Sometimes I fall into the trap of believing that I already do everything anyway, that the minutiae in my head and the chores that I do on auto-pilot and the ways I most naturally interact with my kids are clearly the only minutiae and chores and intera...
Posted on Jun 11th, 2013 in
books,
Christianity,
Don Miller,
family,
hospitality,
introverts,
kid hangover,
parenthood,
people hangover,
women,
work,
writing
The past thirteen-plus years for me have been one long exercise in welcoming the messy, noisy, needy people who are my children. They make it hard to get anything much done, especially writing. But without them, I'm not sure I'd have much of value to w...
Posted on Jun 10th, 2013 in
ethics,
family,
fathers,
judgment,
kids,
mothers,
parenthood,
parenting,
parenting culture,
perfectionism,
raising children,
women
Parents love to judge each other for all kinds of perceived failures. Here are some common ways in which parents judge other parents harshly—and suggestions for replacing judgment with empathy and respect.
As the school year winds down, my calendar greets me each morning with its list of assemblies and ceremonies and recitals and final thises and thats. Reminders about teacher and coach gifts to be group funded and bought, of summer camp bills to be paid...
Posted on May 22nd, 2013 in
Bangladesh,
Christian responses to suffering,
Christianity,
clothing,
consumerism,
ethics,
family,
garment factories,
garment workers,
God,
grace,
helplessness,
kids,
money,
original sin,
parenthood,
poverty,
sin,
the twelve steps
I approach buying clothes for my children with the same compulsive attention to my kids’ individual needs and wants that I bring to Christmas gift buying. Focused attention to my kids’ clothing needs is, for me, as much an embodiment of mat...