Day 30 of JOY

My Ramblings

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  Wise Counsel & Peanut Butter Cups

  Today is my husband’s birthday (he’s 41, but you didn’t hear that from me ), so it’s only appropriate that I write about him. As a mom of girls, I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking and praying about their future spouses. Of course I pray they will each find a Godly man who [...]

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  Prayer for My Children

  Today I sent my first-born off to middle school and my baby girl off to third grade. For my oldest, I have just six more days like today – the first day of school – before she graduates. As I watched her question the size of her school bag and the details of her schedule, [...]

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  Changing Perspective

  Any parent knows that getting children to take medicine can often be quite difficult. A simple trip to the pharmacy is sometimes enough to evoke fear in a parent, particularly for those of us with strong-willed kids. Over the past 11 years, we have tried a variety of methods, from applesauce to peanut butter, and [...]

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  Going back to Nica

  It’s been just over a year since we took a group of families to Nicaragua to lead a summer camp for disadvantaged youth living in the Managua city dump. It was our first attempt at family missions, and was hugely successful. As I wrote after we returned: “We were tested, stretched, molded, and generally made [...]

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  Birds and Bees

  The other day, I was driving home from softball with my two daughters and their friends. The radio station we normally listen to was all talk, so we decided to sing some old camp songs to pass the time. The nine-year-old suggested we sing “Rise and Shine.” Figuring this long song would get us almost [...]