Sweet little Annie got her first, “No whining!” lesson today! She did not really know what a time out was.      So the kids and I all stood together, put a chair in a corner, and I explained: “We are only going to use kind voices.  No fussy voices.  No whiny voices….

     “Love is patient, love is kind.  Love is not envious or boastful.  It is not arrogant or rude.  Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.  Love does not rejoice in the wrong, but rejoices in the right.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all…

     I have never resonated with Christian writers who discuss being “worthless” as this has seemed so easy to confuse with a self-hatred or self-debasement.      But recently, I have simply loved this idea of my being “worthless,” and it has been a great help to me in prayer.      It is…

. . . my father died of a heart attack.      It is so hard to lose a parent.  So hard.     I miss his smile, his laugh, his levity, and his being a grandfather to my kids.      But today, as always, I am grateful.  I am grateful for my father’s love…

     On this election night, it is such a point of gratitude for me to think of our country–our right to vote, our freedoms a priority, our dignity honored.   Compared to prior eras in which tyrants ruled, peasants were at the mercy of malicious whims, and slavery was the norm, we have come…

Oh, how I love this girl!  She loves to cook with me.  She loves to help with chores. She has become so sprightly.  She has become sparkly.  This was not apparent in her for her first 5 years.  Yet now it shines!      She had a big transformation this summer.  At her request, desiring…

     “I could eat a million donuts right now,” said Leigh, while doing her math. This girl is so darn sweet! Leigh LOVES food.She is an EXCELLENT reader and probably the smartest child in our family. She is an outstanding artist, having a talent that none of the others has.She is NEVER moody or…