Mom's NOT crazy

 I recently wrote a column for Mom Life Today, a Christian moms' platform entitled, "I Cried in the Shower Last Night." The column spoke of my grief surrounding the impending high school graduation of my triplet daughters:  https://momlifetoday.com/grief-when-children-graduate-high-school/ Tonight I found myself in tears in my bathroom again. This, however, was different. ( To be quite honest, I am not sure what it is with me and closing the bathroom door and being real with my emotions....) I am also going to honestly say that I have been toying with many ideas to write in this blog recently, only to abruptly change my mind because I realized my motives were too emotional. Being brutally honest here -- the emotions were anger. The Holy Spirit was quick but patient to show me those blogs were unnecessary  and not exactly beneficial for my readers. I do not want this blog to be a place to vent or air my dirty laundry. Oh, but there IS laundry. The "loads," I have...

 Mother's Day is upon us. Some of us struggle a little bit with this day. We often hear about the ones who lost their moms, the ones who never got to be a mom, or the ones who are estranged from their mom. There's another one we miss in that thoughtful analysis. There's the one who became a mom, has her mom still alive, even hears her voice occasionally on the phone. But her mom is not always THERE. The physical distance is not far.  Yet she is not willing to be present. This woman struggles with the idea of embracing Mother's Day because her mom chooses her own wants over her children. I work in an environment where I see broken young women regularly. Some of them are in these scenarios. I used to do prison ministry in the local female prison. Their stories are similar.  Mom loved them. But Mom chose drugs or alcohol or various men -- before considering her kids. And often times she was the most passionate mom who CLAIMED these kids were "her world," and that...

  6-7.. If you have a school age kid, you have been inundated with "6-7."  What is that? Long story short, it is part of lyrics from a song that talks about a basketball player whose height is 6'7. So kids just repeat it. When the score of a game is 6-7, you're going to hear the kids shout it. In the classroom while doing math homework, if the answer has 6 and 7 next to each other, you will hear it. So, who cares?  I heard the numbers mentioned in an entirely different way. I was listening to a podcast which featured Pastor Jonathan Pokluda. Pokluda is an evangelistic pastor who speaks primarily to the younger generation. He has been in the hospital battling an unknown illness. And he is still speaking the Gospel for those who want to listen. Here's a link to his interview:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv5v8-QRqjM&pp=ygUlamVzdXMgcGVvcGxlIHBvZGNhc3QgSk9uYXRoYW4gUG9rbHVkYQ%3D%3D In the podcast, he gave a great example of how to ask someone if they are eterna...

As a mom of faith, I have counted on God to guide this parenting gig since that first positive pregnancy test results were read to me July 1, 2004.  There has been one major obstacle between God and I all these years, even long before my children existed.  It's flesh and blood.  I'm not just talking about my own. People in general. People I have had to encounter during this journey. People with whom I have tried to have relationships. People who are responsible for my kids when I am not there. People who hurt my kids. People who love my kids. People who hurt me. This past week my maturity in this area was tested repeatedly. I've come a long way from the early days of reacting to my "people" issues. As a new mom your goal is to protect your infant from all that is a threat. Whether it is as simple as germs or complex as predators, we are on guard. And let me tell you, I had my "reactive" moments with sanitary stations and ninja warrior gear as I jumped ou...

  There are many joys in motherhood just as there are hurts.  When we are in the thick of it, I think we tend to dwell in the latter.  For longer than I care to admit, the hurt has not come  from my own family. I tend to dwell on hurts from those who are no longer in our lives but choose to whisper about us in huddles. It hurts. Whether it is about one of my daughters. My husband. And sometimes even if it is about me.  It hurts. It especially hurts when it is those in the Christian community. We can "Matthew 18:15-20" until we are blue in the face. Sometimes, it just continues.... It's been about two years of hearing from others how the name of someone or all of us in my household has been dragged through the mud because of misunderstanding. Only one side of a story is often told. And that is the story that has wings.    We made attempts at reconciliation in all incidents. Our family is not perfect. We each had our moments of not handling matters grace...

 There's that overly used saying, "It takes a village." Well, as I navigate raising three 17 -year-olds and an almost-20 year-old in college, the village is more like a small camp. I'm not talking cult-like camps. I'm talking a small gathering of tents with occupants who sit by the fire and listen and pray. This is not literal. I don't like to camp. (Camp fire smell in my hair. Ew.) This is just the terminology with which I came up.  Teenagers don't like anyone in their business. Especially mom and dad. If you're fortunate, they will invite you into their business because they know you will pray for them. They also hope you will give them direction. And they often want you to tell them everything will go just the way they want it and you will also tell them to do what they want to do even if they know it is not what they should do. Did you follow that trail through the woods? I have teenage girls. Three of the four of them are rather forthcoming with w...