When distressing situations come up, I need to remember to pray for a calm spirit and for insight into what God's doing. Here's an example of God's faithfulness in an anxiety provoking situation: I was taking my husband, Tom, to the airport. I was scheduled to take the same exact flights in a...

Have you ever had people in your life who annoy you? I have. I call them my "sandpaper people" because I know God's using them to sand the rough edges off of me. God's goal is to make me more like Jesus: full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and...

I believe that the only "failure" in life is if we fail to learn from our mistakes and change for the better. God is eager to redeem our mistakes by teaching us valuable lessons. So, when we make a mistake, instead of asking God why He allowed it, we should ask Him what He wants us to learn from...

I'm going to share a mistake I once made and what I was reminded of through that mistake. One Sunday, after the church service, I approached the pastor who oversees small groups and said I was praying about leading a women's group using the book I published on relationships. He asked, "Why not...

One day, while three of our young grandchildren were fishing (with adult assistance), they were delighted to catch some trout. Later, they learned that before the fish could be cooked, it had to be gutted and cleaned. They also learned that it takes skill to properly fillet the fish, removing the...

Posted in 2021. I highly recommend the book, Grandma was right after all! (Practical parenting wisdom from the good old days) by John Rosemond to anyone still raising children (or to anyone who works with children or wants to be a positive influence in children's lives), especially if you were...

Posted in 2021. The H.E.A.R.T. of Grandparenting (5 keys to being the best grandparent possible) by Ken R. Canfield, is a book I recommend for grandparents. This book covers grandparenting in the areas of: Heritage, Example, Angelic Influence, Reconciliation, Teacher. He gives excellent examples...

I am learning that the more I trust the Lord and rely on the power of prayer, the better my relationships with others will be. For example, I will be less likely to give potentially hurtful unsolicited advice if I trust that God is watching over the people I'm praying for. Also, if I trust God to...

We all have our emotionally stable times and our hard times. A friend reminded me that when the emotional times come, don't assume that means your faith is weak. It just means you are hurting. Jesus is the supreme example of that. He certainly knew how much his Father loved him, and he knew before...

Normally, we don't think of practice and spontaneity as going together, but in the world of parenting, they do. We need to learn how to handle spontaneous decisions. Let me share two examples. (1) Imagine that a couple is in a room with their young children and some other adults. One of their...