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I’m Not Saying Gentle Parenting is the Only Way
But I am Saying That Spanking Your Child Isn’t the Way Parenting is one of the hardest, easiest things that I have ever done. If I had spent more time being guided by the God-given instincts and discernment than by the fear of man, I would have made much different choices earlier in my parenting journey. I have had to repent, relearn, and dig into that inner voice (Holy Spirit in my case) that guides my decisions. You see, if you know anything about my journey, you know that I wasn’t spanked growing up. To clarify, my mom tells me she tried once or twice because people in the church…
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Don’t Let the Dream Kill the Dreams, Part 2
We tried to sell the land. It didn’t work. We tried working with a realtor, but no one was willing to list it for what we wanted, or even at a bare minimum, what we owed. We sold our rabbits and chickens. (Except for my oldest son’s favorite rabbit. We kept her. More on that story in a future post.) We gave away countless things so we could leave the most important things we needed in storage. We were in the process of trying to figure out finances and how to do the next step when my husband had to take an unpaid leave of absence from work. There were…
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Don’t Let Your Dream Kill Your Dreams, Part 1
Sometimes chasing after a dream can lead to the destruction of more important dreams. Learn what we did when we went through one of the most difficult trials of our lives.
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Your Identity is Found in Christ: A Case Against Personality Tests and Spiritual Gifts Tests
People in the church often turn to personality and spiritual gifts tests to help them determine who they are. Here are some of the problems with that approach and what you should do instead.
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How Can a Mom Focus on Her Health?
I remember when my third child was born. I was so tired that it was a chore to function each day. I worked from home and was back working 3 days after I gave birth. There was no “napping when the baby napped” for me. I had a 5-year-old and a 22-month-old and a newborn and let’s just say that the exhaustion was real. The idea of getting up and exercising or focusing on healthy meal planning was near impossible during this season. The stress of this season lasted a long time and in retrospect, I believe I was dealing with some post-partum depression and anxiety. I didn’t know what…
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Is Your Pride Keeping You From God’s Blessing?
This season has been really hard financially. We live mostly paycheck to paycheck and have received a lot of help from our families off and on. It’s not something we’ve had to do much of in our 15 years of marriage. In fact, most of the time it’s been easy. I worked a 9-5 that paid really well. My hubby worked one too and we lived a modest lifestyle, so even if one pay period was rough, we could usually recoup things within a few weeks. Do you remember the Israelites in the wilderness? They trusted God daily for their sustenance. Manna from heaven. Meat that just flew in. God…
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There are Giants in the Land
After about 3 months of living in the promised land, I want to tell you something important. We often think that stepping into the promised land is easy. That’s it’s going to be a vacation. But I want you to know that there are giants in the land. When God spoke over us that we would enter in to the promised land, he never said it would be easy. He said He would be with us. And while I knew this in concept, I have gotten to experience this principle first-hand. Do you remember the story of Moses? He led the people through the wilderness and the Red Sea that…
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Stepping into the Promised Land
I could write a book about the journey we’ve experienced during the past two years to get to this moment. I imagine how Joshua and Caleb must’ve felt when the finally got to cross over into the land the Lord had promised them. The land flowing with milk and honey. We left Colorado for Virginia almost two years ago. It was one year and 11 months if you want to be precise. We left with a vision and a direction. When we got here, nothing went as planned and we ended up renting an apartment instead of buying a home with acreage. To say we were disappointed is an understatement.…
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Yes, You Can Lead Your Child to Jesus
Coming to Jesus isn’t just for adults. In fact, Jesus himself said in Matthew 19:14, “let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these”. One of the most heartbreaking trends I see is when Christian parents don’t step into their God-given role of disciplers and evangelists in their own homes. They miss out on opportunities to share Jesus in their own homes. Ouch. In the USA especially, we set up a family schedule that often hinders our child’s ability to come to Jesus. Our schedules are often so full of school, after-school activities, and household stuff, that…
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The Holy Spirit is the Most Essential Oil
Move over frankincense, there’s an oil more powerful than anything you’ve ever experienced. It’s better than lavender, tea tree, more potent than oregano, and doesn’t cost a penny. What if there were an oil that would guide you into all truth? What if there were an oil that would teach you? What if there were an oil that would empower you? What if there were an oil that would grant you eternal life? No, I’m not selling tickets to the fountain of youth. I’m telling you about the most important oil in the universe. You can take it with you anywhere you go. This oil can transform your life. The…
