When my husband and I were raising our children, we had to learn how to balance a respect for their feelings with the need to teach them the importance of keeping commitments. This was a learning process for us. Our children loved to sign up for extracurricular activities, but once they lost...

I don't know about you, but I have often found that distracting thoughts bombard my mind when I'm praying. I'm going to share some things I do that help me to stay focused. Perhaps some of these ideas will help you. I ask God to protect me from demonic influence and to focus my attention on Him....

I can really relate to John 21:25! "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." Journaling is like breathing to me. I love to write down as many things as possible about...

Posted December 2019. I would like to recommend www.StrongFamilies.com (which has wonderful resources for improving relationships). In particular, the books: The Two Sides of Love by Dr. John Trent & Gary Smalley The Blessing by Dr. John Trent, Gary Smalley, & Kari Trent Stageberg Dr....

I like to get up early for a time of prayer and Bible reading, while the world is quiet and still. One morning, I was enjoying that quiet until a group of crows started cawing loudly outside my window. My first response was to be annoyed, but then I decided they were just praising the Lord. They...

"...encourage one another and build each other up..." 1 Th 5:11 If God puts it on your heart to encourage someone, do it. They may need a love touch at that moment, and you might be surprised to discover that you need one, too! I once wrote to one of our daughters telling her that I admired how...

There are some lessons I need to be frequently reminded of. One of those is to take time to pray when I'm unsure about something. A typical example is that I'll be writing to someone and I'm about to say something, but then I wonder if I should. I may think I have very good reasons for why I...

Since we all have different backgrounds and personalities, our needs may differ, as well. Something that's beneficial for me may not be beneficial to the person I'm talking to. I'll share an example. I'm a very meditative type of person. I often reflect on past mistakes and look for lessons in...

In 1995, our family went to see the movie, "The Lion King." We had various reactions to certain parts of the movie. One child was frightened by certain scenes and chose to leave. I was also bothered by those scenes and left with her. When we came back for the rest of the family, I asked what they...

This past year (2019),  Tom and I have had the privilege of hosting a 19-year-old German missionary, Michelle. She has been a beautiful role model in compassionate joy. One small way this was in evidence was during our Skip Bo card games. Instead of being competitive, she truly didn't care if she...