S Club Mama

This parenting gig is hard. Can I get an "amen"? I read almost any parenting book (reputable) I can get my hands on, but I really appreciate the ones from people I trust. Jim Daly, President and CEO of Focus on the Family, is one of those people I trust. I listen to the Focus on the Family podcast almost daily (when I workout) and I love hearing Jim's stories about his boys and his and his wife's parenting. They seem like people we could just hang out with. I have most of "When Parenting Isn't Perfect" by Jim Daly highlighted and notes in the sidebars. I had my heart opened to much of my parenting faults - looking for achievement, not character. How often do I get so angry with my boys when they misbehave in the grocery store (every time) instead of realizing they are little boys running a super boring errand and are trying to entertain themselves instead of thinking they are being rude - that's not their heart intent at all! They may not be think...

When my sons (ages 9 and 7) were toddlers, I was just overwhelmed. Kids are a lot of work! There was so much, as a young mother, I did not know. Keeping them alive and well was a lot but then there were these outside pressures. As a Christian, I must teach them about God and right and wrong, and they must be saved! As a human, they must treat each other with respect and share! Even when it's their favorite toy! As a person who hates being embarrassed, they must act appropriately and not throw tantrums in Wal-mart (and I need to teach them when they can pee outside and when they can't). These pressures were not bad things; most of them were good things to teach, but the pressure they added was immense and added to my feelings of drowning for about 4 years. image via Amazon When Princess was born (age 15 months now), I didn't want to stress about things. I did though. I stressed about breastfeeding, about her sleeping habits, about sibling rivalry (of which we were bless...

Abby Johnson volunteered and worked for Planned Parenthood for eight years. If you're unfamiliar with Planned Parenthood, they give women birth control and also abortions. They do other things that I'm not as familiar with but publicly, this is what they're known for. Abby felt she was helping women in crisis situations. After some major occurrences in her heart, Abby realized that she needed to start advocating for the unborn babies she was (as a clinic director) killing. I know that abortion is a hot-button issue - always has been, always will be. I understand that everyone is entitled to (and will use) their own opinions. I have my own. As a Christian, I'm pro-life through and through. This is also an issue dear to my own heart - I haven't been in a situation where I felt the need to abort a child, but I know someone (very close to me) who has. It's an unfortunate situation when I girl finds herself in a situation where she's not ready to be a mom. ...