Category: Parenting
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Loneliness, Jesus, and my Mothering Spirit
This week I was honored to have this essay called “Loneliness, Jesus, and My Mothering Spirit” published at a favorite online community called Mothering Spirit. I’ve been deliberating over this concept of the vocational loneliness of motherhood (or parenting) for the last many months, inspired by conversations shared with a small group of moms that…
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Cheers to the women
Cheers to the women who haveloved me fiercely.The ones who called forth the me in me.Who weathered my storms andfaced my fears andcarried a snack just for me,sometimes sweet, sometimes salty butalways the word or gesture orbag of chips I needed. Cheers to the women who mothered meinto the mother I’ve become.To my mom, cheers.…
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Lunchbox Notes…from God
I slip a napkin note into my kids’ lunchboxes every day. Sometimes the note is as simple as a smiley face, other times I write silly jokes, but most of the time I write some version of: “I love you just the way you are.” When that time of day rolls around for my girls…
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Homecoming
Home is where the heart is, so the saying goes. And that is true, though maybe not true enough. Because home is not just the place where your heart longs to be. Home is where your heart is whole – wholly loved, wholly known. I was having a particularly exhausting day, after an especially challenging…
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The Fight For Fatherhood
Dear Readers, Today’s post comes from my husband, Kevin Johnson. Kevin is not just the love of my life, he’s also a wonderful father to our girls. One of the things I admire so much about his parenting is his intentionality. He seizes every moment available to teach, to love, to bond, to fight for…
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Those Little Feet (sacrifice & joy: the paradox of parenting)
She snagged my phone from the bedside table while I was getting ready for the day. When I finally discovered her schemes, she was standing in my room, head bowed over my phone, adjusting the filter on a foot-selfie she had just snapped. Y’all, she’s two. A few days later I went through my phone…
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Shame, I’m Breaking-Up With You
I know we’ve been thick as thieves for many years, Shame, but enough is enough. I used to think that you were a harmless part of life, that you existed as a kind of check-and-balance to keep me in line. But no more. I see you, Shame. I know that you’ve been trying to squelch…
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My Promise to You: A Letter To My Daughter on Her 4th Birthday
Dear Heart, On your first birthday I could recall every minute of that difficult 30+ hour labor that brought you into the world. Now, on your fourth birthday, I only remember bits and pieces – it turns out the memories of pain have faded (just as other moms said they would). But one memory is…
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In Search of a Cure for “Busy”
As a kid I was fascinated by anthills. I would hunker down by a busy one and watch the ants go marching one by one, hurrying with their load so they can deposit it only to turn around and do it all over again. I wondered what it would be like to be part of…
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Thank You, Kind Stranger
I found it sitting by my desk, a bright gift bag with crisp white tissue paper. A belated baby shower gift, I assumed. So I peeked in the bag and searched for a card or a tag or any sort of identification. There was none to be found. I took out the tissue paper and…