Navigating Turbulent Waters When Your Child’s Safe Place Becomes Shaken. Moving with kids can be stressful for parents. It can also be stressful for kids. Home should be a safe place for children. So should family. But when the place a child calls home changes, insecurities and adjustments are prevalent. When the waters are smooth, it’s easy to plan a move. Oftentimes, though, we hit choppy areas as we navigate through the maze of moving … Read more
That Influential to-do-list. I have a To-Do-List. Sometimes it is in my head, but most times it is on paper. Sometimes I have two lists: one in my head and one on paper! The one on paper is easy to follow. The one in my head? Not so much. But I have figured out a way to remember what is in my head. I alphabetize it. I’m heading to the grocery, and I need B, … Read more
Water under the bridge When there’s been too much water under the bridge, it’s over and done. What has happened has happened. It can’t be fixed, and it can’t be changed. When we claim that sentiment in marriage, we are saying there is no hope. We’re also saying God is not big enough. Ah, but He is! And there is hope. The torrential rains that swept over that marriage bridge destroyed what remained of a … Read more
Recognizing D-words I didn’t consider those D-words when I became a mom. When we became parents, we didn’t sit down and discuss the things for which we planned to discipline our kids. I think we knew we agreed on the important things, but it might have helped had we isolated behavior into three separate categories. You take care of those three issues, and you’ll have your ducks in a row. Except when the ducks get … Read more
Character over accomplishments. As parents, we must applaud character over accomplishments. Yet that’s easier said than done. There’s not a parent in the world who doesn’t want his child to be successful. Yet, many of us are guilty of pushing success over character qualities. Why is that? Is it because “success” is easier to measure than character? Can we more readily define one’s success than character growth? Or is it because we know others are … Read more