“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” (Proverbs 22:3) Last week I told you about the summer my parents turned off our computer. Computer time was becoming too important, but once we got off the computer for a few hours, we remembered how fun it was to be active and creative again! Don’t get me wrong; technology is not a bad […]
Read More →Shopping for Time (Review and Giveaway)
“…making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). A review of Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and NOT Be Overwhelmed, by Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore, and Janelle Bradshaw. This practical book is just as delightful and solidly biblical as everything else I have read by Carolyn Mahaney. She and her daughters declare their purpose in the book’s introduction: “…We […]
Read More →The Summer My Parents Turned Off the Computer
“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.” (Matthew 5:29a) Long-awaited summer had finally arrived! My brothers and I, ages 9, 11, and 13, were thrilled to be finished with another year of homeschooling. The main thrill was that, instead of having only half an hour of computer time scheduled around our school assignments, we now had lots more free time—and we planned […]
Read More →How Do You Feed on the Word While Your Children Are Tiny?
Last Thursday we talked about ways to claim a regular (or at least semi-regular!) time for communion with God during the day. Getting up just a little earlier in the morning is one way to make time for this important time. However, for mothers who are caring for tiny ones during the night, an early rising may not be practical. Mothers with several little young children may also have trouble […]
Read More →Making a Prayer Journal
Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. (Psalm 145:18) A simple prayer notebook can help you and your children remember prayer requests and see how God answers your prayers. If you have mostly small children, you might want to keep one notebook for the whole family, but if your children are old enough […]
Read More →Making Time to Nourish Our Souls
“Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). A daily time in God’s Word was my lifeline while our children were young. I know that even fifteen minutes of Bible reading and prayer can be incredibly challenging when the house is brimming with energetic children and sweet babies that interrupt normal nighttime sleep schedules. But it is worth fighting for! Mothering is a demanding […]
Read More →Trying to Cover Sin
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Prov 28:13, ESV). It’s easy to cover over a sin (at least if it’s our sin and not someone else’s). We naturally want to cover sin instead of acknowledging it and repenting of it. Read what Matthew Henry says about this proverb: Here is, 1. The folly of indulging sin, of palliating and […]
Read More →Choosing to Love
“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him […]
Read More →Ever Feel Like a Referee?
One day, many years ago, I woke up to the fact that I was encouraging my children to gossip. You might recognize the symptoms: “Maaah-meee! Ruthie’s not sharing!” “Maaah-mee! Benny just poked me!” “Maaah-mee! Suzy’s making faces at me!” One child would become annoyed with another child. Instead of exercising patience and overlooking small offenses or calmly talking to the person who might be seriously provoking him, he was hurrying […]
Read More →Thanks, Daddy!
“…The glory of children are their fathers” (Proverbs 17:6). Daddy was not a man to draw a lot of attention to himself. We had to work to even get him to tell us stories about his life, and most of those stories revolved around his family and friends, not himself. His focus was usually on others. What could he learn about this person he was talking to? What could he […]
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