All Articles - Entries tagged "Encouragement"
SatSaturdayMayMay11th2013
Mother's Day Tributes 2013
As Mother's Day approaches, we celebrate the Moms in our lives by sharing tributes written by our readers. What a beautiful legacy is represented by these Moms -- some who are still with us and others who are already enjoying Heaven. Dearest Mom,... More
FriFridayMayMay3rd2013
Mother's Day Outing
My husband has blessed me in many ways over the years but especially on Mother’s Day. For several years and in the proper season of life (raising tweens and teens) this blessing took the form of a Mother’s Day outing. Certainly we had... More
FriFridayMayMay11th2012
Mother's Day Tribute
There are many things I learned growing up with Mom and many others I'm discovering still today. As I think back to consider, "How would Mom have done this?" I find myself remembering with new insight the ways she did. One thing I realize is that,... More
FriFridayMarMarch16th2012
Peace for Your Soul
Peace -- noun (/pēs/) a state of quiet or tranquility; absence of disturbance, security and restfulness of soul; confident assurance Verses for Meditation: Numbers 6: 24-26 The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you... More
TueTuesdayDecDecember20th2011
But in This Moment...
This December started out like many others -- enjoying Christmas parties, shopping, and family time. But over the weeks, many of my dear friends' holidays have become anything but normal as they encountered deeply difficult trials. A friend's... More
FriFridayNovNovember11th2011
Hope for Discouraged Parents
The following two questions are similar in reflecting the discouragement we can often feel as parents. Though the details vary somewhat, the principles are similar and so I thought I would address them together. Dear Betsy, I am a home school mom... More
TueTuesdayMayMay17th2011
Parting Words
On my wedding day, I remember waiting with my Dad outside of the chapel. As we watched the last of the bridesmaids go down the aisle ahead of us, I tried to take a deep breath but could go no deeper than shallow. I’m still uncertain if it was the... More
FriFridayMayMay6th2011
Best Answers from Our Moms
Dedicated to our Moms, who always seem to know the right thing to say... Happy Mother's Day! Mom's Answers: Wait til your father gets home. Wash you hands first. You can only control your own actions. Cover your mouth. Not in your good clothes...... More
FriFridayAprApril29th2011
Biggest Loser, Conclusion -- Greatest Gain: Christ Alone
Just this past weekend our family had the incredible blessing to spend Easter weekend all together, at the federal prison. As our 6 kids (now ages almost 4 to 17) and I made the very long, over 8-hour drive out of state on Good Friday, it gave me... More
SatSaturdayAprApril23rd2011
Biggest Loser, Part 11 -- Major Gain: My Identity
By the winter of 2011, our family was getting adjusted in our new home and surviving through another series of special holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s - all without the presence of my husband and their much-missed dad. On... More
FriFridayAprApril15th2011
Biggest Loser, Part 10 -- Major Gain: Our House
By the spring of 2010, our family was adjusting to our new lives – one without the physical presence of a husband for me and of a father for our 6 children. We “successfully” survived the first year of my husband’s... More
TueTuesdayMarMarch29th2011
Biggest Loser, Part 9 -- Major Gain: Our Insurance
By November 2009, I was beginning to accept and adjust to my reality as a “temporary single mom” with six kids, as I began to see glimmers of hope in our crisis. The Lord replaced our marriage as we knew it with the “gain” of... More
FriFridayMarMarch18th2011
Biggest Loser, Part 8 -- Major Gain: My Job
Just like God was replacing the loss of our marriage as we knew it, with a new and stronger foundation set on Him alone through this difficult period of incarceration and separation, I began to see a similar pattern in other areas of my life. After... More
MonMondayMarMarch14th2011
Biggest Loser, Part 7 -- Major Gain: Our Marriage
My husband’s first year in prison was the most difficult for all of us. As a (temporary) single mom of 6 kids, there were so many unanswered questions and a multitude of adjustments to make - physical, emotional, social, financial and... More
FriFridayMarMarch4th2011
Biggest Loser, Part 6 -- Major Gain: My Identity
During the fall of 2009, I was forced to accept the hopeless circumstances of my mind-boggling reality. I just could not believe that I was now an unemployed, (temporary) single-mom of six kids with a husband in prison, facing foreclosure. In... More
TueTuesdayFebFebruary22nd2011
Biggest Loser, Part 5 -- Major Loss: Our House
By September 2009, our “new normal” was beginning to set in. The autumn season provided a fresh school year with the older two starting freshman and sophomore years in high school, our third child beginning 7th grade in middle school, a... More
FriFridayFebFebruary11th2011
Biggest Loser, Part 4 -- Major Loss: Our Insurance
July 2009 was when I hit rock bottom in my journey as a “temporary single mom” with six kids. Unemployment and the lack of a daily routine along with all the kids at home for summer vacation was a recipe for disaster. As I attempted to... More
FriFridayFebFebruary4th2011
Biggest Loser, Part 3 -- Major Loss: My Job
Since my husband’s departure on February 17th, 2009, I became a (temporary) “single mom” with six kids (ages one to fifteen) literally overnight. Two teenagers, one middle-schooler, and three toddlers. One girl and FIVE boys. The... More
WedWednesdayJanJanuary26th2011
Biggest Loser, Part 2 -- Major Loss: My Marriage
Continued from Biggest Loser -- the story of one Mom's journey of hope through devastating loss. Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 was a cold and bleak morning in every sense of the word. It was the last day I saw my husband as a free man. At 5:30am, he... More
WedWednesdayJanJanuary19th2011
Biggest Loser, Part 1 -- A Different Way to Measure Life
The year of 2010 has been a season of extreme loss for many of us. Personally I have never faced such a dark season. My time of loss started about two years ago in 2009. I never thought in my wildest dreams (or in this case, “nightmare”)... More
WedWednesdayJanJanuary12th2011
Who?
"Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you." Romans 16:6 This simple verse which appears to not say much, says so much about God. We don’t know who Mary is or what she did. Mary, whoever she was, appears in a long list of people to greet in Rome. She... More
TueTuesdayDecDecember14th2010
Remember the Name!
If you know what the word "flannelgraph" means, you probably grew up in church like me. You know the stories as well as you know your own phone number, and you can find a Bible verse as quickly as someone can say "charge!" Or perhaps you didn't... More
TueTuesdayNovNovember30th2010
Rest for the Weary
Have you ever come to the point of absolute exhaustion? Not just for a day but for a complete season of life? You are busy with so MANY things and you finally hit the wall…mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. You are depleted. You... More
FriFridayNovNovember19th2010
Giving of Thanks
Have you ever felt depleted as a mother? Exhausted, as if you just couldn't give any more? Certainly we all have. We're heading into the season that can be especially taxing on a mother. The Bible says in Psalm 127:2, "It is vain for you to rise up... More
TueTuesdayNovNovember9th2010
The Definition of Life
I once heard someone who was in the midst of some heavy caregiver responsibilities say, “I just don’t have a life anymore. When this is finished, and I get my life back...” I was shocked, but the truth is that I could relate to her. There have been... More
WedWednesdayAugAugust18th2010
An Uncommon Cold
I had a cold. I mean a COLD. I don’t get usually get sick; in fact, I hadn’t had a common cold in a few years. But this cold was unlike all others and left me barely enough strength to get through our home schooling and the household chores. There... More
TueTuesdayJulJuly27th2010
Praying for Others
“Praying for another person is like touching God with one hand and touching the person with the other," explains Jim Cymbala in his book When God's People Pray. While reading through this book with my small group, I came to realize how often I stop... More
TueTuesdayJunJune29th2010
More than Enough
I have always struggled in the area of self-sufficiency. I know in my heart I need the Lord but sometimes I find that I still rely too much on myself. One day in my Bible reading, I ran across this verse in Hosea and it deeply convicted me. Hosea... More
WedWednesdayJunJune9th2010
One Small Step... One Great Goal.
Parenting qualifies for the toughest job, the most invisible payback, and the longest commitment in my book. Finished in 18 years? Not a chance. Likelihood of your children “rising up and calling you blessed?” Rare, maybe after you die. My daughter... More
TueTuesdayMayMay18th2010
Waiting on God
Waiting. Even the word makes us cringe. Waiting in traffic. Waiting for the doctor. Waiting in line. Waiting…waiting…waiting. It is a universal principle…none of us likes to wait! And yet waiting is a major theme of the Bible.... More
SunSundayAprApril25th2010
20/20 Vision
Lightning cracked through the salty, early-morning air waking Tom and Jen. They jumped out of bed and hurried to the upper deck of their yacht to put down the sails and stow various deck items in preparation for the impending storm. Hours later,... More
TueTuesdayAprApril20th2010
The Excellence Award
Go beyond verbal praise and make great memories too by creating an Excellence Award for your family. You can make a handmade plaque, create an award from poster board, or even give new life to an old trophy (thrift stores have lots of these). Slip... More
FriFridayMarMarch5th2010
Words of Encouragement
What a wonderful boost a word of encouragement can be! So many people crave verbal affirmation for their daily efforts, and when they receive even a small token of praise, their spirits are revived. This is even more true for our children. "...but... More
MonMondayFebFebruary22nd2010
Whining Child. Whining Heart.
When our children were younger, we often needed to discipline them for whining. One day when I was feeling especially frustrated and overwhelmed by their high-pitched protests, God seemed to gently show me how I sometimes do the same thing with Him.... More
Applying Biblical Truth to Everyday Life
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