Posts in Parenting
Hey Mom- You’re Doing Great (Even if you don’t think so)

Hey, Mom!

Yes, you. 

The one with the kids. The one with the backpack, purse, and grocery bag all in tow!

I’m talking to you.

You are rockin’ this parenting thing. You really look like you got it all figured out. You are taking home the prize today!

The way you wipe noses while taking that phone call.

How you stir supper at the stove with one hand while consoling the little one on your hip

And you always arrive just in time for the scheduled parent-teacher conferences

That birthday party? Boy, you are a master planner!

You drive that minivan like a BOSS… you get everyone buckled in record time.

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Lessons I Learned From My Parents: Later I learned they were biblical

When I think of my parents, a few select memories always come to mind.

My earliest memory is of living in a trailer in Leesville, going to a beach, and being surrounded by my parents’ long-haired hippy friends and rock music. I recall my dad’s green truck, our tiny dog Georgie, and honeybuns. The honeybun was always the half my dad saved for me while he was at work. 

I remember in elementary school wishing so badly that my mom would be a room-mom, one of those ladies who spent their free time organizing and coordinating class activities. How cool it would have been to see my mom at school!

I remember in junior high my mom driving my friends and me all over town—to the mall, to slumber parties, to school events, to church, and to an Expose concert. Even though my mom drove us everywhere, we surely couldn’t be seen with my mom, so she always walked behind us. I still feel awful about this, but come on, I was 13!  

I remember in high school fighting with my dad about curfew, not understanding why at 15 I had to be home at 11:00. Surely he knew all the fun happened later than that; what if I missed something?   

 As a child I thought my parents were the best. As a teenager I thought they were ridiculous. Now as an adult I’m pretty sure my parents are genius, right up there with Einstein!

I have lived 43 years in the presence of my parents and realize they have become a reminder of how I am to live my life since accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. So much of what they have taught and modeled is rooted in the word of God. They may not even realize this. 

These are lessons learned from my parents that later proved biblical:

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Parenting a Teenage Boy: AKA Surviving the Terrible Teens

Fourteen is rough. So are fifteen and sixteen. Now that I think about it, thirteen should have been the clue--the clue that my son was changing. 

His dad had told me this would happen. "No, not Jacob," I thought. "He's so sweet. He's different." Well I was wrong. Jacob is not different. He is normal and just like most teenage boys I have encountered. 

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