bread and water

My six month old baby was happily playing near the kitchen where I was cooking when I turned the loud blender on. I made it a point to look at him as I turned it on. As he heard the loud sound he immediately looked up like a dog perks his ears up when he hears a strange sound. But before he had a chance to cry I smiled at him and he immediately smiled and stayed happy. The same principle works when your child falls down and scrapes their knee or stubs their toe. If you dramatically scream and run to them and make a big deal about it then they will cry and carry on every time they get hurt. If you calmly assess the situation and walk to them quietly then they will remain calm. My husband is so good at that because thatʼs how his Dad trained him. I think this is especially important for boys. We have four boys who are rough and tumble and have lots of scrapes and bruises from playing hard. I think Moms have a harder time with not freaking out over things than Dads. Just know that h...

I was at the pool with my 4 kids and I was trying to study my Sunday School lesson. The paper kept blowing in the wind and my kids kept needing my attention. I kept having to put the papers down and hold the baby. God reminded me of a truth I heard Mrs. Duggar share about writing a book while mothering all her children. Someone asked her how she got the book done with her kids interrupting her so much. She said that they werenʼt the interruption, the book was the interruption. Her job was first and foremost to be their mother and writing the book was an extra thing. Along the same lines, your children are not interruptions to your studying and devotions. They are your main disciples. If you have children, God has chosen the exact people (little people they may be) to be your disciples and your followers. They may not be old enough to click like and follow on your social media pages but they are following you and watching you. I always feel a tad ashamed when my 10 year old sees m...

We moved to a new state a year ago and I still have to use my GPS to drive places. I know how to get to church and the grocery store and a few places to shop but not anywhere else! I had a busy day ahead of me. I got to go to the grocery store (Aldi) alone (instead of taking four boys) and I was soaking it all in like I was shopping in New York. It was nice. The boys do help me but it was nice to grocery shop alone. I was very happy. Then I got home and had to rush to unload the cold groceries leaving the rest to unload later. I was hungry for lunch with no time to eat so I mixed up a protein drink and a quick snack to eat as I packed the diaper bag for the dentist. On the way to the new dentist I got lost and the baby was crying and  the other brother accidentally dumped a ton of expensive formula in the dirty floor of my car trying to help and I was kinda upset. 😡 I envisioned myself calling my husband to complain so he could feel sorry for me! But I was too busy making ...

I just finished reading “Free of Me: Why Life is Better When Itʼs NOT ABOUT YOU” by Sharon Hodde Miller. Ann Voskamp said “Free of me May be one of the most important truths for our times.“ I had never heard of this author before but she is a “PhD, a pastorʼs wife, and a mother of two boys.” She has a blog called SheWorships.com. I could totally relate to her book because she and I have a lot in common. On page 23 she says, “Because I was such a good kid, I received a lot of praise, and soon that became my identity. I needed the praise, which meant the line between doing good for goodnessʼ sake and doing good for appearanceʼs sake became increasingly blurry. After a while, I wasnʼt sure if I was nice to people because it was Christlike or because I so needed the acclaim.” I could relate to her in the way she grew up and the encouragement she had from her parents. Being raised that way gave us both confidence in ourselves and the belief that we could do anything for God that we want...