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Parenting Dec 6, 2017

8 Christmas Life Hacks You’ll Love!

If there was ever a time moms could use some really good life hacks—it’s the Christmas season! {Tweet This} Short of having your own work crew of eager elves, these Christmas life hacks are the next best thing! So here are 8 Christmas Life Hacks that I love. 1. Wrap as you go. There’s not much worse

College Nov 27, 2017

Why Your Child’s Education is at Risk

A few months ago, I got a raise of sorts. My fourth child graduated from college and got a job. I have just one child left on my payroll! So I got a raise, and he got a gift — a college degree debt-free. There are many things that go into the training up of a child, and one of them is education. Man

Parenting Nov 20, 2017

How to Prepare Your Kids for the World

From the time my children were born, I have been overcome with the need to protect them. I remember the first time flying with my newborn daughter in my arms. I have never been so afraid to step on a plane, a place where I had no control! As a mom, I am the wall of protection between my child and th

Parenting Nov 15, 2017

5 Ways to Keep the Meaning in Christmas

As the Christmas season approaches I’m reminded of my childhood. I always felt excited about everything: the decorations, the food, the shows, and especially the presents. It was easy for me to focus on the festivities and lose sight of the real meaning of Christmas. Now that I have children of my o

Parenting Nov 6, 2017

How to Find Your Purpose in Parenting

I know many of you can’t picture this day, but it will come. The day you drop your child off at college. When we dropped off my oldest child at her dorm and drove away, my husband was in tears. I couldn’t cry because I was thinking of the 500 things I wanted to make sure she knew! I kept asking myse

Lessons I Learned Oct 23, 2017

Rahab: Would You be Her Friend?

A few months ago in a previous vlog, I went on a panoptic journey through the Bible focusing solely on women. The study led me to a discovery about two female powerhouses: Ruth and Esther. In my research, I clearly saw how God uses each of us no matter our background. Whether Jew or Gentile, rich or

Parenting Oct 18, 2017

How to Deal With Toddler Tantrums

If you’ve ever wondered how to deal with toddler tantrums, we have the answer for you—very carefully. Yes, that’s a joke, but it does have some truth in it. The toddler stage can be trying for a mom as her baby turns into a little person with preferences, a desire for independence, and the ability t

Marriage Oct 9, 2017

Is This the Root Cause of Your Marriage Problems?

Have you ever thought that love and hate are two sides of the same coin? I might have at one time, but marriage has taught me a lot about love. Hate is not the opposite of love, selfishness is the opposite of love. And selfishness is killing marriages. It is the root cause of many marriage problems–

Parenting Sep 6, 2017

What to Teach Your Child Before 12

What is the purpose for your parenting? Before we can parent effectively, our purpose needs to be clear. When we have that clarity, we will be able to train our children to be responsible adults when they leave us. One of the most important developmental stages of children is the transition from pre

Lessons I Learned Aug 21, 2017

His Narrative: Women in the Word

When my alarm goes off there is just one thought that gets me out of bed. It urgently whispers to my sleepy brain, “Hurry, get up. This is your time!” Yes, my only time. My time is a sweet, short span of an hour during which I creep quietly downstairs, grab hot creamy coffee, snuggle into my chair u

Marriage Aug 14, 2017

You Married for Better, but What about for Worse?

At some point in your wedding ceremony you probably committed to take your husband to have and to hold from this day forward, for better and for worse. I know I did. But I really didn’t think about what it meant. Twenty eight years later, for better and for worse has deep meaning. Our daughter, Mega

Lessons I Learned Aug 9, 2017

3 Lessons I Learned the Hard Way I Wish I Could Teach My Children

An iMOM writer recently asked me an interesting question: what are three things I learned the hard way that I wish I could teach my children. Of course my mind scrambled. Ha, I thought, how about 3 billion things? But what are some of my life lessons, the big picture things? I thought of these three

Parenting Aug 7, 2017

What Will Your Child Struggle With This Year?

When Emily (my second child) went to kindergarten she had a totally different experience than Megan (my first child). Same school, same teacher but not the same kind of year. By the end of Emily’s year, I was mildly concerned and asked for a conference to discuss a few of my observations. A good tea

Parenting Jul 30, 2017

How to Handle Your Child’s “Frenemy”

Have you ever had a “frenemy?” That friend who goes through the motions of being a friend and even says that you’re good friends, but who routinely does things to hurt your feelings, dash your confidence, or stir up trouble? It can be exhausting to deal with a person like that—trying to decipher the

Encouragement Jul 26, 2017

Anger: Face It, Find It, Figure it Out

In a candid moment around the dinner table discussing personality traits, my kids told me I can be angry. I protested but they had a point and I had no excuse. You see, whether you have one child or five, whether you work in the home or out, we all can get frustrated and angry at one point or anothe

Parenting Jul 24, 2017

5 Ways to Build a Strong Mom-Daughter Bond

A strong mom-daughter bond is not a given! Just like every relationship the mother daughter relationship is vulnerable. So many things can come between a mom and her daughter, not the least of which is hormones! I have three daughters and my relationship with each has been different because they are

Parenting Jul 19, 2017

8 Things Parents Should Do for their Kids Every Day

There are lots of things parents do for their kids. In fact, the list is endless. And, while all are important, they are not all equal. And that is the problem. Sometimes the less important but seemingly urgent tasks like packing lunches and helping with homework take precedent over deeper, more mea

Sunday Suppers Jul 17, 2017

Family Football Fun Recipes

Football Rice Krispies Ingredients 4 Tbsp. butter 1 10-ounce package of marshmallows 6 cups Cocoa Rice Krispies® 1 Tube of white frosting M&M’s (pick your favorite team’s colors!) Instructions In a large pot, melt the butter on low. Add the marshmallows to the melted butter, stirring until completel

Encouragement Jul 5, 2017

How Do You Struggle with Life?

I came to a jarring realization two days ago–a positive aspect of my DNA has become a negative. And I am struggling with life. I have always loved to ponder about people and life. I have written about this before and I believe we must ponder (give consideration to, pray about) to love others well (o

Marriage Jul 3, 2017

4 Ways to Fight for Your Marriage

You and your spouse are allies—not enemies. Did you get that? You may be thinking: well, of course, we aren’t enemies! But you’d be surprised. I remember when my sister and I were young and we were sharing a room. Technically, we shared a room, but we did not want to share the same ‘space’, so we to

Parenting Jun 28, 2017

Drs. Warn About Your Child & the Forbidden Apple as iPhone Turns 10

Bar Taco was packed, as usual, but we got a table along the outer wall. I grabbed the comfy bench and sat facing Mark and the animated crowd inside. Standing next to me, on the bench that ran the entire length of the wall, was a toddler. She was happily playing on an iPad while the three women at he

Marriage Jun 22, 2017

Affair-Proof Your Marriage

Have you ever thought about how you can help your spouse from having an affair? It’s easy to think that they are solely responsible for their actions, and in large part, they are! But, here are a few ways that you can help affair-proof your marriage from a segment we did for channel 5 in Nashville.

Encouragement Jun 19, 2017

8 Habits to Break as a Family

There are some things Mark and I learned along the way in parenting that we spent way too much time learning, so don’t make the same mistakes! Good habits take time to form. Here are 8 Habits to Break as a Family—work on them with yours. Trust me, you will be thankful you didn’t waste your time or o

Encouragement Jun 14, 2017

Are You a Maid or a Mom?

Are you a maid or a mom? The answer to that question really matters when it comes to figuring out how to get children doing chores regularly. A maid serves. She does all of the work because it’s less frustrating than figuring out how in the world to get her kids to pitch in. A mom trains. She knows