Summertime is here and the living is easy, right?
Or is it actually more difficult?
As a parent summer brings a different rhythm than the one we’re used to living throughout the school year. How do we take advantage of this slower pace and plan for a summer of significance?
As another school year winds down, we feel proof of how quickly time passes. Many of my friends are graduating a high school senior and contemplating how it all went so fast.
Do you know how many weeks you have from the day a child is born until he or she graduates from high school?
What makes a good Mom?
They ask the foster girl I mentor what makes a good Mom and she doesn’t have an answer.
She finally says a good Mom would take her places and buy her things. The team of professionals assigned to her don’t like the answer. But, when I went home that day and asked my own four what makes a good Mom, they answered the exact same way.
What makes a good Mom?
It’s a loaded question with infinite answers.
It’s that time of year that I have been asked to send in daily treats of Monday’s flower, Tuesday’s favorite snack, Wednesday’s gift card, Thursday’s school supply and Friday’s personal note all in the name of National Teacher Appreciation Week. I thought that in middle school perhaps I would be free of this daunting schedule, put out lovingly by our APT, but obviously, that is not the case. The problem is, I’m in the business of picking parental battles and asking my 14-year-old son to carry a flower for you on to the bus, isn’t one I’m willing to fight for. Please don’t take this personal.
As parents, we have an essential role to play when it comes to modeling generosity. It’s up to us to make sure giving and serving others are a priority in our homes.
I’m not exactly sure how I ended up at Bob Goff’s house loving life with complete strangers in his San Diego backyard. I’m pretty sure the other 59 people alongside me would tell you the same thing. I can only give the glory to God for inviting me. Read more
Do you know what colleges really want your kids to have?
Authenticity.
Colleges want students to stop working so hard at racking up accomplishments, accumulating extracurricular activities and taking AP courses because they think it will give them an edge.
Focus more on authentic community service.
I’ve wanted to ignore the fact that this photo really took place just on the other side of the beautiful city that I live in. Yes, this picture makes me angry. I don’t know these girls at all and I’ve read that they are nice people, but I am embarrassed at their blatant privilege and disrespect. Their racial prank affects all of us.
I get that kids make mistakes. I know that I most certainly did and am glad I was fortunate enough to not have social media haunting my every move. But, I can guarantee I would’ve never posed for a picture like this.
Snuggled on the couch with two of my children, it was time to head off for my weekly visit to mentor my tween, Jen, who lives in a foster care group home.
This particular night, I questioned myself the entire thirty-minute drive. What kind of mother am I? Leaving my own kids to go and spend time with someone else’s? That is until I pulled in to the driveway and saw her peering out the front window eagerly awaiting my arrival.
In that instant, I knew that we must carve out time in our lives to love those who feel unloved.
Our own kids need and deserve our love, but they can’t be the only ones we are willing to give it to. When I saw the joy in Jen’s eyes as I walked to the door, I vowed never to question this purpose again.
Don’t use your family as an excuse for not caring for hurting people. Yes, I miss some time with my kids and husband to spend time with Jen. Thankfully, my children are deeply rooted in love from a wide community of family and friends, where unfortunately many are not. You don’t end up in a group home if you have any stable adult looking out for you.
What exactly is a mentor? A mentor is a person or friend who guides a less experienced person by building trust and modeling positive behaviors. If you have ever wondered if you are making a difference in your life, mentoring is an incredible way to do so.
At Jen’s most recent CFT (Child and Family Team) meeting, everyone involved in her case was raving about her heightened confidence and related all the positive change to our mentoring relationship. Wow.
The power of Mentoring is miraculous. None of us achieve success in life alone. I am slowly building trust with a girl who has no one she can count on in life that isn’t being paid to be there for her. She has been abused, neglected and beat down in her short years. I am humbled to provide her with new experiences while instilling hope for a brighter future, even if it means having to miss some family time once in awhile.
There are many young men and women in foster care who could really use someone like yourself to invest in them. Out of the 10 girls in the group home, Jen is the only one with a mentor. Are you willing to spread love through the gift of your presence?
I am a certified mentor through AASK. Check them out and join me in helping make a difference in the lives of some of our most vulnerable children!
Choosing a word of the year is all the hype. Perhaps you’ve already chosen yours or are in deliberation. Or maybe you have never even thought about letting a word represent the year ahead. It’s thought provoking and pretty painless, so why not? I’ve found that sometimes my choice even inspires others.
Last year my word was deliberate. I went easy on myself and chose a twist on the word intentional, something that I strive to do every day anyway. This year the word I’ve settled on is going to be a difficult one for me.
This year my word is GENTLE.
When I reflect on my 2015, I did a lot of amazing things. I hiked part of the Grand Canyon with a girlfriend. I flew around to some awesome conferences and to visit with family. My husband and I enjoyed some quiet time RVing to pick up the kids from summer camp before we headed off as a family to serve in Mexico. I made a lot of great memories last year.
If I’m honest though what stands out to me the most is how much I nagged and got frustrated with my family last year.
I want to soften my tone and attitude toward my loved ones behind closed doors. The struggle is real friends. I have three teenage sons, an almost teenaged daughter and a very gentle husband who doesn’t quite know what to do with himself most days on this thing called retirement from the NHL.
Keeping my mouth shut will be a task for me. There’s no way to be gentle when you are a nagging, huffing and puffing mother. Change is in order.
Pastor Jamie kicked off a new series at Scottsdale Bible on the Fruits of the Spirit. Ironically, my chosen word is part of the fruit basket. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, GENTLENESS and self-control are what God wants to do within all of us. It’s up to us to cooperate.
In my commitment to become more GENTLE, I vow to:
Lean on our Lord for guidance and help with my word for 2016. I can’t achieve gentleness on my own will.
Respond instead of react. This doesn’t mean ignoring my feelings or thoughts, but perhaps approaching situations so that I don’t walk away with a scratchy throat. Think calm, cool and collected.
Let go of my need to be right. I am a first born, type-A Leo so let’s face it I am rarely wrong. Being gentle doesn’t mean compromising my beliefs, but it does imply that I can be wise and loving in expressing those beliefs to others. Oh Lord, help me now.
Treat my family as I do friends, by honoring them with patience, tolerance and compassion. No one is more deserving than these five who I share an address with.
Judge less. Be gentle with all. Be compassionate and understanding of people I may not know, understand or agree with. Approach everything and everyone softer.
Get less busy. It is a lot easier to be gentle with others, if we are first gentle with ourselves. Too much of anything strips away at my inner peace. With a slowed down, simpler life, I have a greater ability to be gentle because I’m not stressed.
Own my lack of self control, apologize and try again because I will mess up and start going all looney toon on everyone because I’m human. Humans make mistakes but gentle ones can humbly ask for forgiveness and keep working at getting it right.
Have you chosen your word for 2016? How do you feel about my word GENTLE?
