Tag: Parenting
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Parenting With Parables
My 2nd-grader lost her cash-filled wallet about a year ago. Today she found it. Overjoyed, she bounded up the stairs to tell me the good news. We celebrated with a little happy dance and off she went, down the stairs again. She was already moving on with her day. I wasn‘t done with the moment.…
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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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(Never) Enough Time
Are we enslaved to Time? Must we march to its relentless rhythm, powerless as prisoners shuffling on and on under the watchful eye of such a dispassionate guard? This week I ticked off milestones, one after another. My six and eight-year-old daughters returned to school, growing up ever so slightly with every passing day. We…
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Fear Is Not My Friend
It feels like a shield of armor. Listen to me, and you’ll be safe. It feels like a strong bodyguard. I’m here to protect you. It feels like a trustworthy friend. Stick with me, and you’ll be fine. Let’s face it, Fear is appealing. Addictive, maybe. We don’t want to leave home without it. We…
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Just To Be With Us: A Mother’s Reflection on Christmas
As I’ve counted down the days to Christmas, I haven’t been able to shake this big question: Why in the world did God choose to come to us as he did, as a newborn babe lying in a manger? Instead, what if God had come to us as a Herculean warrior? With shining armor and…
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The Memories We Hold
When my grandfather died my mom and her siblings sat us cousins down and instructed us to write down one item we would like to have from our grandparents’ house to remember them by. I didn’t even have to think about it. I instantly scribbled “Copper Pot” and that is how it came to live…
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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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My “Me Too” Was For You: A Letter To Our Children
Dear Little Ones (For When You Are Not-So-Little-Anymore), Right now you are in my daughter’s preschool class, coloring and learning and being her friend. Or you are a stranger swinging next to her at the park, pumping your legs back and forth and enjoying the thrill of rising high and swinging back. You are largely…