Parenting

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When You’re NOT Crushing It

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I want to be the happy, excited, well-balanced Mom who is cute and composed. Gray hairs freshly covered, manicured hands, glowing make-up, cute outfit, clean car, on time- all of it. I want to be crushing Mom life.

This morning I ate pistachio ice cream for breakfast. A new low of sorts. For 9 months I ate healthy and clean with an occasional splurge. I dropped baby weight like it was my job. My skin looked clear and my eyes bright. Then _________ threw me off. We can each fill in that blank differently- and I know just what it was for me.

I don't want to write this post. I don't want to be in a failing place. Being successful, and looking like it has

Best Outfits for The Modern Homemaker

The BEST outfit we can “put on” as modern day homemakers is a gentle and quiet spirit. ♥

1Peter 3:1-6 says this:

“Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.”

This scripture reminds us that what is TRULY important as a woman-of-God, is what is inside of our heart, rather than what is on the outside.

Three Timeless Trademarks of Ladylike Etiquette for Girls

When it comes to etiquette it can be hard to gauge what is unnecessary and out of date, versus what is timeless, important and still elicits people's favor.

We want to teach our daughters ladylike etiquette, but we also want it to fit with modern times and not feel out of place.

Here are three traits of ladylike behavior that never go out of style!

What Boys Need To Thrive

Sometimes it’s hard for a mom to understand the needs of her son. They can feel like a different breed of humans because, well, they kind of are!

As a mom of three boys and one girl, I can honestly say it has taken me a little while to really grasp what my boys need to flourish.

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The Bright Side of Staying Home: 3 Ways The Quarantine Has Been A Blessing

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As we are all in this hunkered-down state, I can’t help but feel a certain sense of peace about how all of this is happening.

As believers in Christ, we are already attuned to the fact that God is in control no matter what. Not that fear or disappointment never creeps in for us, but the “peace that passes understanding” is real, and at times like this we can see that distinct mark.

I was talking to a friend the other day and we both echoed back what the other was feeling: This has brought about a lot of GOOD things. It has helped us to re-focus on things that REALLY MATTER.

Again, I am not blind to the tragedy. But I want to point out a few of the REALLY GOOD things taking place because of the restrictions this virus has enforced:

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3 Healthy Boundaries for Adult Women- To Protect Your Own Sanity and Family

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We’ve each grown up with different dynamics within our family of origin- and these relationships can be complicated, to say the least.

Many of us came from broken or dysfunctional homes where nobody modeled healthy relationships and boundaries. Some of us even grew accustomed to accepting extremely unhealthy behavior as normal.

I often hear from women about their parents’ unbearable behaviors. Sometimes these adult daughters did not even realize the issue until well into their adult years.

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Why Rachel Hollis' Message is So Hard to Resist, And How to Rise Above

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Even though my life is so blessed, and God has been so gracious to me, I am still such a loser sometimes.  

Tonight I sat on my couch scrolling through my phone on a Saturday night, ignoring my family. A temporary ease to the dull ache inside of me.

I try to keep it pure and look up only Christian content, but you know how things can spiral.

Christian celebrity Instagram accounts, and then onto the people they have tagged, and people those people have tagged... A lame, lame waste of time, I know. And tonight I somehow eventually wound up on a famous Christian authors’ daughter’s account. Nice.

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When Mommy’s Heart is Stolen by Her Work

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This is something that many of us need to come face to face with.

It is a heart-of-hearts kind of issue, deeper than many of the topics being tackled in women’s circles at this moment.

Many of us are at home with our children, but our hearts have drifted far away.

How to Have a Simple Easter

This is not another plan, or checklist, or give-me-your-email-address-and-I-will-send-you-5-tips-to-have-a-simple-Easter!

This is simply what my family decided to do last year, amidst the general overwhelm of life, to have a close-to-home, simple, faith-and-family-centric Easter.

As Moms, it is very easy to get caught up in family traditions, and holiday pressures can pile up fast and thick.

We let our extended families know a few weeks in advance

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When you wish you had more self-discipline

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This is what it feels like to have poor self-discipline: 

You're laying in bed angry, frustrated and wishing you had gotten up earlier. The baby is crying in his room, and you had been doing SO well for 2 weeks straight- getting up to have your quiet time, exercising and sticking to that eating plan. What happened?

It feels like you can't stick to anything longterm.

Why can my husband make a decision, and flip a switch