I want to say a big thank you to Darlene, the contributors and all the readers who joined us for the Women Living Well Book Club.  This was such a blessing!  I hope you have been encouraged and that together, we would build strong homes of faith that shine in a dark world. Let me share this in closing with you… In 2004, Matt Emmons was at the Olympic games about to win the gold in the rifle competition. All he had to do was hit the target to win.  He aimed – shot – bingo!  He hit it! The only problem, he had focused on the wrong target.  He was in lane two…

This week we continue our Women Living Well series with a focus on finding joy in your home.  The cookie jar is empty. The laundry, piled six loads high on the dryer and the boys won’t sit through homeschool. I didn’t sleep well last night and I haven’t had my coffee and all I can think about is needing to make those cookies. Because what kind of mother doesn’t have cookies in her cookie jar? I am constantly failing Pinterest’s Martha Stewart standards. I don’t have a chalkboard with tonight’s menu on it — goodness, I don’t even have meat thawing, and it’s day-old Chinese for lunch. Again. I’m rushing…

Hope For Bible Study Newbies (Who Want to Train their Kids Well) I’m not sure I should admit this, but as much as I loved Women Living Well, I felt a twinge of jealousy as I read chapter two. Unexpected emotions rolled around in my gut as I read about how Courtney’s mother sat down with her in fourth grade and taught her how to have a quiet time. I almost couldn’t relate to the picture of a young Courtney, with blonde pigtails no less. Spending time with God and receiving notes of encouragement from my mother wasn’t my story. My mother was great and we went to church, but…

It happened again about a week ago… I was organizing our closet and wanted to finish the task, so I pushed too far into dinner prep. time and was running late. It had been a long day of sun, crowds of children running throughout the house, and I could feel cheerios crunching under my bare feet.  The summer piles of drop-and-run were starting to accumulate and days without solid time reading God’s Word were piling up as well. But the bucket of blueberries from the morning’s picking was finally washed and drying in the kitchen sink. One of our kiddos entered the kitchen needing a drink, but to “save time”…

  We’re continuing our Women Living Well series this week with the topic of finding joy in your kids. Summer is such a beautiful, wonderful season. Soaking up each minute and enjoying it to the fullest is one of my family goals. For my family, summers can seem to be rushed when events are scheduled back to back and we have to go with the flow since timing can’t always be in our control.   For me, it’s easy to get caught up in all the logistics of who hasn’t brushed their teeth yet, which ones need an extra set of clothes “just in case”, and did I think far enough…