God make mothers to be nurturers. He wove that desire into our design. In fact, I still want to mother even though my kids are grown, so I use my mothering instincts on my cats.
There’s a story in 2 Kings four about the Shunammite woman. She noticed the prophet Elisha walking past her house, and she chose to help him. Her husband built a room for the prophet so he’d have a place to stay when he passed through town. Elisha was grateful, so he asked what he could do for her. She didn’t give him ideas, but Elisha’s servant pointed out that she had no children. So Elisha prayed for her to have a child.
After the boy’s birth, he went out into the fields where his father was working and became ill. He fell to the ground screaming, “Oh, my head!”
The father immediately ordered his servants to take the child to his mother. His mother held him until noon that day, and then he died. The mom went to find the prophet who raised him from the dead.
Let’s focus on that one phrase, the father said the moment he knew his son was ill “Take him to his mother.” That describes us. (of course, there are exceptions). We care for our children and will move all sorts of obstacles to make life work for them. However, we must learn to let our children go and face life on their own. It’s a tough assignment for us.
Today, my guest is Edie Melson. She had a son who became a soldier and went on active duty to fight. How scary. She wrote the book, While My Child is Away. She will give some tips on mothering that child who is leaving the nest.
2:10 What is the Headless Horseman of Faith?
3:30 How can we as mothers listen to our emotions and yet use them appropriately?
5:24 What about those times we fear failing as a parent?
6:45 Tell us the frog story? What does it teach us?
9:00 Share about loving the people your kids are with.
10:30 You had a son in the military, and you know about the ‘what ifs.’ How can we handle those?
13:00 Leaving the child with the Lord:
14:05 How can you avoid the trap of allowing your kid’s choices to define you?
16:10 What about the stuff that hurts?
Edie Melson
[tweetthis]Prayer is the most important thing you can do for your child[/tweetthis]
Raising a Young Modern-Day Princess: Author Karen Whiting
How should a mother raise a ‘modern-day’ princess? That’s a good question. Being a woman today is more complicated than it should be. I don’t mind the women’s movement. After all, those early activists gave us the right to vote in 1920. However, a radical feminist movement has become part of our culture. Those women who lead the movement believe women live oppressed in a male-dominated world. Here are three of their stated goals. First, they want to take the masculine he/him out of our language, which has largely happened. Second, they want to refashion the role of women in society and the home. Third, they want to free women from childbearing through abortion and birth control.
As a result of this movement, many young women are confused about who and what they are. However, moms can have a significant impact on our children as we rear them according to Scripture. My guest today is Karen Whiting. She’s a best-selling author and mother of five. She has written the book, Raising a Young Modern-Day Princess.
2:10 What prompted you to write this book?
2:55 What are some ways a mother can teach her daughter to be a gracious lady?
4:10 How can you foster a teachable spirit?
5:00 It’s natural for mothers to find fault. How can we encourage toward excellence instead?
5:45 What are Mom tools?
7:40 Give us tips on how to get to know our child.
9:20 What if you have a melancholy child?
10:35 What should you do if one child has a birthday and another sibling, who is watching, becomes jealous?
11:35 Give us ways to infuse Scriptural principles into our girls?
15:00 What if your daughter refuses to talk?
15:59 Mothers do a lot. How can a busy mother find ways to climb into her daughter’s mind and personality?
Difficult relatives can make your Christmas miserable. Family can give us the most fulfillment when we actually connect with them, However, they can also cause the most heartache because we love them and long for their approval. With the holidays coming, we all dread grumpy Uncle Bill or feisty Aunt Sally. Past hurts can also intensify the impact of uncomfortable encounters.
My father used to crack the same jokes every year and expect us to laugh. If I didn’t respond to his humor, he’d tease me about how my face looked, as if he thought I was holding in my response.
Mother would make a huge meal for Thanksgiving. I’d select certain foods, but not others, knowing I couldn’t eat it all. She would always point out what I missed, as if I overlooked that dish by accident. Plus she would attempt to get us all to eat more, even when we were full.
My grandmother would make snide comments with an innocent look on her face, and she’d do annoying things. she favored boys over girls and she’d always make sure we knew how much she spent on the boys. If we asked her to do anything, she’d do the exact opposite.
Well, you know how it goes. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” Wow! That’s a hefty command.
