Kids
Parent Up! A Friend Indeed
Friends. Joy or drama? Tears or laughter? I know I’ve said it before, but I think it’s worth repeating; Our kids learn how to be friends based on what they hear and see from their peers and adults around them. What does being a friend mean? Have you given your child language to differentiate between the various spectrums of what it means to be friends (from having a friend to confide in, befriending the new kid on the block, or…
Let’s Talk About School
It feels very different, but schools will be reopening. By now, you have probably made the decision to either send your student to school or keep them home. Whatever decision you have made, know that there isn’t a wrong one. There’s no perfect decision here. That’s why I think it’s so important to get some tips in your hands to help you with the upcoming school year no matter if you are sending your students back in person or virtually.…
Big and Tiny
Y’all, Do you ever think about the fact that we’re living on a SPINNING PLANET and no one is flying or falling off? Come on now. All the things that have to be in order for this to be. God spoke. There was order – PERIOD. (brain exploding) AND THEN, I get to see Him up close and personal in my life…. Looking at my children, specifically my girl- born premature. A tiny, tiny, little thing. Every breath she took was a…
Study Habits
It’s Monday morning at 6:45. You’re calling out to the kids to hurry up so they can grab breakfast before the school bus comes. They come barrelling into the kitchen, backpacks are on their backs, but books, papers, and pencil pouch are in their hand. In your most calm voice you say “why are you carrying your things? Put them in your backpack, Sweetie. To which one or both of them respond, I forgot to Waaa, Waaa, Waah. In your…
Lay A Word On Them
There were times when my children came to me for support or (as my girl child would say) to lay a word on them, and I just didn’t have it. I didn’t have anything in the tank to pull out for them, either because my mind was solving some other issue or I was simply tapped out mentally. Well of course being the “always prepared mom” that I am (Haha-nope, the idea came from my sister in law), I had…
A Good Listener
The art of being a good listener is becoming more and more of a lost art. Face to face and even phone conversations are no longer the primary way we communicate. Our interactions are primarily through the computer and cell phone where we email or text in terse, abbreviated, and frequently misunderstood modes. When we do have in-person conversations, these same devices turn us into one of Pavlov’s dogs, immediately turning our attention the minute we hear a ding. It’s nearly…
Planted or Buried
Have you noticed no one ever says they are burying seeds, but they say they are planting seeds in anticipation of harvesting later? We associate planting with life, newness and fruitfulness. But we bury to hide, leave, or end something. There is no expectation of future return. I have a question for you: Do you live like you’re Planted or Buried? God wants you to know that you’ve been planted, but satan wants you to think that you’ve been buried. So it’s…
Protecting Our Kids From Technology
May I talk candidly with you about kids and phones? Giving a child a phone without proper “training and guidance” is the same as putting a teen behind the wheel of a car without training and telling her to go and have fun! The latter you would never do, but if we’re honest, most of us have handed our kids a smart phone and thought nothing about the magnitude of the device we placed in their hands. I’m not saying…
Just Perfect
Grocery shopping is always an adventure for me. Climbing into cold storage units or scaling up shelves along the isle are common. Usually I try to maneuver about discreetly, but sometimes I stalk tall people; following them down an aisle, asking them to grab an extra bottle or two as they reach for theirs. When you’re four feet nine inches tall, vertical storage = “opportunity for creative problem solving”. There was a time when I didn’t see it this way.…
Family Values
Values: State it, Own it, Live it What do you want your family to be like? How do you wish people would describe you? Twenty or thirty years from now, what do you hope your children will say about how they grew up and what they learned from you? At RedlandHills, we know what we want our family to be like: Our mission is to help our families Connect with God, live in Community and share Compassion with others.…
Memory Work
May I help you for a moment? I would love to help you teach your children how to walk in the authority of Christ. Memory work. Let’s start by committing to learn this statement and practice saying it aloud to your children as often as you can. “You have the authority to reject what is not true! Love yourself, like God loves you!” Break it down Now let’s break the statement down so they understand the magnitude of the words.…
Raising Culturally Aware Kids
According to research your child can see skin color and hair textures as early as 6 months old. By two, your child is putting words to what he recognizes and between 4 to 6 years old, he is assimilating likenesses. Anything that is unfamiliar or unlike him is yucky or funny looking. 7 to 10 year olds are beginning to refine their understanding of how we are different and alike all at the same time. I included these statistics to…