Love and respect are both very transformative. A loved woman becomes more and more lovely, and respected men become more and more respectable. We all know this at a foundational level. It is true all over the world that when someone bestows love on something or someone, change is visible. I am not talking simply of emotions here – I mean the action of loving, or the action of respecting. Emotions follow actions, and it is one of the great myths of our time that love is an uncontrollable force, coming and going in ways beyond human control.
Our culture is plagued with women who do not love or respect their own callings. Loving and respecting your calling at home is almost unheard of. Not one, not the other, but both. When you respect your calling at home, you will not struggle with your purpose. You will not feel wasted. You will feel the value of your work, and have the faith to see its power. But respect alone is not enough to make your work powerful, because respect alone is not enough to give you joy.
Continue reading ‘Potent Comfort’
When your day starts out with zebra footie pajamas paired tastefully with goggles, you know it is shaping up to be a good one. Poor picture quality is simply a result of the passion with which this moment was lived. We don’t slow down for photos. We keep the zebra blood pumping around here.
Have you ever noticed that when there is more than one straw in a milkshake, everyone sucks faster? Everyone knows they are competing, and every sip from someone else means less for you. People start breathing through their noses to minimize lost time.
I have felt for a long time that when you have little children, they have a straw that taps directly into your energy. The milkshake cup is me, and the milkshake is my energy, and every child is armed with a straw. Infants who are either in the womb or nursing have a competitive edge on this, and get to take as much as they want before it even hits the glass.
Continue reading ‘When the Milkshake Runs Low.’
I am pretty sure that you ladies have the solution to my trouble. My trouble is that I want to like cooking with a crock pot, but I don’t. It seems so handy. But so far in my crock pot career, I find it uninspiring. Sometimes I throw in a roast that I plan to shred in order to make something else. Sometimes I put in some chicken and beans and taco seasoning to make burritos. But usually, I don’t use it.
I have a couple of cookbooks that are slow cooker related, but if you have to sear the meat, caramelize the onions, and make a broth all before it hits the slow cooker, I think it has defeated the purpose. If I am going to do things like that, I use a dutch oven.
So, what do you make in the crock pot? Tell us about it! We need ideas!
So. Guess what I just ordered for the home front. Vomit absorbing granules. Yes. Turns out that they make this stuff that neutralizes odor (!!!), and absorbs all fluids, enabling the vomit to be swept. I know what you are thinking. Swept? Disgusting! Of course it is, but not so bad as paper towels. Not so bad as rags that have to go in the laundry. Not so bad as vomit. Anyways, work with that info as you will. I just thought we should all know about this. You know, to be armed when the time comes.
Since I so generously shared with you that last picture of Blaire having a misbehave, many of you have wanted to hear some specifics of how to discipline. I wanted to clarify that there is a reason we don’t usually share them. While there are a number of helpful resources for these sorts of questions, I think that it is all too easy for parents to slip into trying to tick off the boxes of the discipline flow chart, and quit looking at the child they are actually dealing with. It is better that discipline be something you need to really think about. It is better that you feel a little lost sometimes. It is a wholesome feeling. You should never rush into discipline thinking you have it all, like your child is a computer and all you needed was a keyboard shortcut. People are complicated, and this is why principles are what we need to be armed with. Sometimes parents need to change it up. Sometimes you see that what you are doing isn’t working, and you need to reevaluate it in light of the principles you know. Sometimes the fool-proof method of another family will not even begin to help yours. That is all well and good.
Continue reading ‘Let’s get Specific.’
Check out this marvelous guest post at DG. I told you all to rush out and purchase “The Dragon’s Tooth” by good old N.D. Wilson, and this post of his will give you yet another reason to do so. Seriously. Read the post, then buy all of his books, then read them aloud to your children, then send them to people for Christmas.
The best part: it is all really fun to do!
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