Forever Bonds Aug 27, 2021

Ten younger siblings were always in my space.
We rubbed shoulders all day in our one room schoolhouse called “home.”
Played sports together. Sang together. Ate every meal together. Shared bedrooms together.

This created conflict.

But where there is conflict, there is room for resolution.
...

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We are the... Aug 19, 2021

We are the kids, crazy in love.
We are the parents, tired, no breaks.
We are the lovers, passionate, romantic.
We are the partners, going through motions.
We are the dreamers, anything is possible.
We are the realists, life is a challenge.
We are the best friends, laughs, inside-jokes.
We are the...

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I am the Redeemed Mom Aug 09, 2021

I am the pinch-lipped mom.

I want to smile at my children but I don’t have it in me. I’m exhausted. Tired. Worn down.

I am the pinch-lipped mom.

Maybe it’s the meltdown in the grocery isle.
The constant back talk. The 6am wake ups demanding snacks and attention.

I am the pinch-lipped...

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I'm doing it for... Jul 29, 2021

When did it become noble to say, “I’m doing it for me?”

When did it become wrong to do something for someone else?

To do something for no other reason, than that it brings someone you love joy.

“I’m doing it for myself. I’m doing it because it makes me feel...

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Gift of a Lifetime Jul 13, 2021

Some of us can feel guilty our babies came tumbling earth-side one after another faster than you can say 1,2,3.

Almost like we took those precious moments of solitude away from our first-borns—children who will never remember life without another.

But then I remember Kyla.

She came into my...

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No one sees. No one knows. But I do. Jun 20, 2021

I’m the only one that sees him get four children dressed for church each Sunday so I can have extra time to get ready. Clean dirty diapers without mentioning it. Buckle them all in their car seats so I don’t have to.

I’m the only one who knows he thanks me for dinner when...

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She Gave Me Hope May 16, 2021

I worried I wouldn’t like being a mother.

All I heard and saw of motherhood was chaos and survival, pain and loss, no sleep, no sex, and the end of good times.

Except for Mommy.

She gave me hope.

Hope that motherhood could be rich with joy. Hope that I could still have a romantic marriage. Hope...

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Joyful Mother of Children May 06, 2021

I was created to be the joyful Mother of children. (Psalm 113:9) Not the anxious mother. Not the frazzled mother. Not the overwhelmed mother . . . the JOYFUL mother.

I was created to be a mother that doesn’t just feel happy when things are going right, but has a deep supernatural joy when...

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But How Often Do I Follow? Apr 13, 2021

He gently leads those that are with young . . . but how often do I follow?

How often do I lay in bed listening to the Accuser tell me I haven’t done enough? Instead of reminding myself I don’t have to “do” because He has already done?

He gently leads those that are with...

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Bringing Me Home Apr 13, 2021

For months I’ve felt myself cracking.

My body. My mind. My emotions.

I thought I knew who I was—what I wanted to be. But it all became so fuzzy, so hopeless.

Each morning, I’d get up, tie the pieces together, and keep blindly charging into the fog. Praying for a light at the end...

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Giving Up a Second-Rate Dream Apr 13, 2021

Sometimes we have to give up a second-rate dream to raise a first-rate family.

It’s tempting to think we could run faster and farther by by ourselves. But when did faster and farther become the goal?

Each step I take with my children is infused with sweet richness. Each step is one of...

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Raising Sons Mar 09, 2021

Realize that from day one, he’s wired to be self-reliant. Don’t change that. – Harrison

My son turned four this month, and already he has me catching my breath as I watch him jump off high objects, flip on the trampoline, and show me what he whittled with his pocket knife.

He...

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