Elementary

We say the word thanks a lot in a day. We thank our spouse for filling up our coffee, we end emails with the word thanks, and we thank people for holding the door for us. As parents, we...

I have no idea what or who my seventeen-month-old daughter will dress up as for our upcoming Halloween events. These days, it’s a big responsibility to make sure that your family costumes...

“Don’t you see how hard I’m working?” “I feel like my work goes unappreciated.” “It seems like no matter what I do, it’s never enough. There’s always one more thing.”

Before having kids, my husband and I believed that family dinners would come naturally. Neither of our parents seemed to have much trouble making this happen, so we thought we wouldn’t...

 “What dis?” my son asked, pointing to the ultrasound picture of our baby, due next month. “Baby brother!” I said, pointing to the picture and pointing to my tummy. Then I dug around in a...

There’s a joke in my family that my older sister was baptized in the kitchen sink by my maternal grandmother. I have no idea whether the tale is tall or true, but I can imagine it might...

I walk into the sanctuary with my newborn daughter strapped into a baby carrier and a diaper bag on my back. I’m only a few minutes early to service, but it’s a relatively empty space....

Having my daughter last spring has definitely changed my walk with Christ. Busy days come with sleepless nights and quiet moments are often broken with cute coos and not-as-cute cries...

“I’d be LIVID if someone prayed with/to/at my kids.” My heart leapt into my throat and then sank as I read these words from a Facebook group on parenting. The original post had asked for...

The words of Proverbs 3:1–4 tumble around in my head and heart often as I go through my day with my three small children:

“Can you please help me, Mom?”My six-year-old son asked me this when he was working on a new LEGO building bricks set and got stuck on a step in the directions.

Have you ever walked through a familiar room in the dark? It is probably a room you would not think twice about walking through during the day. But suddenly, when you walk through it in...

What burdens are you carrying right now? Are you . . . Anxious? Tired? Uncertain?

As a new mother, I’ve been struggling to figure out a spiritual routine for my daughter and our family. We say prayers at bedtime and read some books that are Christ-focused, but sometimes...

This school year, my family is transitioning to having a child in school all day. My oldest starts kindergarten and is anxiously waiting to find out what being at school “all day” is all...

My son called to me in a stressed and urgent tone, “Mom! I need a big eraser!”

You open your phone and scroll past another devastating news story. A friend posts about the death of someone they loved. You open your email to be met with a long list of messages that...

“You have to be in charge, FOREVER!” This was my five-year-old’s response after I had been teasing him that I was going to take a break from being in charge.