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To-do Lists
I love a to-do list! Have you ever had an entire day that you were devoting to accomplishing your to-do list and when you laid your weary head down, you had only crossed off a few items! It is maddening, especially for those of us with the Working Genius of Tenacity (thank you Patrick Lencioni and the Table Group for that understanding! Side note: the Working Genius is amazing to helping understand how your family works, not just your role in a workplace!) As a mother, I have the solution for a productive day! Put EVERYTHING on your list that has to be accomplished that day! Workout Shower Make Breakfast…
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Pick your battles
Parenting is a war of the wills! God designed families perfectly, giving us the experience of children, whom we love so dearly and yet can drive us absolutely crazy. He gave us living examples of how we behave toward our heavenly Father, and yet He still loves us! Parenting helps us understand our own relationship with Almighty God! Children are born with their own free wills just like we were, and it is our job to raise them to be responsible adults. Not only do they have free wills, they have the same flesh nature that caused the issues in the Garden and continues to wreak havoc today. This is…
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That’s mine!
A friend recently asked me if we made our children share their toys. I can only answer that with a resounding, “Yes!” But, behind my “yes” are deep and character building reasons for my children. Before I jumped into this, I did probe a little about her question. She had recently been told that another family had decided that sharing was difficult and created hostility and arguments among the children. So, by making it clear that each toy belonged to a specific child, that removed any arguments over who should get to use it. That child was not required to share and likewise, siblings were not allowed to use toys…
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Just say “Yes…”
Starbucks and Nordstroms are known for their outstanding customer service. The phrase “Just say, yes!” is often associated with such service. I am here to propose this statement as your next parenting strategy. My kids are not so young or small anymore. We just had the wonderful opportunity to watch our friends’ children while they were away for a weekend. After our weekend with younger children in our house, my daughter asked, “Mom, when do you say, “No”?” I smiled. She had witnessed my great parenting treasure and recognized it on her own! I believe the word “No” is a very important word. Probably more important for Mom to use…
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Loads of Fun!
The idea of a simplified life touches my soul. I crave it! In some areas, I do it really well. In others, I am a work in progress. And then, there are areas of total simplification failure! Allow me to pass on the single most impactful gem of all! My biggest win in the simplification process has to do with laundry. When I had only 2 children, I read a book about simplification (I don’t remember what it was called, but it was small!) One chapter talked about washing all socks in the same load, which is a fine idea. But this got me thinking. Socks are actually tedious to…
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Musings of Motherhood
Motherhood requires me to set myself aside, over and over and over again. It reminds me daily, if not hourly, that life is not about me… but about the God of the universe. I am a supporting actress in the greater story and my small role is to bring Him glory. God’s amazing design of family gives us the tiniest glimpse into his relationship with us. I am able to better understand how it is possible to love someone deeply and unconditionally who can be disobedient and quite frankly a total mess! Thank you, Lord, for giving me an example of loving my children completely, even when sometimes I don’t…
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Push-ups
Our first child is a passionate, strong willed beauty. She exuded confidence in all areas, even areas that she actually knew NOTHING about. She told me in kindergarten that she did not need to go to college, because she already knew how to be a teacher. In first grade, she was learning subtraction. I attempted to help her (I was a high school math teacher) and she told me that I can’t help her, because her math is too hard for me! She not only excelled at knowing stuff, this girl excelled at pushing boundaries. If she was told that something was off limits, that is all she could think…
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Teach Jesus
Yesterday, I was asked what the single most important parenting tip that Good Lookin’ and I would give someone… No doubt, it is… Teach your children about who Jesus is! If your children KNOW who Jesus is, they will know the truth and can use that knowledge to understand the world around them. We have Trained our Children in Truth. So that they can hear a new idea, measure that against the truth they know, and make a solid decision under that information. Jesus is the Father of truth, and Satan is the Father of lies, so we better figure out what is truth so that we are not fooled…
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Tattling
As a child, my brothers and I were not allowed to tattle. This played out in several ways. Once, my older brother had an accident on a playgroud. He hit his forhead and crashed to the ground. He was holding his head and blood was pooling around him. I was unrelated to the accident, but I crouched next to him and asked, “Should I tell Mom?” YES!! 64 stitches later! Yikes. Another example was between my younger brother and I. He had been a bit feisty and I had repeatedly asked him to stop doing that specific thing. He would not stop. I looked at him and calmly said, “Do…
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Fractions!
Have you ever tried to think like a child?! Or, have you ever tried to think what a child would do in a specific situation? Good luck! Their little minds are working overtime to come up with a “good idea”, but they have a long way to go to think like an adult! Their “good ideas” make us adults shake our heads and wonder, “What made them think that was a good idea?!” I have several examples of this. One child: Our first year living in Montana came with several strange challenges. My 2 oldest were in elementary school, 2nd and 3rd graders, but because of the system to place…