Family Game Night:  10 Great Games You Need

Family Game Night: 10 Great Games You Need

Now that many of us are finding ourselves home and spending WAY more time than ever before with our families (thanks to COVID-19), we are all looking for ways to keep the kids – and ourselves – entertained.  My solution is easy:  FAMILY GAME NIGHT! Check out this list of 10 of my favorite games that are sure to add some life into your typical game night.

read more
What Christians Should and Should NOT be Doing During COVID-19

What Christians Should and Should NOT be Doing During COVID-19

COVID-19 has been a time of revealing for the world.  It is drawing a line in the sand and showing people’s hearts and true natures.  I have seen family members and friends turn on one another, and I have seen those who may disagree still show compassion and understanding. Which side are you on?  Not on the issues, but in the scheme of showing yourself to be loving or cruel… what would be said of you?

read more
3 Steps to Replace Counting to 3 When Your Child Won’t Listen

3 Steps to Replace Counting to 3 When Your Child Won’t Listen

We hear it all the time – a kid acts up, and the parent begins to count toward the dreaded 3. It is a form of discipline that most parents use, but I never have – and never will. Read about why counting to three only teaches your child to not take you seriously, and follow these 3 steps to establishing a more effective system so that your child will begin to listen to you the first time you say something – no counting needed!

read more
Jesus’ Love is Not a License to Sin

Jesus’ Love is Not a License to Sin

We are all blessed to have a Savior who will love us no matter what, and certainly we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. However, as Christians, I think it is important that we don’t hide behind Jesus’ love as a license to sin. Instead, we must own up to our mistakes, repent, and seek to do better.

read more
5 Affordable and Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Kitchen Sink

5 Affordable and Easy Ways to Upgrade Your Kitchen Sink

Doing dishes is unfortunately the chore that just never ends. However, there are ways to make this dreaded task faster and easier while also upgrading the look and value of your kitchen, so there is just no reason to overlook some of these simple and affordable ways to upgrade your kitchen sink.

read more
Why You May be Accepting Lies Over Truth

Why You May be Accepting Lies Over Truth

What is truth?  This is a loaded question that will receive many different responses.  I am not writing to teach people about what is real or what is a lie, and I am not debating.  I am simply hoping to show why seeking truth in your life and from God is something you SHOULD be doing and WANT to be doing.  Also, way more people are living some lies, and are content with lies, than may be aware.

read more
10 Highly-Rated Outdoor Couches on Amazon for Under $700

10 Highly-Rated Outdoor Couches on Amazon for Under $700

We have a very small deck that has really never been utilized; however, that all changed with the simple addition of an outdoor couch! Having COMFORTABLE seating has been a game changer that has inspired us to want to actually spend time outside as a family and finally make the most of our space. Check out these budget-friendly outdoor couch options from Amazon that can help you start utilizing your outdoor space as well – without breaking the bank!

read more
Why I Want My Kids to Lose

Why I Want My Kids to Lose

In the era of participation trophies, competition is slowly becoming extinct. Field day used to be a day of striving to win ribbons, but now everyone goes home a winner. But I don’t want my kids to always win. In fact, sometimes I want them to lose…

read more
7 Key Things Your Relationship Needs

7 Key Things Your Relationship Needs

If you are still looking for someone to share life with, then it is so important to know what you are looking for, or at least what you should be looking for. Lust and temporary pleasures will fade. If these core traits are present in your relationship, it will definitely help it to stand the test of time.

read more
I am Not a Better Mother Than You Just Because I Have More Kids

I am Not a Better Mother Than You Just Because I Have More Kids

When I had my first child, I was given all of the congratulatory remarks that you would expect when you have a baby, and people were genuinely happy for me.  However, no one marveled at the fact that I had that child.  No one treated me like I had accomplished something amazing.  Having one child, though wonderful, was not necessarily remarkable. It did not make me special…

read more
5 Ways You Might be Paying “The Stupid Tax”

5 Ways You Might be Paying “The Stupid Tax”

Life has a hidden fee. It’s one we all pay from time to time, and it’s the only “tax” in our lives that is completely within our control. I call it “The Stupid Tax,” and trust me, if you could learn to live your life and never pay this tax again, it would bring so much peace, regardless of how much money or success you ever achieve…

read more

Break the Silence

In the silence around me there is a voice that clearly speaks unto my heart and mind. I walk alone in this world, and most do not notice and very few seem to see. I rise up and I go through my days, and there is silence around me but no silence within. For there is a voice of love that calls unto me to remind me that I belong to someone…

Comfort and Wisdom

“The old man was sleeping peacefully in the bed, and in the hospital room all was quiet except for the occasional clicking of the machine that would dispense medicine for his pain.  Asleep in the chair by his side was his wife of fifty-two years.  The man in the blue suit walked quietly to the bed…

Flourish Where the Lord has Planted You

“Like a dandelion flower that springs forth from a small crack in the pavement, some people must struggle against many obstacles.  No child determines the time of their birth, where they will be born, or unto whom they will be born, and with life some obstacles are established by life itself.  Flowers must survive where they are planted or where they spring forth, but with mankind there is the freedom to choose…

The Mountains Majestically Rise Up

“The mountains majestically rise up above the changing landscape of the earth, and the oceans sound forth their power and might with each wave that crashes upon the shores of the land, and the heavens above with clouds of white and storms that rage are but a veil to the innumerable stars that forever shine…

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”  -Mark Twain 

“Words and actions must be in unity and harmony within our soul to bring forth the language of love that can be seen by the blind and heard by the deaf.  We live in a world where many are blind to the hurt their words and actions cause, and many are deaf to the voices that call unto them for kindness, tenderness, and love…

Between Heart and Mind

“There is a battle fought, a war that doth rage between heart and mind,
Why must war rage between words of the heart and words of the mind?
Does the mind follow the heart or does the heart surrender to the rule of the mind?
In my heart there is a vision of who I am, but in my mind I am not always the same…

The Rose of Spring

“From the ashes I shall rise, from the depths of the deepest sorrow I shall climb, 
This day to climb out of bed is the best I can do, but from these ashes I shall rise. 
A fog surrounds me, and all I feel is pain in my heart as I seek to comprehend such loss, 
Tears were shed seeking great mercy and now tears flow from hearts that are broken…

The Secrets of the Heart

“There are no walls more impenetrable than those erected within the human heart.  There are no secrets more vanquishing than the ones locked deep within the human heart.  There is no silence as complete as the unspoken words of the heart…

“What other dungeon is so dark as one’s own heart?  What jailer so inexorable as one’s self?” -Nathaniel Hawthorne

“We are told that the truth will set us free, but for many the truth makes them a prisoner to their past, for that which is hidden and locked within their minds and hearts removes the power of truth.  There is great power in truth, but some hearts are such dark dungeons that the words of truth will not penetrate and will not free them…

Tattered and Torn

“Tattered and torn are the signs that declared that the circus is coming to town – signs stapled to utility poles and on the sides of an old barn, signs faded by time and worn by the rain and the sun.  All were once colorful and new, and the images and the words upon them brought joy to many a child’s heart.  Faded memories of the events of a childhood now past,..