EVERY MOMent COUNTS!
Hearing “I love you so much, Momma.” Sweet hugs just because. Little people fighting over my lap. (It really can’t be that comfortable even with all the padding.) Getting to read rhyming stories. Bible stories every day – such a reminder of God’s faithfulness! My little girls joyfully singing songs to me. Late night chats [...]
We’ve had some major upheavals in our family recently, of the moving-to-the-developing-world variety. It’s refreshed my experience of God’s faithfulness, to say the least—and of the resilience of children! But helping my kids to best cope with so many stresses, both significant and minute, I’ve had to spend some time just praying for God-given wisdom on how [...]
Lately, I’ve been waist deep in a book I’m writing about child-loss. It’s a memoir and the full intent is to share hope and encouragement for women who have experienced pregnancy or infant child-loss. The story grips me. In fact, as I’m writing it, many times I find myself pulling back a bit to really carefully examine my experiences– what I felt and what I’ve gained. I’ve had multiple miscarriages and after each time, something different happened to me. A different feeling. A different lesson. Most importantly, God has taught me the beauty of who he is in my life, even in the midst of my pain. But one other lesson he’s sharing with me right now, is how blessed I am to have three beautiful children right here, how they are a gift and how I should treat them that way.
My first memories of Mother’s Day are sitting in church as a child as the minister recognized all the mothers. I remember them standing in recognition of their day. I also remember them all wearing corsages. The ones whose mothers were no longer living always wore white flowers, and the mostly-younger moms wore red or pink corsages. It was [...]
For the last several years, my life has been a mess, in more than one manner of speaking. Autism threw us one crisis after another, often several at a time. Exhaustion and emotional defeat stalked me, but the Lord helped me manage one day at a time. Some days I went to bed as soon as the girls [...]
You know that the dynamics of your family are changing when your adult children initiate family activities and plan new and meaningful family traditions. This year our oldest son and his family will host the Thanksgiving dinner again. What a treat! The family favorites will be on the menu: sweet potato souffle, fried turkey and dressing, [...]
For someone who isn’t into the Food Channel or trying new recipes or buying the latest Rachael Ray cookbook, I’ve recently logged more hours than I can count in the kitchen. Maybe Julia Child would be proud, or maybe Betty Crocker, or maybe my mother. But it’s really my kids I’m aiming to please. Anticipating [...]
by Janel Breitenstein As soon as that azure blue sky of autumn met the cold snap of the air, I started getting excited. Signs for pumpkin patches and corn mazes lined the road, and I began looking through my recipes for warm comfort food and soup. I filled my grocery cart with ingredients for my husband's [...]
by Tracey Lanter Driving in the car with teenagers can be an adventure, lots of talking, lots of loud music—for sure there’s never a dull moment. A few days ago as I was dropping my daughter off at work she yelled back into the car, ”Hey mom, there’s your song!” and then she grinned and trotted off. As I drove away [...]
