The other day I was having a conversation with a friend as she stood by her two babies who were resting in a stroller. Her little boy was facing her and wanted to get his mama’s attention. As we talked, he made the cutest grunting noises until she turned and looked at him. The minute her eyes met his, his face lit up with the biggest smile, one of the most precious things I’ve ever seen. All it took from this little guy’s mom was a glance his way to completely satisfy his longing to be seen. That moment with my friend and her baby made me think about how we all have a similar desire to be seen, to be known, and loved. ​

Being diagnosed with cancer can be a terrifying experience! It can bring about so many negative thoughts, like fear of the unknown and physical pain, as well as mental stress. If you have a friend with cancer, as I do, you may not know how to help them. I didn’t. But I decided to share some words of encouragement with her and hope they help her remember she is never alone.
 
I wrote 12 letters to my friend who is battling cancer today—one to open on the day of each of her 12 chemotherapy treatments. Before her first treatment, I bundled the handwritten letters, wrapped them with a pretty ribbon, and took them to her.

How much TV viewing time do you allow in your family each week? We talk in our Come and Gather: Family Time With God post that "...the average family watches over 20 hours of television a week." That's almost a whole day!

So, how much is too much, and how do you decide what is good to watch, questionable to watch, or "we are absolutely not watching that?"

I have friends on both sides of the fence. Some allow their kiddos to watch almost anything on television, while others don't allow theirs to watch television at all. I have found myself comfortably nestled somewhere in between.

There are three tests I like to use when establishing TV viewing standards in our home. There's the Reality Test, the Value Test, and finally, the Morality Test.

“Mom, I am tired of being made fun of for taking a stand.”

​If I had a dollar for every time I have had this conversation with my kids, I would have a small fortune. The pressure to be like the crowd, or to not make waves can be a heavy burden for tweens and teens. Helping them navigate the feeling of loneliness and fear of man has always been a challenge for this momma’s heart.

It is hard to watch your children struggle, or even be left out. In the long run, choosing to be different for God’s glory, will bring peace and joy. It is just hard to see through the immediate circumstance. 

Just a few weeks ago, I found myself in this conversation with my fourteen year old daughter. She had made a media choice that was not one we approved of. 

We are all complainers every now and then. It’s all too easy to see negative things in our lives and verbalize our displeasure about them. Some of us just say it like it is while others of us mask our negativity in humor or sarcasm. When we take a step back we realize that what comes out of our mouths is really coming from what is hidden in our hearts. So, complaining is an outward manifestation of an inward problem.

The children of Israel complained all the way through the Old Testament, but the root of this negativity was always the same. The real problem was that they felt God was not giving them what they needed or thought they needed.

As parents, we make lots of investments in the lives of our children and we pray they’ll pay off when they’re raised into adulthood. We invest time, energy, and money in things we believe will build character, skills, discipline, and hopefully bring college scholarships. As a mom, I haven’t always done everything right, but one investment that my husband and I have worked hard to make is the friendship investment. I’m not talking about taking our children to play dates or signing them up for activities so they’ll find good friends, I’m talking about investing in their friendships with one another as siblings. Romans 12:10 says,

About 4 years ago, one of the worst things that I could’ve ever imagined happened to me. My husband and I lost our firstborn son Jack. Read more about that story here.
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Last year I came across the book Therefore I Have Hope by Cameron Cole at a large Christian conference. I had heard about it and knew the author had also lost his son unexpectedly, but was unsure if I should read it. Plus, the cover picture looked more sad than hopeful. I was afraid of weeping through the entire book. Could I handle that? I didn’t feel like I had any strength to be weak again.