“The less clothes she has on, the more likely she is to be carrying emotional baggage.” Love this quote on modesty from the Hearts at Home Conference I attended this weekend. It’s about the only thing I got out of this particular workshop because the speaker, who obviously has a much different personality than me, kept making me interact with the person sitting next to me. I DID NOT KNOW THE PERSON SITTING NEXT TO ME. For the whole 50-minute session I kept thinking things like, “What is she going to make me say to this lady next?” and “Oh…
At some point during the morning rush each day these words run through my mind. Dear Lord, Please protect their eyes from seeing things they should not see their ears from hearing things they should not hear and their mouths from saying things they should not say. Amen. It’s tempting to feel like I need to come to God on my knees with elaborate prayers and eloquent words. But if God was impressed by eloquence, he never would have called Moses to lead his people. And though there is great value in spending time on my knees before the Lord,…
Blessed are the youngest children, for they shall reap the benefits of parents who have relaxed the rules. As my six-year-old zombie ran door-to-door trick-or-treating, I couldn’t help but think about the ways I have changed as a parent over the years. I’m sure I could come up with many examples, but here are five that came to mind quickly. 1. Halloween Costumes There’s no way I would have let my other two be such scary characters for Halloween, but Lewis went as one of the brain-eating-undead. And you can see by the photo, he played the zombie role well….
“Why can’t you see what I can see!?!” There are days I’d like to try to knock some vision into my children. I’ve paid attention over the years. I think I have a pretty good sense of their giftedness and their capabilities. And I usually believe I know the best way for them to reach their potential. But here’s the deal. Though they share some of my DNA and character traits, they are not me. I can’t make them see anything they don’t want to see. I can’t force them to change their perspective. And on top of that, sometimes…
Sometimes my kids say things on the fly that resonate with me for a long time afterwards. This following little Lewis phrase is one of those statements. Letting go is hard. In this case it was literal, but in parenting it seems I am always figuratively letting go of something I want to hold on to. “Mom, let go.” Those three words hit me like a punch to the gut. Hot tears fogged up my sunglasses. It was just the mastery of a 2-wheel bike, but it wasn’t. It was more. My six-year-old’s words echoed in my head as…