In the coming school year, our aim is to have our children memorize the Apostles' Creed as we study it together as a family. This ancient creed is one of the most widely used statements of faith in the church today, and the substance of it goes back to the early centuries of the church. We think studying this will be very beneficial for our kids and our whole family for many reasons. (Read our post, "5 Reasons to Teach Kids the Apostles’ Creed"). When we released our Apostles' Creed handwriting curriculum, we heard from several parents who expressed concern about the controversial phrase in the Creed, "he descended into ...Read More
Dairy Allergy vs. Lactose Intolerant: What are the differences?
With food allergies on the rise and many trying out various elimination diets, I want to discuss the different allergens in dairy and the way people react to them. While milk is listed on packaging as a single allergen, there are several different components that trigger reactions. Some people have very mild reactions and others have severe, even life-threatening, reactions. Two terms, intolerance and allergy, are used to describe such reactions but are often misused. They are medical terms that refer to the way your body reacts, not the severity of the reaction. Understanding the difference between an allergy and ...Read More
Simple Mexican Shredded Meat For The Slow Cooker (Crockpot) and Mexican Rice
The only time I buy pot roasts is when there is a buy-one-get-one-free sale at our grocery store. Recently I had two such roasts in my refrigerator that needed to be cooked immediately. To shake things up I decided to create pulled Mexican beef with one of the roasts, and it turned out simply delicious. I'm a little obsessed with Mexican food—to say I love it would be putting it mildly. We have several Hispanic families who attend our church, and let me tell you, since they started attending our potlucks have become simply amazing. There's nothing like the flavors of authentic Mexican food. Can I get an ...Read More
5 Secrets to Giving Your Child a Heart for Obedience
We need to talk about how to give your child a heart for obedience. John Witherspoon—who was the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence—once said about parenting: "There is not a more disgusting sight than the impotent rage of a parent who has no authority." A sure fact of life is that our children will disobey us. Another sure fact is that, as parents, we will resort to ungodly means and attitudes in order to try and make them obey. We cannot escape the reality that we are big sinners raising little sinners. But the gospel of Christ offers great hope to sinners like us and our kids. ...Read More
Help for Overwhelmed Mamas: How to Stop Yelling and Enjoy Your Kids
I have a confession. I am a failure. It’s true. I fail regularly. I fail, I beat myself up, then I fail again. It’s a ridiculous cycle that I have been in…forever. This cycle is true even in my parenting journey, though I hoped and prayed it wouldn’t be. Don’t we all look at our first newborn baby and think, “I’m gonna do it right. I’m not gonna mess her up. I’ll be the perfect mom.” We all subconsciously think those things in different ways. But you know what I’ve learned since becoming a mom? I will not always do it right (in fact, I rejoice when something even remotely goes the way I planned), I will probably mess ...Read More
How to Ease the Transition to Natural Hair Care: Beginners Guide to Natural Hair Care (Part 4 of 4)
I've gathered some tips on how to ease the transition to natural hair care. Over the last three weeks we’ve discussed the reasons for switching to a natural hair care routine and suggestions for shampoo alternatives and natural conditioners. Are you ready to make the switch? Transitioning to a natural hair care routine can be a bumpy ride, so today I have a few tips to ease the transition. In the first part of this series, I talked about the silicone and sulfate cycle that occurs when you use mainstream hair care products. In addition to stripping silicone products from your hair on a regular basis, sulfate ...Read More
4 Ways to Condition Your Hair Naturally: A Beginner’s Guide to Natural Hair Care (Part 3 of 4)
Let's talk about homemade natural hair conditioners. In this series on natural hair care, we have already talked about why sulfates and silicones are bad for your hair and natural ways to wash your hair. Now in part 3, we’re talking about natural ways to condition your hair. This post has been the trickiest to put together because everyone’s hair is so different and will require different types and levels of conditioner. There are so many different things you can use to condition your hair as far as homemade natural hair conditioners go. It’s actually a bit overwhelming to consider all the ...Read More
5 Things I’m Teaching My Boys About Abortion
Abortion is an uncomfortable topic for many. Today it is an issue that straddles the moral, religious, and political spheres. But as parents, the last thing we want to do is shield our children from the hard questions this issue raises. We are raising our children to live in a world full of strongly held opinions, and more important than simply telling our children what to think, we want to teach them how to think about contentious issues. To do that, our children need to be exposed to the rhetoric (good and bad), used on all sides. 1. The big cop-out for men: "It's a women's issue." I want my boys to know they ...Read More