Zaccai was only out of my sight for a minute.  I was busy watching Lainey, the other one-year-old, and the older two kids. Where had Cai scampered off to? I found him in the bathroom, sitting on a step stool in front of the toilet, a soaked wad of toilet paper in his happy little hands. Gross. Two days of Nana duty last week gave me a fresh appreciation for what parents face every day... Keep reading at kurtbubna.com, where pastor and author Kurt Bubna has graciously allowed me to guest post. Happy parenting! Continue Reading

Walking down a grocery store aisle, I passed a woman who was so angry with her little boy that she unleashed a stream of raging profanities at him, inches from his face. He was maybe three years old. Twenty years later, I still wonder if I should have said something to that frustrated mother. Hopefully, those of us who love and follow Jesus aren’t generally given to screaming vulgarities at our children. However, just because we don’t use four-letter words at ear-piercing volume doesn’t mean we never curse our kids. Christians can utter curses without realizing it –curses as Continue Reading

As usual, when I dropped off my ten-month-old at the church nursery, he cried. After a while, he settled down and busied himself with toys. Then when I returned later,  he completely fell apart. This scenario played itself out multiple times when my children were young. Small children manifest their need for attachment with reactions like crying, anxiety, eventual adjustment, and then coming unglued when their parents return. Ever find yourself responding to God this way? I have. When Scott and I were young parents, we were stretched financially to the point where I couldn’t Continue Reading

You’ve seen it all over social media. Another tragic school shooting. More lives lost. More outcries about gun control. Among all the typical political yelling matches, one voice in the fray caught my attention. Middle school teacher Kelly Guthrie Raley made some profoundly sensible remarks in a now-viral Facebook post following the mass shooting in Florida. Raley bravely tackled issues such as: Lack of discipline in the home Lack of parental support of teachers Defensiveness and blame-shifting on the part of parents (making students' poor behavior the teachers’ Continue Reading