Light peeked through the blinds and landed on the hospital recliner chair, waking me from a stiff-necked sleep. I turned my head to see my five-year-old son, curled up in a ball with monitors beeping steadily, feeling sure it would only be a few minutes before he sensed me and woke up. We had at least another day ahead of us in this specially sectioned-off unit—not allowed to leave the room or accept visitors. Nurses or doctors would only drop in on an as-needed basis. While I praised God that my son had been stable through the night, my prayers now shifted to the daytime. How would I enterta ..read more

We became first-time moms within nine months of each other, and although we didn’t realize it at the time, we both entered motherhood with high expectations. Yet today, with eight kids between us, our optimistic expectations have toppled under the pressures of everyday life. Just like when we realized our carefully selected muslin swaddles were insufficient at holding our Houdini babies’ arms in place, motherhood left us feeling inadequate, frustrated, and desperate for new solutions. And it wasn’t just us—it’s a nearly universal experience in modern motherhood. According to a Barna Grou ..read more

Regardless of whether we achieve lifelong-friend status or simply enjoy friendship for a season, what should the guiding principles of godly mom friendships be? I asked Jennifer—whom so many call friend—for her best tips on the topic, and I’ve included them with mine (many of ours overlap), in no particular order, below: Pray: Lift your friends up to the Lord (even before you have them). Make the first move: Be willing to initiate (even after being rejected in the past). Be hospitable: Open your home to others, whether you live in a mud hut or a mansion. Skip comparison: With every mom you m ..read more

Can you name something that makes you feel afraid? How does being afraid make you feel? Does it make your heart beat fast? Does feeling afraid make you feel worried or anxious? Fear is a normal emotion. We are all afraid of something. We might fear snakes, getting sick, being alone, or being in a very bad storm. Since fear is a normal feeling we all have, it’s very important to know what to do when you are afraid. That’s why we are excited to have you here at Camp Braveheart to discover what the Bible says about being afraid and what you are to do when you are afraid. Share this with you ..read more

While I’m an avid gardener now, I didn’t grow up with a love for gardening. Is that weird? You’d think that for someone who’s as into flowers and plants as I am, I would have been growing things my whole life, perhaps inspired by a talented gardener in my family, but that wasn’t the case. My gardening journey began with a few houseplants in that tiny condominium. And I can honestly tell you that I did not achieve success with them. I repotted them, watered them, and tried to give them enough light, but they didn’t survive. I wondered, Was it me?&nb ..read more

“Take your weakness to Jesus.” That’s easy to say. But what exactly does it mean? Taking our weakness to Jesus involves at least three things. 1. We must know that we are weak. Weakness, simply put is a lack of strength, the inability to act or produce an effect. To be weak is to be unable to do certain things or make things happen. We are all weak in one way or another. Unless we’re willing to admit that, we can’t begin to deal with our weakness. The one who cannot confess their weakness cannot take that weakness to Jesus. 2. We must know what type of weakness we’re dealing with. N ..read more

“What happened here?” Jess slows the car on a dusty gravel road. We are passing a vineyard in the heart of Italy and there are thousands of ripe grape clusters lying on the ground below the vines, row after row. He stops the car so we can take a closer look. “Maybe they’re coming through later to gather them,” I say, and bend down to pick up a cluster. The grapes are perfect, plump, and full of juice. We garden and live on a farm and the idea of these grapes withering in the sun is hard to take. I can’t imagine letting any of my good produce go to waste. We wave down two workers across the ro ..read more

When I first began gardening, I grew vegetables. Is lettuce a vegetable? Well, let’s just say I was trying to grow food, although not very successfully. I was a half-hearted gardener who wilted in the summer heat faster than my lettuces in their Beatrix Potter rows. And yet even in those days, the few cherry tomatoes and the handful of fresh basil I harvested for a big pasta salad seemed made of sheer joy and wonder. Even a modest harvest can fill us up with a delicious pride. I found more success in the vegetable garden after our move to an old Pennsylvania farmhouse. It turns out that weeds ..read more

Just like our kids, we parents face temptations every day in our battle for self-control. And no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to eradicate our unhelpful behavior until Jesus changes our hearts. Sheer willpower will take us only so far. We might think, “Look! I did it! I have finally overcome my issues with self-control” . . . only to find ourselves falling down the slippery slope all over again. As you seek to help your child grow in self-control, remind them that they are not alone. When we are honest about this issue, it’s clear that we all nee ..read more

A well-stocked pantry in your dry storage, fridge, and freezer will not only be a blessing during hardships or emergencies, it will help reduce the temptation to spend more during each shopping trip on those items you tend to add to your cart whether you need them or not. When you are intentional about having extra supplies on hand, you can breeze right by those items and shelves and only buy from the planned list you have in hand. EIGHT FOODS TO STORE AT HOME  While having a well-stocked pantry is smart, there are some items we should always have at the ready wh ..read more