Can you recall when someone said a kind word or performed a small act of service for you? It probably wasn’t even logged into the fabric of their minds…

Towards the end of 2023 I was reflecting, like most people, on what the year I was slowly waving goodbye to had brought me. I’m generally an introspective…

I am going to choose not to share a personal experience this go around. Instead, I’ll start by saying I hate boasting, but I am well-versed in apologizing…

For me, back to school is a better reset then New Years! Here are 5 routine ideas to start during back to school:

You’ve all heard the stories about how birth rank affects a child. As the youngest, I believe it’s true to some extent because you have siblings who’ve charted the course.

I’m one of those busy moms living a full life who decided to go back to college a few years ago. My brain felt a little sluggish and old, especially coming out of a season where the theme song of “Elmo’s World” lived rent free in my head.

I WILL:
1. I will ask Santa for a vacation to the Bahamas…ALONE… and a nanny back home to take care of the kids and laundry.

Her future was decided. She was a young woman pledged to be married and preparing for the engagement time to be complete so she could begin her own family. Then her world was turned upside down with a few simple words.

Finding the light of Christmas can be such a challenge for single moms. We work hard to make beautiful Christmas memories for our children. We pour ourselves into making that happen, which can often make us feel exhausted and weary.

I used to be a 7^th grade school teacher. I know middle schoolers well. For those of you moms who house junior high students, you’d agree these hormone raging humans face many challenges.

So how can you help them navigate through this three-year crucial journey? Here are twenty ideas I suggested to my incoming parents. Hope they help.   

I have a little exercise for you. Think back. How old were you twenty years ago? What was going on in your life? Some of you were teenagers and others entering your first job. Others were giving birth to your first child.

A few years ago I spoke at a conference with the theme “Though None Go with Me.” Once I heard the title, my mind started racing with all that it encompasses. I focused on what it would be like if in my journey and my decision to follow Christ, none went with me.

It’s the week before the birth of Christ and life is the same. Merchants peddle their goods. Women sweep the floors of their homes and prepare meals. Priests serve in the temple. Shepherds watch over their flocks. Nothing seems unusual. No whispering winds or notes delivered to doors to alert the Israelites. Daily life continues to revolve, unaware the long-awaited Messiah’s appearance approaches.

When I was a mother raising children alone, I possessed one certain Bible. I wrote notes in the margins beside verses that pertained to my circumstances asking God to apply that truth to my need.

Arguing with my parenting decisions and questioning my methods are favorite hobbies among my children. With four sons ranging from age 5 to 19, there are plenty of opportunities for me to practice training kids to be wise adults.

I was a single father for the first nine years of my daughter’s life. Her mom and I were never married and once she got pregnant, things went south very quickly. Almost a decade later not much has changed. Sure we have our seasons of peace, but they are few and far between.  

It was 2007, and I had just recently left my home and my marriage due to continued emotional, verbal and physical abuse.  My oldest daughter was about three years old at the time and we had just moved into an apartment.