Family Life | Make It Personal
Feeling Safe and Stuck at Home at the Same Time
It’s okay to be worried right now. It’s okay to not be okay with the state of life right now. But also, it’s good to search for the silver linings… Read More
Choosing Yourself is Not Neglecting Your Family
Sometimes it’s a struggle to really learn that just because we choose ourselves, doesn’t mean we are neglecting our family. In fact, it places us in a position to offer an even greater love because the place from which we are pouring is full and not depleted. Read More
Imagine The End | Make It Personal
Parenting Takes Courage
Confession: I lay awake at night and worry about my kids. It’s true. I know that worry is a waste of time. I know that worry shows a lack of faith. But sometimes . . . I worry. I have a child about to graduate from high school... Read More
Why You Should Let Your Kids See You Do Something You Love
I can count on one hand the amount of things I love more than I love Zumba. Zumba and me go way back: I started taking the fitness class at a point in my life when I was the most downtrodden I’d ever felt—I had been laid off... Read More
Family Life | Make It Personal | Mental Health
The One Thing That Will Help You Survive Parenting as an Introvert
Confessions of an Introvert I am an introvert through and through. Although I love authentic relationships and conversations, people, no matter how much I love them, drain my energy. Do you know who else is a person (albeit little)? My three-year-old daughter, Arden. No one ever talked to... Read More
Fight For The Heart | Make It Personal
What Every Tween Girl Needs From Her Mom
Do you remember the year you turned nine? How about twelve? I remember. I remember playing outside with my friend Erin. I remember my Cabbage Patch Kid dolls. I remember my mom’s chocolate cake and watching Auburn games with my dad and roller skating in the street. I... Read More
Make It Personal | Special Topics
Hope Boomerangs Back
“Pray for others that you may be healed,” (James 5:16). These words wouldn’t leave me alone. I really needed some encouragement––a prayer, a note, anything. From somebody. From an “other.” Six months into my Josiah’s autism diagnosis, I was enticed by waves of despair. I needed someone to... Read More
Family Life | Make It Personal
It’s All In Your Head: Taming Negative Thoughts on Parenting
About 50,000 thoughts pass through our minds each day. FIFTY THOUSAND. I suspect that number is even higher for parents of preschoolers! It’s true that many of these thoughts are the equivalent of mental space junk— Add milk to the grocery list . . . This sippy cup... Read More
Family Life | Make It Personal
3 Ways to Avoid Yelling at Your Kids
I yelled at my little one the day after Christmas. Talk about a way to land the jolliest season, right? I know, I kind of jumped right into this thing, but it is our reality and the truth is my heart is still so sad about it. So, I’ve... Read More
Family Life | Make It Personal
Do as I Say, Not as I Do
Have the words “Because I said so” ever come out of your mouth? This “quick fix” answer we sometimes give our kids when they ask “Why?” can ultimately undermine our authority as parents. “Because I said so” was never a satisfying answer when you were a kid; it’s... Read More