Grandma was on babysitting duty. She noticed that her grandson dawdled and played with the meal she'd fixed him, so she reached over and began to spoon-feed him. That might have been okay—except that he was five years old and perfectly capable of feeding himself. When our kids grow to adulthood, it can be hard for us to let them make their own decisions. After all, we’ve spent a couple of decades training them. We have more life experience. We would love for them to learn from our mistakes. As a result, we can be tempted to spoon-feed our adult children—not with veggies, but Continue Reading
Why a seemingly negative word might be just what God wants you to hear right now
Watching her husband’s pickup head down the road toward the construction site where he was working, “Mona” had a feeling something bad was going to happen to him that day. However, Mona had been trained in the art of positive confession, so she brushed the thought from her mind. It’s just the enemy trying to get me to be fearful and negative. The feeling came again, stronger this time. Mona got more aggressive and rebuked the negative thought. Later that day, Mona’s husband was injured when he fell from a roof. She realized then that God had been warning her so she could pray Continue Reading
How you can gain revelation from hard times–and why that matters
I’m lying propped up in a dimly lit room, curtained off from the other occupant. Lifting heavy eyelids, I see there’s a man seated beside me. Oh, right, it’s my husband. He’s been here the whole time they worked on me. I went under the knife around 10 a.m., so I think it’s maybe eleven-thirty. I ask what time it is. “Two o’clock,” Scott says. Wait, what? I have no recollection of the recovery room. At all. This whole experience has been bizarre. First, the dawning realization that I’d need to get my hip joint replaced. Then the steps of preparation and planning. Get ahead at Continue Reading
How to teach your child the difference between “smart” and “wise”
“He’s so smart,” the young mom often boasted. “One day he’ll be his own boss. He’s too smart to work for someone else.” Her little boy got the message. I won’t have to work for someone else because others aren't as smart as I am. I’ll tell you how that situation turned out in a moment. Parents face lots of pressure when it comes to their kids doing well in school. If a child isn’t excelling academically, Mom or Dad risks being branded as a failure. The pressure begins in grade school with mountains of homework. By the time kids are in high school, they face high levels of Continue Reading