You may think your reasons for having babies are biblical, but if you’re like me, you’ve absorbed a lot more culture and a lot less Bible than you realize. “Do you hope to have children?” That’s the question I’ve started asking the young married women God brings into my life. It’s not as bold as [...]
Camping in the basement
Our camping trip with the church got cancelled. So we pitched our tent in the basement. Complete with a roaring fire …which we made our s’mores over. …with a little help from these products…
The Benefits of a Family Hobby
Jerry Seinfeld famously said, “There’s no such thing as ‘fun for the family.’” True? We don’t think so. When Steve and I were dating our pastor talked about the importance of teaching his kids how to have genuine fun. He wanted them to so enjoy their time together as a family that when friends would [...]
This Beautiful Mess
Finally, nap time. I had just tackled the morning mess, including breakfast and lunch dishes and a few soaking pans from the night before. Being 30-weeks pregnant with baby number three, I was desperate for some sleep. Mercifully, our four-year-old went down without complaint. Our six-year-old was just as eager for some playtime by himself. [...]
Family requires sacrifice
It is the right of little children to have individual love all day long and to have more than the tag ends of affection. But this situation will not change until the family is seen as an institution so precious that men and women will sacrifice something, even in excitement and personal expression, in order [...]
Kitchen Help
They were so excited to help and I was thrilled to realize four is old enough to wield a potato peeler! Taking turns alternately peeling carrots and potatoes for our harvest soup, their joy in being able to help make dinner made light work of it. It was a surprisingly cold day, but unexpectedly cozy [...]
A New “Problem with no Name”
Fifty years ago today, Betty Friedan released the book The Feminine Mystique in which she described “a problem with no name.” She described how educated women felt trapped in suburbia, gazing longingly toward unrealized opportunities in corporate offices. Today, women enjoy those opportunities in the workplace, but are now experiencing a new problem with no [...]
What to Expect When No One is Expecting
Jonathan Last has written the best book to date on the dramatic global retreat from family making. It has the creative title What to Expect When No One is Expecting and we mentioned it briefly here where we included an excerpt published by the Wall Street Journal. Recently, Last gave a talk for the American Enterprise [...]
Just Friends Limbo
When Steve and I were first becoming friends–and I was hoping it would become something more–he was dating someone else. The “other woman” is part of the high-jinx of our story and it seems to resonate with a lot of women. So today I answer a question from a woman who’s wondering if she (or [...]
Understanding Valentine’s Day
Growing up, my parents treated Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to bless my four siblings and me with sweet reminders that they loved us. A special breakfast before school, a surprise package in the mail at college, and later, a box of chocolates on my desk at the office. I wish I could say I [...]
