I remember oh so well. At the age of four, Peanut wanted what he wanted— and he was ready to test every limit to see if he could get it. Lying on the floor in protest? Worth a try. Yelling and stomping? Also worth testing. He just wanted to make sure that our boundaries were firm and that he could trust me to be consistent. But Peanut isn’t the ...
Teaching Kids About Tone
Peanut completed a hard task. I made the innocent comment of, “Good boy.” Within seconds, the other teens in the room jumped all over me. Apparently, what I thought was encouragement can actually be taken as disrespect in 2025. Honestly, it feels impossible to keep up with what is okay to say and what might be misunderstood. The boys in our home ...
How to Teach Volume Control: Free PDF
“Why are you using your yelling voice?” “Please turn down your volume.” “I need you to talk quieter, please.” Do those phrases sound familiar in your home? If so, friend, you’re not alone. Those were regular lines in our home when my son was younger. For the longest time, I felt like a broken record, constantly reminding him to lower his ...
Starting Strong with the ABCJesusLovesMe Curriculum
Fifteen years ago, I was just days away from sending my oldest to kindergarten and preparing to welcome baby #4. Life felt full—full of joy, full of activities, and full of change. But in the midst of it, I was committed to being intentional with the two little ones still at home. ABCJesusLovesMe provided the structure I needed. During that season, ...
A Meal Planning Trick Every Busy Mom Needs
Let’s be real: I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. It’s full of distractions, but sometimes it delivers little gold nuggets. Several years ago, a friend of mine posted a meal-planning idea she created, and I immediately knew I had to try it. It’s simple, flexible, and—most importantly—it works. Let's go into the archives to 2016 and ...
How Much Time Is Enough?
"Am I spending enough quality time with my child?" It's the kind of question that creeps in while folding laundry, driving, or scrolling late at night. I remember asking an older, wiser mom this exact question: How much time should I be spending with my children each day? Being a high school math teacher, she smiled and shared a ...
The Story I Didn’t Choose
I want out. This isn't fun anymore. Discouragement is winning, and I see no light at the end of the tunnel. Have you ever felt this way? Maybe it’s in marriage. Maybe parenting feels like too much. Maybe a friendship fell apart, or your job leaves you drained and defeated. Life has a way of leaving us gasping for air and wondering if we’ll ...
How to Finish Summer with Purpose
Where has the summer gone? If you're anything like me, you're still in denial that we’re halfway through 2025. But even in the midst of a quickly passing season, I want to offer three reminders to help you finish summer with purpose and peace. 1. It's Not Too Late to Make a Simple Summer Plan When the kids were little, I loved using summer ...
Be Courageous, Mom: Encouragement from Joshua 1:9
When I was a little girl, my brother, sister, and I would play Nintendo in our parents' basement. We loved the classics—Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, and Tetris. But one game that really stuck with me was a Bible game called Joshua. The player helped Joshua conquer Jericho. And while I don’t remember all the details of the game, I do remember ...
When “Normal” Doesn’t Fit Your Child
When I imagined becoming a mom, I pictured sleepy baby snuggles, first words, and sweet milestones. I didn’t picture the first month of my child’s life being spent at a children’s hospital after open-heart surgery. I didn’t expect therapy appointments to fill our calendar, or for terms like “neurophysiologist,” “psychiatrist,” and “conduct ...