"It was the best of times.It was the worst of times." This opening quote by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities can apply to so many situations in life. But I wasn't prepared for it to apply to our vacation. Let me give you some backstory. Getting Away Two weeks ago, all four of our children attended camp. They love camp and ...
Mommyhood
What is Causing Your Parental Exhaustion?
I'm exhausted! How do you avoid exhaustion in parenting? When I’m tired, I tend to give into my children, but I know I should have firm boundaries. If you are a parent or teacher, you can relate to Stephanie’s post in the ABCJesusLovesMe Facebook Group. When the kids are little, physical exhaustion develops just trying to keep them fed, ...
Are You Tired?
There is a person reading this post who is doing everything in his or her power to get it right, yet is going nowhere. She is striving to be a godly mom, wife, and friend yet secretly knows it isn’t working. Each night as she lays her head on the pillow she wonders if she has done enough. He is following all the “rules” and "working his head ...
How to Raise Children Who Serve
What are the skills you want your kids to have when leaving your home? Change a tire. Be financially astute. Do laundry. The list goes on. But what about a servant attitude? Is that a goal? Part 1 of the Should Children Have Chores? podcast got us started. Now let's dig deeper into the subject of raising children who desire to serve ...
Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?
Will you join me on a trip down memory lane? In January 2009 I took a leap of faith and began a blog called "Our Out-of-Sync Life." God placed it on my heart to encourage and empower mommas and teachers to shepherd little ones to live for Christ in this "out-of-sync" world. Fast forward to 2021 and the name of the blog was changed to ...
How to Create Purpose This Summer
As I shared last week, ever May I gain a bounce in my step because summer is just around the corner. For almost three months I will have all my chickadees back under my wings! But I learned several years ago in order to thrive during summer, we must have purpose. I needed to set goals and lightly structure our day, so we didn't greet September ...
Tips for Your Summer Vacations and Goals
As we are counting down the days until the end of the school year, I am so excited about our summer! We have some exciting vacations and goals planned. Discover some tips I've learned in my 18 years of "family summers." Family Vacations God has blessed us with some amazing vacations through the years. What started as a practice ...
Should Self-Help Books Be Used in Your Quiet Time?
Browse the "Religion" section of a bookstore, in person or online, and you're sure to get quickly overwhelmed! At first glance many books seem like they could be helpful in your quiet time. But on closer inspection, you'll find the majority are little more than self-help books. Are self-help books a good guide for your quiet time? How do you ...
How to Have a Quiet Time
What if I told you that you could completely change your life by adding just one thing to your day?What if I told you that the one thing would only take 1% of your total day? Would you do it? You’d be crazy not to! 1% of Your Day If you have been part of this blog family for a while, you won't be surprised that the one ...
How to Have Successful Family Vacations
Read the podcast episode's transcript. I will never forget the first family vacation we took as a family of 6. Our youngest was around 8 months old, and while we’ve always been a camping family, we’d yet to venture out with our little caboose. I made the checklists, double checked the supplies, picked a perfect campsite – close to the bathrooms ...