A Thorn in His Brow

“Ouch, wait!  There is something hurting my foot.”

I brought the hiking crew to a sudden halt as I examined my river shoes.  Thinking it was a sharp rock, I shook my foot to force the pebble out one of the openings.  With a few more steps and a few more shakes it was obvious that the stone would not be deterred.  It was eager to take a bite out of my big toe. 

The Corrosion Effect

“I’ll be happy to stay with the class until the she arrives,” I offered.  My child’s elementary teacher was running late from an early morning meeting and hadn’t made it back to the classroom in time to greet the students.  No biggee.  As a parent, I am certainly capable of monitoring 20 young students while they unpack backpacks and prepare for the morning’s lessons.  It would only be a matter of minutes before the teacher arrived. This would be  easy – or so I thought.

It’s Just Chicken!

Sometimes, we need to pause and remind ourselves, “It’s just chicken!”

Weary from the hours of driving, we pulled into the parking lot.  The endless miles of bland New Mexico landscape enhanced our felt need for a break in our journey.  After counting down the miles until lunchtime, we chose one of those dual service fast food joints – in this case, a Fried Chicken/Mexican Food half-breed.  I mindless pondered why anyone would try to integrate the two varieties while my children to battled their way out of the travel-laden minivan.

What’s the Rush?

I had an unexpectedly late start to the airport.  It’s Saturday afternoon and I am in a hurry to return home so that I can celebrate Easter and my youngest daughter’s birthday with my family.  True to characterization, I am verbally coaxing the driver’s around me to move faster or move out of the way.  Don’t any of these people have someplace to go?  By the way they are driving, you’d think they had nothing better to do today than impede my progress.

Epoxy for the Heart

My preteen and I just returned from a Mom/Daughter Conference in Katy, TX.  The one-day event was titled You and Your Girl featuring Author/Speaker Vicky Courtney from Virtuous Reality, a ministry dedicated to promoting and preserving the virtue of teen and young girls.  Although my own girl was initially apprehensive about a weekend of lectures and intentional bonding, she was won over by a hotel slumber party with her friends and the opportunity to meet Singer/Songwriter Lindsay Kane.  It turned out to be a great weekend of fun, fashion, and forming foundations!

Vicky Courtney spoke on such topics as Guarding Your Heart, Putting the Brakes on the Rush to Grow Up, and The Top Three Lies About Beauty. 

Life’s Ripples

Wouldn’t you agree that sometimes our kids have the most perceptive ways of looking at things?

My tween and I were having one of those late night discussions.  You know, the kind where, all the while you’re tucking them in  you are really fantasizing about a quiet house, a good book, and a hot cup of tea. And just as you kiss them goodnight, they bring up a topic of conversation you know you can’t afford to pass up.  It was one of THOSE conversations.  So, as my “time to myself” fantasy fizzled, I resigned myself to sitting down on the edge of her bed.

A Decision of Trust

I was attempting a left-hand turn onto a busy thoroughfare without a traffic signal.

As traffic whizzes by at 50 miles per hour, I ask myself what I was thinking.  My saving grace: a center lane dividing the cross-traffic that might act as a temporary haven before I fully merge.  Time for a plan.  If I could make it to that center lane without being T-boned or cut off by drivers accessing that lane for their own purposes, I might have a chance of making it home in decent time.

I see an open opportunity from the left and pull quickly to the center lane.  Safe . . . for the moment.  Now I need to gauge the traffic coming behind and to my right while watching the traffic ahead in order to merge without being hit or rear ending someone else.  As I watch my mirrors, searching for a gap, a semi-truck flashes his headlights signaling that it is OK to pull in front of him.  I thought the choices I had made this far were challenging.  Now I am faced with another, a decision of trust . . . .

A Firm Foundation

I’m trying a new parenting tool, of my own making, on my guinea pigs . . . I mean, kids.

Actually, I have combined a few existing ideas to make something new.  Let me explain.  A friend of mine carries a list of godly character traits in her Bible.  She desires to see this traits manifested in her children, so she prays over the list on a regular basis.  Additionally, another friend of mine rewards her children’s positive efforts in a unique way.  She has a glass vase for each one and places a stone inside each time her children show remarkable growth or effort.  Once the vase is full, that child receives a special honor or privilege of some kind as a blessing.

I am taking both of these ideas, combining their purpose, and (hopefully) magnifying their impact.