One spring day I was walking in my neighborhood. As I rounded the curve I noticed a little girl that looked to be about 5 years of age, playing outside while her mom was working in the yard. When I came back around the next time the little girl was dragging out a...
What do you think about when you hear the word “soak”? As a single mom you might think of soaking the kid’s play clothes that have so many stains they will never see clean again. Or your mind might go to that pile of dishes in the sink that have been there “soaking”...
Life for a single parent can be overwhelming to say the least. With children, it also tends to be a little noisy and confusing at times. Have you ever just wanted to just sit down and make the world go away, even if it was just for a few seconds? Have you wondered if...
I wish I could tell you that in my single parenting journey I had always waited patiently for the Lord. I had lofty ideals of waiting on the Lord and staying strong. I'd like to impress you by saying that I would righteously read in Lamentations 3:24, "The Lord is my...
Angela and I are working on a new book designed for parents of teenagers. We are sojourners not experts. We know what it’s like to have great parenting moments and we know what it’s like to curl up in the fetal position and weep in our ignorance. We are not perfect...
“Hold fast to him” Deuteronomy 10:20b. Do you ever find yourself wishing you had a quick fix for something? Or do you keep looking for magical solutions to problems? Perhaps it is your 2nd child that yells all the time. Maybe it is that bossy co-worker you have to see...
The game ‘Hide and Seek’ is a familiar, fun childhood activity. The point, obviously, is for one individual to search out every possible spot of the given area in order to find the concealed person. The anticipation of finding the one hidden is what makes the game so...
How many times have you seen it? The helpless, ragged mom in the store looking down at a the flailing child on the floor who seems to think that mom saying “No” to him is just not going fly. The fit is thrown. Awesome. How many times have you been the helpless...
Abandonment. It is a force. A sweeping, unrelenting storm whose winds blow like a gale, terrorizing the soul. I’ve seen it. It is not a pretty sight. Abandonment is fond of the night. It stalks its prey. It lies in wait until the day’s activities are done. The mind...
When I was a young mom, I was desperate for a formula. I truly thought there must be a formula I could plug my family into that would yield great kids. And there were plenty of moms who tried to convince me they had the formula. “Bottle feed and never let them sleep...
I have good news for you parents! Your darling pre-teen/early teen will one day emerge from the months of awkwardness and you will find yourself looking into the face of an amazing young man or young woman. Can I get an amen?! Not that we don’t love our goofy kids...
We all like big numbers. Whether it’s how many people clicked on our blog link, or the number of people attending our lifegroup or church event, or how many people we’ve led to the Lord (or at least how many people we can file under “witnessed-to”), how much our work...