came away from worship frustrated, exhausted, sad and even angry. Not exactly the emotions one would hope for after worship! While we always wanted a large family, I used to joke with my…
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Withholding Forgiveness
By Allison Hull I’m sort of a free-range mom. I let my kids play outside in the front yard. And in the street of our cul-de-sac. Drives some of my family insane that I’d let them ride their bikes around our house without me watching them. But both they and I need the space to run free. The neighborhood kids from the block do the same. They all meet in the street to play, joke and chase each other around. And during this time at least once if not three times a day one of my kids comes in crying. I can handle it if it was because of…
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A New Resource for Parenting in the Pew- “Worship Notes for Kids”
By Emma Squire I was looking for a way to engage my 8 year old a bit more in the worship service, but also to have a personal spot to put her prayers, memory work, and questions during the week. She can read the liturgy with us, but has a tendency to tune out the sermon, readings, and prayers after the first few minutes! After searching online for resources to draw her into these parts of the service more, I decided to create something myself. My intention is to put these pages into a binder that she can bring to church each Sunday and review during the week during her…
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Are You Done Having Children?
By Vanessa Rasanen Two years ago while pregnant with our third child I was astonished by the negativity we received from friend and stranger alike, and the questions and remarks caught me off guard. Needless to say I assumed I’d get the same iffy treatment when we became pregnant with number four this past year. At first some responses lived up to my pessimistic expectations, but those soon tapered off and much to my delight I now encounter only delight and joy (still with the occasional bit of shock, but positive shock, it seems). Yet there is still one question I hear quite often, and — while not in itself…
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Notes From the Couch: Reflections of a Convalescent
By Jenna Thompson I am currently recovering from a surgery that will require three to six weeks of recovery. Six weeks is a long time! A brain like mine should not be allowed six minutes of reflection much less six weeks. So, instead of second-guessing and ruminating over every life choice I have ever made, or scrolling through Netflix for the thousandth time only to settle on … nothing, I have decided to channel my energy into reflection and put my keyboard to work. Here are four lessons I have learned so far: Eleven-year-old, youngest children are very capable of making a superb batch of chocolate chip cookies. Now, I…
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Stuck in a Bad Mood
By Vanessa Rasanen My house is currently in disarray. Our to-do list seems to grow right alongside the pile of packed boxes in the corner and my nearly-third trimester belly that has long-been hiding my feet. We are, perhaps crazily, working to get our house ready to put on the market in hopes of moving out — and up — before this fourth baby blesses our home and family with cute coos and sleepless nights. As if that wasn’t enough on our plate, we are also — all of us — adjusting to my husband’s new full-time work schedule in addition to national guard duty, an online course, church commitments,…
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On Lenten Worship with Children
By Shelley Mielke Last night’s midweek Lenten worship. Full of pondering and solemnity and introspection and a deepening understanding of what our Savior did for us on the cross. Yes? Yes it was. There many times during the service when I closed my eyes and soaked up the words I was hearing and singing. More than once my heart was stirred. But did I mention I also (re: always) attend church with my five children? Yessiree! I wouldn’t have it any other way, of course, because worshiping with my children is hands-down one of the best things I can do with them. Raising them in the faith is the single-most important…
