Things Mama Told Me

It came in the mail yesterday. His middle school schedule. My heart broke just a little. Middle school is not an easy time. Every one around you is awkward, growing, insecure, trying to find their identity. Kids can be mean and at the same time, some of your truest friendships are formed. It's a little bit of a landmine. Say this, wear that, do this, definitely don't do that. It's scary for both of us.  He's growing into such a wonderful guy but he's still a kid. A true in-beTween. He still wants me to scratch his back at night and lay in my bed to watch a movie together. I'm teaching him how to do his own laundry and dishes. I still have to remind him to brush his teeth. I'm teaching him what it means to be a good friend and how to stand up for what's right. He's not quite ready to get rid of the Legos but his social network, his squad, and his private Instagram account is quite entertaining. He told me last week he gets all his new from Insta

As best I can tell I either just missed the millennial generation or I just missed raising one. Most sociologists and social scientists tend to group millennials as anyone born between 1980 and 2000. I was born in 1975, my first son was born in 2005. I missed them both by 5 years or less. I suppose I am a pre-millennial raising a post millennial. I am on the cusp between two generations and I have an interesting vantage point. Millennials, I baby sat for you all through middle school and high school. I grew up in a house with two younger sisters, who according to their birth years, are millennials. I have many friends in my community and my church who are considered part of this generation. However there's this social phenomenon in our culture and especially in the modern day church that we need to do more to engage the millennials and make them feel accepted and loved. While I don't dispute this fact for one second within the church, I need you all to hear this. Our ch

I think a woman’s deepest need is to feel loved and if we are honest with ourselves, our own insecurities sometimes make us do things that we never wanted to do or take us places that we never intended to be taken. Your presence is always felt and when you are gone, it is felt even more. Not because you are the hired help, but because you have huge influence in the lives of other. The greatest influence begins at home. With your husband and your children. You don’t believe it, but you can stake your life on this one. Proverbs 14:1 tells us that a wise woman builds her house but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands. What does that look like for us today? Our attitudes in marriage How we talk about other people How we deal with conflict How we deal with disappointment Our expectations in our family How we give love We must learn to set our minds on the things above and not on the things of this world. We must have an eternal perspective in marri