If you are looking to manage your money more wisely, these titles can help! I’ve been slightly nerdy about budgeting for years, but it wasn’t until our first daughter came along that my husband and I reviewed our finances and made a list of goals. Before our baby girl turned one year old, we refinanced our home, made a will, and set up our retirement accounts all in one place. Throughout the process, we listened to hours and hours of podcasts and audiobooks that inspired and educated us on how ... continue reading...
Raising Our Sons to Seek After God
I couldn't stand it a minute longer. I just had to check on him. Make sure he was okay after receiving such a blow. Such a devastating blow for a young man. How would he recover? I was aching to know. But our son had closed himself off in his room to work it through. Alone. And there was nothing I could do for him. Nothing for this mama to do but wait outside the door and pray. It seemed so quiet in there---awfully quiet. And then I heard him. I could hear his voice. He was ... continue reading...
4 Tips to Help Implement Your Schedule
The biggest challenge surrounding schedules is implementing them. Many times we tend to dive in headfirst trying to work in the entire schedule on the first day and wonder why we fail. We then become discouraged and believe a schedule isn't a right fit for us or our family. The schedule will work if you work the schedule. And you need to take it slow. We somehow get this tendency to be successful at everything right away and if we are not, there must be something wrong with us. We think that ... continue reading...
Books That Encourage, Teach, and Nurture Values in Young Listeners
If you're looking for a creative way to teach and nurture values in your young listeners, try offering them literature that portrays them. I seem to listen better to advice when it’s given to a person in literature than when it’s directed at me. Watching a favorite character learn a lesson the hard way often brings truths home to me and the same seems true of my children. Just the other day my four-year-old proclaimed, “I want to do all the jobs she did!” after we had read about Martha in We ... continue reading...
How To Declutter When You Want To Keep Everything
You want to declutter but you have a hard time letting anything go. Has this ever happened to you? You start organizing and then get stuck, unable to make a decision about what to keep and what to let go of? You really want to clear the clutter, free up some space, live lighter but once you start thinking about an item you find all sorts of reasons to keep it… It was a gift. It was my grandmother's. I loved it. We might need it. It was expensive. It’s still got ... continue reading...
Why You Should Share Your Past with Your Children
There is an immense value when you share your past with your children. They can witness God's faithfulness in your life. I was so excited about Christmas that year! At age 12 I was chomping at the bit for something super special. I'd dreamed about it. Added it to the top of my list for my parents and anxiously awaited Christmas morning. I just knew that I would find it under the tree. My cherished prize that year ... a see-through telephone! The main character in one of my favorite ... continue reading...
What To Do When Hard Times Don’t Get Easier
When hard times seem to never end, how can we find hope? Last winter my kids and I fell in love with the poem In The Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rosetti. We read it into memory as part of our advent study and while it ultimately unfurls a rhythmic picture of the nativity, the line most remembered in our home comes earlier - snow on snow on snow. Because one snow reference, even two, wouldn’t have been enough. It was that kind of snow. And it has stuck with us. I’ve seen laundry on ... continue reading...
Seven Books to Create an Atmosphere for Hospitality
There is a certain atmosphere that goes into creating a home that becomes your place of ministry. I'm a housewife. A homemaker. A stay-at-home mom. A domestic engineer, if you want to get fancy. Regardless of my title, my home is currently my primary sphere of influence, and any ministry I have flows out of that. So I'm always interested in books that inspire and inform my attempts at making my house a missional home: a place where people are welcomed and the love of Jesus is lavishly ... continue reading...
12 Lessons I Want Our Son to Learn Before He Turns 12
Do you want to teach your son the important things in life? Here are some strong and helpful suggestions! Isn’t it amazing how much you can learn in one trip to the library? Most every week I take one . . . or more . . . of the boys with me for a Library Date. So I took all THREE boys - ages 8, 10, and 12. The boys raced for the entrance door, but then the oldest stayed behind and held the door open for the person who had come up the walk behind us. Warming my mother’s ... continue reading...
The Exact Steps I Use To Organize 100’s Of Women’s Homes
I've seen it all. In the last thirteen years, I've been in the most cluttered spaces and the most organized environments. In all of them and with my own spaces, I use the exact same steps. Five simple steps. These five steps work in ANY situation. Use these steps to organize your calendar, organize ALL your paper and of course use these steps to organize your entire home! The five steps are... Sort Purge Assign Homes Set Limits Maintain The first step to organize ... continue reading...
Contemporary Christian Romances You Will Love
Finding good quality contemporary Christian romances is a challenge. Hopefully, these titles will get you started!! I haven’t always loved contemporary fiction. For many years, I skipped over contemporary romances altogether, much preferring their historical counterparts featuring “simpler” times when cell phones and social media didn’t distract the hero and heroine. The authors below, though, have broken through this history buff’s bookshelves. If you too adore love stories that inspire as ... continue reading...
How to Help Your Daughter with Healthy, Loving Friendships
So I'm a big fan of friendship. I believe good friendships are an important - and necessary - part of a person's life. We were never meant to be loners. God intended that we learn to love and walk with others. You can see that everywhere in Scripture. I get that. But here's something that I didn't really "get" until the last few years. Friendship is a skill that can be learned and pursued. I wish I would have understood that better when I was a young girl, as I believe it would have ... continue reading...