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Matching Games and Teachable Moments
On July 18, Ava Pennington posted a wonderful blog about teachable moments with children—how they are often spontaneous and can occur as a response to something a child sees. I recently had a teachable...
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A Lesson on Prayer
In two more days we will celebrate my mother’s 95th birthday. She is an amazing woman who has lived a full life. Losing my father 10 years ago was the hardest experience she has ever faced. Still in...
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Have you noticed your child just singing, oblivious to the fact others are listening? When my daughter was a preschooler, she began to sing “Bictorwy in Jesus” (“Victory in Jesus”) at the top of her...
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A Lesson from the Squirrels
Growing up in west Michigan, I loved the change of seasons. Each of the four seasons had its own unique way of changing the landscape to display the wonder and beauty of God’s creation. Seasons were...
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Making Jesus Accessible to Littles
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:16 NIV My one-year-old grandson’s...
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Seven Family Activities Around the Christmas Tree
The countdown to Christmas is in full swing. If you’re anything like me, you’ve only just put your tree up, you still have presents to buy and cards to send. I’m definitely a last-minute shopper, but I...
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Sam and the Red Balloon
It’s Sunday morning, bright and early. I’m excited to be here, in Portland, Oregon, to meet my wonderful new granddaughter and spend time with her big brother. Sam is not yet two and a half. He’s...
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Quality Family Time
Families Need Quality Time The saying goes, “Ring out the old; ring in the new.” However, in spite of this saying, family issues often follow us into the new year, whether it be divorce, the absence of...
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4 suggestions for when Littles Ask BIG questions
My youngest granddaughter looked up at me between bites of pizza and asked: “Who’s Jesus, Grams?” followed by, “Can I see him? Can I talk to him?” The Apostle Paul did say we should always be ready to...
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Easter Ideas for Kids
When I was a child, my siblings and I never had Easter baskets. Our sole focus was on Jesus’ resurrection and church events. We did get new Easter clothes, usually a dress, white sweater, white gloves,...
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What I Learned about Spankings
I thought I would share something I wrote for fun while practicing writing from a child’s perspective. This is a true story. Everyone is about sixty years older by now, and Mom and Dad are no longer...
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How and Why We Should Bless Our Children Every Single Night…
Meet Sam, my three year-old grandson. Sam lives two thousand long miles away on the west coast, but I know he’s reminded of his grandma each night, because his mom gives him a little message from me...
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Write What You Know
Are your children having trouble thinking of something to write? Writing isn’t always words. Who wants to read a book with an unattractive cover? Why not design the cover or make a few illustrations...
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What ever happened to family devotions?
Our family always struggled with how to make time for family devotions and how to make the time meaningful and fun. We wondered how to reinforce the lessons and values we were trying to teach. I wish...
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Growing Great Kids
If you are a parent or grandparent, you want to raise happy, healthy, successful children. But wanting and doing are two different things. As a seasoned mother who has raised two awesome daughters to...
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Adoption from a Grandmother’s Perspective
When my daughter announced that she and her husband were planning to adopt a child, I was both delighted and concerned. Delighted because I had been looking forward to being a grandmother. Concerned...
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A Legacy of Words
As a young child of nine years old, I listened intently, wide-eyed with delight, as my father read the lilting verse from the musty, second-hand volume of The Oxford Book of English Verse. How his...
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Training Kids to Rule the Playground
I sat sunning myself on the park bench watching her almost-five-year-old self scoop and sift sand through her fingers while eyeing the boy across the sandbox digging holes with his long-handled...
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Miss Ritter’s Bible
“A teacher affects eternity.” ~ Henry Adams Almost always she wore a simple black dress, but the black only made her gentle, smiling face shine ever more brightly. A splash of white trimmed her...
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Three Keys to Effective Discipline
My mother-in-law was a wise woman. Once, when my husband and his older brother were young children, they had a terrible argument. As a means of helping them resolve their differences, my mother-in-law...
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