Dear Barbara, how do I still respect my husband when I feel like his lack of faith negatively affected the plans God has for our family? Don’t get me wrong; my husband is a strong believer. And there’s not a big sin issue. I just feel like he isn’t believing and relying on God in several areas where […]
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By: Janel Breitenstein Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids Create a paper chain to countdown to Thanksgiving. As the links are daily removed, kids can write something new for which they’re thankful. Keep the slips in a jar, and have them read random selections at Thanksgiving dinner. Craft thank-you cards together to send to meaningful people in […]
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Contrary to popular sentiments, Christmas isn’t for children. Nor should the focus be all about kids. Christmas is actually an annual opportunity to introduce your family to more and more understanding about the Babe in the manger, without whom this holiday would not exist. Games of hide and seek are lots of fun so here’s […]
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Hey everyone, Tis the season to be getting your family’s photo taken for your Christmas cards this year! It’s never as easy as we hope or imagine. In our family someone was always unhappy about it. My daughter-in-law told me one year she and her husband, my son, were having a big argument as the […]
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Stitched on pillows, printed on banners, and stamped on plaques on store shelves across the country is the word “gather.” November is the month for coming home. We gather together. It’s no surprise that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is repeatedly the busiest air travel day of the year. But did you know this warm, inviting word […]
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This past summer, a well-known author and pastor made two very personal announcements on Instagram. One post told the social media world of his impending divorce, followed by a second public statement apparently renouncing his faith. Only days later I read a post by John Cooper, lead singer for the rock band Skillet, who wrote […]
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A lesson I’m still learning, but understand more clearly now, is that fixing my circumstances is rarely the answer to reducing stress. For many years this was what I said to myself: When full time parenting is over … when all my kids are grown and on their own … then I’ll be so much […]
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In the current climate of our country I feel my stability—my sense of peace, my rootedness—is buffeted continually by news about political unrest, threats to national security, and even reports of extreme weather. Like the devastated Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian, I feel as if my limbs are being stripped, my stability uprooted like the destroyed […]
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Dear Barbara, What if I want out? Okay…don’t freak out. I am planning on staying, because on our wedding day, I promised I’d stick our marriage out. But what if I don’t WANT to anymore? I’ve wanted to quit before too. Somewhere in our third year of marriage, I went from a cheerful and confident I […]
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Like a new school year with its anticipations—Who will be my teacher, who will be in my class, who will be my friends?— so has been my life, Lord, with more changing roles than I ever imagined. My name as wife, then mom took getting used to. Then it became comfortable . . . and […]
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