Three Things That I am Learning That Are Changing Everything

Ruth Schwenk

The bedtime routine with our three boys usually culminates with a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible.

Well, several weeks ago, when it came time to choosing the Bible story for the night, our youngest son, Owen, decided to go right back to the beginning of his Bible and choose the creation story. 

So we read about how God created everything out of nothing. How He simply spoke, and whatever He said happened.

At the end of this incredible story, I asked my boys, “Wow! If God can do that, is there anything He can’t do?” 

Resolving Conflict...For Life

Resolving Conflict...For Life

Ruth Simons
Parenting, Marriage/Relationships

Maybe it’s just my house, but 2015 has started with quite a bit more conflict than I would like to admit. Conflict between adults, conflict between siblings, conflict between parents and children. I’ve had ample opportunity to consider what is truly happening when we, in family, fight. 

When my kids argue, I tend to draw the quickest line from bickering to judicial resolution. I’m quick to call order with the gavel, and solve the issue with a definitive redistribution of toys, separation of offenders, and a call to cease and desist. Everyone has an explanation for why there’s conflict, and the reason is never themselves. 

Have you ever noticed: When we ask our kids what the problem is, in the midst of conflict, no one ever says, “The problem in this situation is my selfish pride.” It’s not so different from conflict between parents either. After all, my kids are learning how to handle conflict by watching me.

Finding Quiet: Turning Down the Noise in Your World

Finding Quiet: Turning Down the Noise in Your World

Daniele

It’s an understatement to say that I love quiet.  I always have.

My best and most productive days include regular patterns of quiet time -- preferably chunks of silence.  If in the car alone, which is rare, the radio or CDs are hardly ever played.  

Even with homeschooling four (not so quiet), creative, (maybe loud?) children, somehow we have managed to establish afternoon pauses.  Everyone stops to enjoy quiet for at least a few minutes.  As the children have aged, the time allotment has grown.

Bliss.

15 {Untypical} Questions to Verify Your Purpose in 2015

Tricia Goyer
Family Management, Parenting

I am one of the busiest moms I know. I write three to four books a year, blog, homeschool, and lead a teen moms' support group. Oh yes, and I'm working with an amazing production company that's making huge progress in having one of my book series turned into a TV series! (I know; it blows me away too!)

Sometimes I can't believe this is my life. I'm a former teenager mother. I have no college degree. I live in Arkansas, not Hollywood, Chicago, or New York. Yet all I do and have goes back to one thing: realizing God's designed purpose for my life . . . and having the faith to run with it.

Vision That Lives for a Lifetime

Sally Clarkson

I can still remember when I first had aspirations toward writing as an adult, many years before I wrote my first book. I had worked hard on a short essay, and felt deeply proud of my effort toward creative expression. Out of an excitement to receive feedback, I approached a family member with experience in creative writing, to see what they thought. After a quick look over my work, this person said without any hesitation, “This is very low quality. You’ll never be a writer of any merit with this kind of rubbish.”

Frustrated but not deterred, I persisted in stating that my writing was worthwhile.

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