Have you ever watched a teenaged girl in front of the mirror? She points out a dozen imaginary flaws, invisible to the naked eye, and you just shake your head. She’s beautiful, inside and out, but she’s worried about nothing. Did I mention that women also struggle with imagined imperfection? …and sometimes men? A young child doesn’t hate his body. He will proudly run around naked. Body contempt is learned. From peers, from family, from culture – I don’t know.... Read more
Please pray for Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen being tortured in prison in Iran for his Christian faith. Click here. ACLJ continues to fight for his freedom, and for the millions of Christians oppressed and displaced by Muslim Brotherhood. I write about this from deepest compassion for victims of abuse and torture. I am also disturbed by the underlying idea of compelling a change of heart. Isn’t someone’s heart by definition beyond the reach of another’s control? Isn’t our... Read more
From How Not to Lose Your Teen. When I was young, my heart’s desire was to marry somebody wonderful and have children. Parenting was a soft-focus image of brushing my daughters’ long silky hair, enjoying intellectual family dinner conversations, and reading beautiful literature to my children as they lay under blankets by the fire. Once I actually had kids, this was the picture: I explode in anger over a mild inconvenience; I am far more selfish than I thought; and... Read more
My mother-in-law moved into our house after her cancer diagnosis. I was grateful for the opportunity to serve her and love her and let the kids enjoy her. She was grateful for the company. We moved everything into the large family room off the kitchen where she had privacy, but we were all easily accessible when she needed us. I grew to love her all the more as we enjoyed her last six months together. Many lessons came, including this... Read more
Please enjoy this book review, written and posted on Amazon. Book About Raising Christian Teens (reviewed by a NON-Christian reviewer) [her words] Posted on February 27, 2013 by Linda Thorlakson Who is the Intended Audience for How Not to Lose your Teen: Raising Kids who Love God and You Too? As you may have already guessed from the title, author Susan Cottrell’s intended audience is both Christian and actively engaged in raising kids. What may have eluded you, however, is... Read more
I’ve been decluttering our two-bedroom apartment, and I cannot believe what I have pulled out of that thing! How much can anyone accumulate in a two-bedroom in a year and half? Yet, here it all is! (I say anyone, because my husband does not collect clutter, and what he has he regularly purges.) I always feel lighter and leaner when I declutter, and I virtually never miss a thing! When my single friend in her forties moved, she fit all... Read more
The obvious answer is, “When you’re full.” But do we stop when we’re full? I can easily overeat. I like food, I see it as a treat, and I don’t like denying myself “good things.” In our lives of plenty—when most Americans have enough food even in hard times—how do we know how much is enough? When do we have enough clothes, or shoes, or kitchen gadgets? When have we eaten enough? Surely that is an important question in an... Read more
“Imagine if your boss came in and asked for something and he was 18 feet tall.” This was my husband’s observation as we watched a two-year-old foisted up on his dad’s shoulders. “Or if a cop pulled you over for speeding and he was 18 feet tall. You’d never do it again!” Yesterday I talked about how our image of God is formed by our view of our Dad (or Mom or other father-figure). We will not represent God perfectly... Read more
“What we believe about God is the most important thing about us.” A.W. Tozer What do you think about God? There’s a good chance you know a lot about Him, and good chance you believe things about Him that are true. But how do you feel about Him emotionally? Yesterday I wrote that we treat others the way we believe God treats us. But where do we get that belief? If we believe He’s condemning, or absent, or forgiving —... Read more
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