Our house is full of talking! Chatting, serious discussions, school lessons, reciting, laughter, playing, and questions, questions, questions! As moms, we interact verbally with our children from morning until night. And how sweet it is, sometimes, as we close the door at night on sleeping little ones and enjoy a few moments (hopefully) of blessed quietness, right? Since I interact so much with my children, I think it’s good to take some time to evaluate how I use my words with our children

We have a particular little board book that has been read over and over again to each of our babies and they have all enjoyed it. It’s about a duckling who leaves the pond looking for someone to play with and asking himself the question, “What did God make me to do?” Invariably, he becomes more and more disappointed as he encounters several little creatures (like a lamb, mole, squirrel, and bunny) and they are each eager to play with him, only Little Duckling isn’t able to scamper or dig or climb or hop with the new friend. Almost at the point of desperation, up waddle three other ducklings and remind Little Duckling that he is very good at swimming. Of course Little Duckling joins the other ducklings back on the pond, swimming his little heart out and happy to have found, or rather been reminded again, of “what God made little ducklings to do.”

Recently while I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom floor (it really needed it!) I made some observations about sin and dirt. Maybe it was the Pine-sol that put me in a pensive mood, or perhaps it is just that dealing with sin and dealing with dirt are so obviously alike, and I don’t naturally like addressing either of them! Why should we deal promptly with sin in our hearts (and dirty bathroom floors)?

A few months ago, the Lord blessed our family with a healthy baby girl! Our little Emma has been a delightful addition to our home. Her newness hasn’t worn off yet, the big kids just love her to pieces! And as with each new addition, the Lord has taught me a few lessons, and reminded me of some old ones, too.

As you already know, the final push to the deadline of anything is often the most daunting time period, too. Not only are we in the last days of this pregnancy, but we are in the last few weeks of our school year, trying to patiently wait out these lingering weeks of cold, winter-like weather, and striving to keep the kids focused on finishing the school year well and not going stir-crazy in the process!

And once again the Lord used one of my children to remind me of a lesson that I need to remember often: Pray. Pray often. Pray much. Pray about everything.

Awhile back, someone asked me to write about how to avoid greediness and cultivate a giving spirit in our children at Christmas time. While I by no means think we have mastered this topic in our household, I thought I would share a few tips we have learned from others along the way and hope they are a blessing to you.

I know it’s only October 1st, but believe it or not, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. In less than eight weeks from now, we’ll be gathering with family and friends around a carved turkey, and partaking of a yummy meal, and if you’re anything like me, scrambling at the last minute to use this wonderful holiday as a teaching opportunity! Why not take the whole autumn season to highlight thankfulness, rather than just reserve it for the last week of November?

I was reading through the 112th Psalm recently and came across these words in verses 1 and 2…

“Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed.”

Our daughter, Gracie, “inherited” this little purse from a friend, and she loves it. Dearly. In fact, I think she might have taken it to bed with her on the night that she received it. Gracie and the purse are inseparable.

Remember how you desired a treat from the ice cream truck when you were a child? It seemed that there could be nothing better on a long, warm summer evening that partaking of a dainty from that musical truck! Your heart longed for it. You could almost taste the sweet ice cream as the truck rumbled past.

The children of Israel stood on the border of it. The Promised Land. Their Promised Land. They place that they had longed to see for many years. Not just a place to see- but to possess and enjoy! A place in which to dwell and flourish! Their hearts must have soared with expectation of all that the Lord was going to do as He “handed them” this new land!

As the mother of a son, I’m beginning to accustom myself to looking at the back of him. He begs me to rollerblade with him. Which generally means we start out side-by-side, hand-in-hand. And invariably, he blades ahead. Normally, not too far ahead of me. But clearly in front and not beside.

Do you want to be a successful mom? Of course, you do! Who doesn’t, right? If you’ve been a mom for any length of time, I’m sure you have experienced days, like I have, that felt anything but successful. You know the ones… the kids were up at the crack of dawn. Before your feet hit the floor, someone or something had already caused a catastrophe. You swept Cheerios from under the highchair at least five times, changed a dozen diapers, consoled a teething baby, tried to rock to sleep a little one who had no intention of taking a nap, and then watched the clock waiting for daddy to come home, only to find that he had an unexpected meeting that would detain him later than normal.

Motherhood can be a lonely profession at times, can’t it? I was surprised when my first baby was very little how lonely the days became. Sure, it was rewarding and delightful to care for her and interact with her all day. But she napped a lot and doing laundry and changing diapers over and over and over again became monotonous. When we did go out into public, she was the center of attention. People fussed and oohed and aahed over her. When daddy came home from work, he couldn’t wait to bounce her on his knee or fly her around the room. Sometimes Mommy can feel a little alone and dare I said it, forgotten, can’t she?

A few weeks ago as I was reading through the little book of Haggai, three action statements jumped out at me, and the Lord used them to work a few changes in my life at the time, so I thought I would share them with you. I think they are especially applicable at the start of this new year when we are considering the months before us and laying out some plans.