I always have to laugh at my duplicitous emotions. I crave the days when we don’t have to be up early, be pushed by the demands of each class test or assignment, and hit the hay early to assure adequate sleep. Yet, I feel my pulse rate increase as I contemplate summer vacation. The lack…
Posted by Parent Cue | Time. It’s moving fast. It’s limited. We will never have more of it than we already have. So the issue is not how do we get more, but how do we become more intentional about what we have? How can we manage our time strategically to parent beyond our capacity?…
Posted by Brooklyn Lindsey | Ninety percent of parenting is mental, the other half is physical. In other words, it takes all of you and a little more. Parenting is no joke and lends itself to forming humans who can eventually wake up on their own, bathe themselves, sort out tasks for the day, and…
Posted by Geoff Surratt | I grew up hating church. I didn’t have any theological problems with church, I was just bored. Sitting still for more than ten minutes was torture, and sometimes our services went on for two hours! The worst part is that my dad was the pastor, so we were there every…
I remember the first time I grieved for myself (not for my child) after our daughter’s diagnosis with autism. I was at a wedding watching the young bride walk down the aisle. Her eyes shone with the promise of love and happiness—her future seemed bright and open with possibility. As I stood there, the reality…
By their first birthday most babies know exactly whom they mean when they say, “Mama.” But my son, Mareto’s, first birthday came and went without this milestone. Shortly before his second birthday Mareto was diagnosed with autism and we began weekly speech therapy sessions as part of his early intervention. He still hadn’t called me…
Posted by Tim Walker | I ran a 5k once. Once is the operative word. I might do it again some day when the faint smell of impending death finally leaves my nostrils. The race was fine, it was the runner who had a problem. I had always wanted to do it and wondered if…
By Kristen Ivy As part of my professional life, I recently had an opportunity to speak to a room of leaders. After it was over, there were a handful of people waiting to ask questions about the content and continue the conversation. But like so many times before, there were also some people lined up…
Posted by Reggie Joiner | Several years ago, our team was asked to design a program to help public schools teach kids character. One of the tools we provided was a “Value-able” card to award a child with free ice cream when they did something that demonstrated respect, responsibility, or kindness. We gave out enough cards…
I laughed when I read the tagline of this blog: “Do Family Better.” If I am totally honest, I think that is the one area I struggle most. As a single mom, there are days when I want to figure out where I put that darn cape—you know the one that says, “Single Mom’s the…