How to Recognize Faulty Decision Making It’s not my fault!” ranks in my Top 10 Most Frequently Used Phrases, and may well be #1. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not the kind of person who always has to be right. But heaven protect anyone who implies that I might be wrong. My favorite family… [Continue Reading]
Living Inspired
6 Ways to Build a Positive Family
6 Ways to Build a Positive Family. Do your kids struggle with negativity? Are you constantly having to break up fights?Do you cringe at the words coming out of your child’s mouth? Do you wish everyone could just be happy and positive? A positive attitude at home will leak into the rest of your child’s… [Continue Reading]
Why We Need Home More Than Ever | Nancie Carmichael
We need home more than ever these days. Which is why I’m so grateful that Nancie Carmichael wrote The Unexpected Power of Home for such a time as this. I’m so excited to welcome her to the blog today to share with you about Home. Be sure to enter below for a chance to win… [Continue Reading]
Living Brave Every Day
Living Brave Every Day I’ve never considered myself a brave person. I’m not one to bungee jump, and the best I’ve done on the ski slopes is the beginner’s run. (And with much trepidation at that!) Stepping out and deciding to pursue writing was one of my bravest steps. Writing about the deep pain and… [Continue Reading]
Don’t Despise The Wait
Don’t Despise The Wait In my life, I don’t have any real enemies, but if there is one intangible thing that I always seem to be fighting against, it’s TIME. It robs me when I need him most. It turns little cares into big concerns when it hurries on and I still have no answer…. [Continue Reading]
6 Ways to Effectively Lead Young Children
What does it mean for a parent of a family to effectively lead young children? The answer to that question has come to me through years of trial and error (mostly error). As a young mom, I didn’t give leadership much thought — I was just trying to get through the day. But as my… [Continue Reading]
Be The Change
Be The Change Lately, I’ve been thinking there’s a lot of things I’d like to change. 1) I’ve actively started exercising and using a food journal to lose weight and get in shape. 2) I’ve been trying to curb my spending. 3) And I’ve been learning to be more thankful. All of those things aren’t… [Continue Reading]
How To Find Peace in Chaos
How To Find Peace in Chaos. I know that most of the time I look encouraging to my online friends. Why? Well, I don’t want to be a complainer or a whiner. I truly believe we can do more by lifting up people than tearing people down. We can also live freer by rejoicing than… [Continue Reading]
A Forever Home ~Hope for Orphans
A Forever Home ~Hope for Orphans I know my writing work is important because I get emails, tweets, and Facebook notes from online readers. But God reminds me often that my ministry isn’t just online … it’s offline, too. There are seasons when the most important heart I can touch is within arm’s reach. My… [Continue Reading]
God’s Heart for Adoption
God’s Heart for Adoption I first thought about adoption around 1999 when I was reading an article about orphanages in China filled with baby girls. At the time, John and I had three young kids ages 10, 7, and 5. Around that time I had also just gotten my first book contract. I talked to… [Continue Reading]
Sometimes Love Grows {Adoption Hope}
Sometimes Love Grows In my 25 years as a mom there have been many homecomings as I brought my children home for the first times. When Cory was born, I was a 17-year-old single mom, and we returned to my parents’ house. With Leslie and Nathan, John and I lived in low-income housing while he… [Continue Reading]