For some of you–Valentine’s Day is not a fluffy pink cloud, studded with chocolates. For some of you, Valentine’s Day is hard.
We stayed married another day. Three cheers.
For some of you–Valentine’s Day is not a fluffy pink cloud, studded with chocolates. For some of you, Valentine’s Day is hard.
We stayed married another day. Three cheers.
When my four kids were little and life resembled a 24-hour Bounty commercial, I read a statistic in Parents magazine that something like 78% of new moms, when choosing between sex and sleep, chose sleep.
Um. Duh.
This week I had one of those shining parenting moments. I caught one of my kids deliberately subverting a punishment.
This kid didn’t lie about what he was doing, which in light of the past, felt like a win. He also seemed to sincerely apologize. I told him I would think about the consequence and get back to him, and we’d talk some more.
And two hours later, he did the same thing, people. #parentingforthewin
Question: Where did you get your mental/emotional/spiritual/social blueprints on how to build a Christian home?
A friend of mine is a first-generation Christian. Aside from a few moments in college, a week of VBS was about the extent of Christian education–there were stickers and crafts, she remembers.
Confession: In the past, I have personally known Lent is almost here when fast-food signs start advertising fish sandwiches. So maybe your kids ask, “Hey, what’s Lent?” around Ash Wednesday (PSA: today is the start of Lent!). But if it isn’t something your family typically observes, you might be scrambling for answers that don’t include “Filet-O-Fish.”
So allow me a brief rundown of lent for kids, in language they (/we) can understand—and some tips to help it sink in.
I’m just not all there with him.
So I’m pulling ideas together to help me/you hone in on being “all there” this Christmas, starting with our audience of One.To an already-packed schedule, Christmas can feel a bit like “more bricks, less straw.”
If your goal is being present in the ways that matter, cut out a few of the “have-to’s” that aren’t.
Heartrending news landed in the New York Post this week: Divorce rates spiked 34% between March and June this year.
According to the article, 31% admitted quarantine caused “irreparable damage” to their relationships.
I heard a few months ago Google was experiencing a surge in the terms “beach vacation”. (This was three or so months into the Year that Will Live in Infamy for its Terribleness.) I still have one friend living on the same tank of gas when her state locked down (five months to the tank = problem). So if your phone has been providing a bit of an imaginary getaway lately: I get it. But maybe you’re worrying, “Am I addicted to my phone?”
Even simple excessive screen time reshapes the brain’s structure and function. It inhibits our emotional processes, executive attention, decision making, and cognitive control.[i]
Truth: Sometimes I wish I didn’t tell you I’d help with “uncomfortable conversations…worth having.”
But here’s another truth: Those of you readers of color probably didn’t have an option for this uncomfortable conversation with your kids.
In my house, we’ve got a lot of big feels. (My husband has dubbed our house’s pet sin “self-control”.)
So we work a lot with managing emotion–so emotion doesn’t manage the whole house, m’kay?
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