There are two brief moments in the 24 hour cycle of our planet that give us a sneak peek at the bigger story of our lives. No matter where you are in the world, if you have access to the drama going on outside at the right time, you can’t miss them. Obviously, if you’ve [...]

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Take a walk through most any bookstore, be it a Christian based store or a secular one, and you will see that parenting books are like opinions – everyone has one.  Some are full of great wisdom, and some are full of practical application, but seldom do the 2 mix in 1 work.  Grace Based [...]

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Some families’ idea of a successful vacation is when everyone is still speaking to each other when they pull into the driveway. Or maybe it’s when Dad only got lost twice and Mom didn’t yell at him. In my own experience, those would be big scores on the report card of vacations. But I’d like [...]

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I recently saw the newly released documentary, “Bully.” If I’m honest, I was a bit anxious to drag my 13, 12 and 10 year old to see the flick…and I was right to be anxious about it. The movie was raw, emotional, offensive and ungodly…and that’s exactly why you should see it!  The creators of [...]

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Sometimes I wonder if my children have any chance at turning out remotely normal. After a long day of time outs, impatient conversations and more sugar than veggies in their diet, I often feel like I’m damaging my children for life. I long to parent my kids with grace on a daily basis, but struggle [...]

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This year is the 30th anniversary of Family Matters. That’s right folks! We’ve been at this thing for three decades now! We have met so many wonderful people, partnered with some great ministries like Focus on the Family and Family Life, and God has used our efforts to touch the lives of countless families with the [...]

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I call it the “preschool dilemma” and it’s causing a lot of angst in many moms’ minds. Where to send them? When to send them? How to pay for it? When I tell these moms that I didn’t send my kids to preschool, mouths drop and eyebrows raise like I’m some sort of back hills, [...]

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“How did you make the decision to do this?” This is the question I hear the most from people when they find out we foster kids.  Most of the time, it is well-meaning people who are agonizing whether or not fostering/adoption is for them. Let’s be honest; 99.7% of the time, the wife is for [...]

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Mothers who exhibit extreme patience fill me with a strong desire to applaud them and even give them a big o bear hug – I want them to know they are my heroes. I recently was traveling on an airplane and upon nestling into my small seat and awaiting take off I could hear in [...]

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Please tell me I’m not alone in feeling some (if not all) of the following statements throughout the course of a normal {mommy} day? “I’m just not doing enough.” “If only I could be like __________.” “What if __________?” “(Insert your child’s name) isn’t like (insert a friend’s child’s name)! Is it because of something [...]

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