As a young mom, I held completely distorted expectations of family dinners. I imagined a picture-perfect scene: everyone sharing sweet stories from their day, laughing together, and saying heartfelt prayers. The reality? Spilled drinks, endless behavioral reminders, wiggly bodies, interrupted words, and moments where I genuinely wondered if a ...
Parenting to Impress Blog...
...A sister site to ABCJesusLovesMe
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:7
Helping Children Understand Social Cues
I still remember it like it was yesterday. Bubs was about 9 years old, lying on the floor beside me while watching a friend’s baby kick, wiggle, and make little noises. He watched every movement closely. You could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. Then, with a puzzled look, he asked, “What does this mean?” as he circled his finger ...
Teaching Obedience Through a Game
Updated from Jul 8, 2011. It was one of those moments when I felt so proud of my child. Little Man (age 2) obeyed immediately, and for once, I was not the only person who noticed. Let me provide some background before I continue. Teaching Toddler Obedience Through Play Little Man and I play impromptu games of “Red Light, Green ...
Preventing Meltdowns Before They Begin
One of the biggest lessons I have learned while raising a child with sensory challenges is this: the best way to handle a meltdown is to help prevent it before it starts. That sounds simple, doesn’t it? But in real life, it takes a lot of observation, patience, and grace. I feel I had to get it wrong a whole lot to start discovering how to get ...
Love in the Little Things
An updated blog post from 2010. Years ago I cut out a quote from an unknown source and tucked it away. Over time, I have tweaked it a little to fit each season of motherhood, but the heart behind it still speaks truth to me: God is not concerned with how clean my floor is, how many dishes are on the counter, or how tall the loads of laundry ...
Bandaid or Fix It
There are moments in parenting when we are simply tired. Tired of repeating ourselves. Tired of correcting the same behavior. Tired of wondering if anything we are doing is actually working. I remember talking with another mom about our spirited Little Man and feeling completely worn out. During that conversation, she shared a piece of wisdom ...
Parenting with Love
Updated from July 2010 Some mornings in my quiet time, a verse seems to jump off the page and sit with me all day. I just finished reading through 1 Corinthians, and this verse in Chapter 16 stopped me in my tracks. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NKJV)Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.Let all that you do be done with love. On ...
Helping Kids Handle Fear
Read an updated blog post from May 24, 2010. Last night, while I was laying in bed reading a book, Bubs walked into my room with a worried look on his face. You could tell something was bothering him deeply. He climbed up beside me and said, “I can’t get [the movie] out of my mind.” This was a movie we had chosen not to let him watch ...
Starting the New School Year with Prayer
This week, we close the door on yet another summer. In the next few days, my children will begin yet another year of school to learn, grow, and be a light in this dark world. I would like to pretend that this is easy to do, but honestly, like a mother hen, I would much rather keep my kiddos safe in my nest. But as my oldest begins his senior ...
10 Tips to Help a Child Through Meltdowns
If you are parenting a child who has meltdowns, I see you. They can be exhausting, frustrating, embarrassing, and heartbreaking all at the same time. Whether it happens in the grocery store, at church, at bedtime, or in the middle of the living room floor, meltdowns or fits have a way of making us feel helpless. And a failure. I know because we ...