4 Ways to Help Kids Sit Through Church When our second child was three, he had to start going to “big church” because that was the nursery’s policy. If this had been our first born, there would be no story to tell except that she sat quietly and did exactly as I asked. But this was Dax. Our feisty, spirited,…
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10 Ways to Help a New Pastor Feel Welcome Getting a new pastor is an exciting time in a church. Often times, people want to help and don’t know how. We live in the South and people are very polite – almost to the point of hindering sincere interactions. Here is how a typical conversation goes after a move:…
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While talking to a group of ladies at my church a few months ago, a woman was telling a story about the last time she worked as a labor a delivery nurse. She begins to describe the laboring mother she was caring for, but first, turns to me and says, “No offense Halee.” She then continues the description of…
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Parenting is HARD. Anyone who says differently is a liar. You are given the biggest, most important job of your life with no specific instructions or user manual or anything. And heaven help you if you try to Google the best way to parent. There are so many different styles of parenting – authoritative, permissive, authoritarian, attachment, free range, slow,…
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My daughter bought an iPod with her birthday money, and it is killing my son. He started by asking for an iPad, then a Kindle Fire, then any tablet, then an iPod, and then a laptop. Then he started asking for “any device.” After telling him that, at five years of age, he is too young for electronics he began asking…
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7 Easy Ways to Earn Extra Money for Christmas Despite my love for organization, I am almost always late, and my husband is no better. To give you an example, we were both late for our own wedding. As a result, our children are also almost, always late. Related: I’m Late Because You Aren’t My Priority I say this so…
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What’s scarier than a little girl dressed up as a witch? A callow fear monger dressed up as a Christian.
Preacher’s Kids…..A Bad Rap or an Earned Rep? About a year ago, I walked into the fellowship hall at our church and saw the preschool teacher looking down a hallway. From my angle, I couldn’t see who she was talking to, and she hadn’t heard me walk in. She was in the middle of reprimanding a kid, and I caught…
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This year, like every year, my kids have a school supply list that includes way more items than they can possibly use. I know why. I know that part of the 32 glue sticks on their school supply lists will go to other children in their class because their parents did not send any glue sticks. And while I am all…
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Three Easy Ways to Simplify Menu Planning I heart planning. Like for real. Last year, I used some most of my Christmas money to buy myself an awesome Erin Condren planner. It has surpassed my every expectation and has truly been worth every dollar. Every time I see it sitting on my desk with its bright happy cover, I immediately…
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How to Stop Housekeeping from Stealing Your Joy The hearth of our fireplace is shaped like a bench. On this six foot wide platform, most days you will find a line of laundry baskets filled with the clean clothes we wear most often. And by most days, I mean almost every day. When we put out milk and cookies…
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