Today I have two guests. The first is Angela Breidenbach. She’s a life coach and a terribly fun person. The second is Linda Rondeau. Both can give insight on this issue.
Karen Whiting: Christmas Advent – Teach Kids While They Wait
As a child, Christmas was a magical time for me. I loved the lights, the color, the carols, the excitement. I have lots of fond memories. At our church, combined choirs would do parts of Messiah every year. What a feast for the senses! Mother always made us wait for a tree because she liked real trees, and she worried about the tree drying out. It seemed like we were always the last to get a tree, but the big day would always arrive. Once the tree was up, she’d let us decorate. She’d hand us icicles, which were long, thin and shiny. She expected us to hang the icicles one by one one. I found it much more exciting to toss them on the tree. They always landed in interesting shapes which reflected the lights so nicely. However, I can remember how Christmas took forever to arrive. I remember talking about the eve of the eve of Christmas Eve, and then the eve of Christmas Eve.
The Christmas 2016 has arrived. The baby in the manger can easily be overlooked in our digital world. Parents must work to keep the focus on the true meaning of Christmas rather than the commercials and ads that catch the children’s attention. What a challenge! While we are busy preparing for the holiday, our children may grow restless since time passes slowly for them. Karen Whiting has written a book called Christmas is Coming, but Waiting is Hard. She has lots of ideas to share.
1:25 What are some activities that can help kids focus while they wait?
2:55 Do you cover the history of Christmas?
4:15 Share some traditions of the past and their meanings.
5:10 What is the peace candle?
7:01 What does red have to do with Christmas?
7:30 How about green?
8:00 What about the Christmas stocking?
9:15 How can you keep the new gadget or toy from becoming the focus of Christmas?
It’s important to learn to think and discern for yourself, especially for young people. Jim Wallace, Cold Case Detective does that.
I grew up in the church. My family attended several times a week plus we attended all the special services which our congregation offered throughout the year.
By the time I got in my teens, I had questions. I’d seen the imperfections in the people around me and naturally, I became skeptical
How can we know for sure what we believe is true? What if someone has just tricked us? I believe those sorts of doubts are normal.
About that time, the Francis Shaffer movies came out. He compared Ch to the little stone bridges the Romans built. He said those bridges could handle the weight of the horse and buggies of their day, and even the wagons, but they couldn’t hold the weight of the semi. Well, unlike those bridges, Christianity is strong. It can withstand our doubts because it’s true.
I became interested in apologetics.
Of course, I read Josh McDowell, Gary Habermas, C.S. Lewis, Lee Strobel. And my husband and I are particularly fond of William Lane Craig. But I still had a few questions about the gospels. Until one day I came across a book called Cold Case Christianity. I loved it. I understand that a book is coming out for kids also. Author Jim Wallace will soon even be offering an online course for kids to earn badges as a detective.
Today I have the author, J Warner Wallace.
1:55 How did you come to faith in Christ?
3:30 How does a detective look at eyewitness testimony?
4:20 The book of John was different because he came later. Can you explain how that works?
6:25 The three synoptic gospels are similar yet they have differences. Can you explain how you reconcile that?
8:20 Reconciling different stories about the same event.
13:05 What did you see in the Gospels that made you come to faith in Christ?
Learn more here about the book for adults. Click here for the book for kids.
[tweetthis]Christianity is strong and can stand up under our questions[/tweetthis]
How can you be a phenomenal grandparent? A few months ago, I became a grandparent for the very first time. First, I saw my daughter in labor. What an experience. That wasn’t my favorite part of motherhood. Second, I gazed at this beautiful baby girl who is now part of my family, and I found it hard to express the emotions that washed over me. I recalled my own grandmother and my mother. Plus I thought of the day I had my first child.
I love that precious little girl with every cell in my body, but in many ways being a grandmother is different. Grandmothers aren’t mothers. We aren’t in the driver’s seat. Instead, we sit in the back seat. We don’t name the baby, nor do we make decisions about how the baby is raised. While we still want the best for that child, we play a secondary role in the child’s life.
So how can you be a good grandmother? I think about the passage the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”
God does work in families. He is, after all, the originator of the family. He does want us to impact the next generation. I love the words of Dr. Mary Manz Simon, “We are life veterans. We bring wisdom, experience, and a clear sense of what’s important.”
Dr. Mary Manz Simon is my guest today and she has just written Faith Footprints with my Grandchild.
2:05 Why did you write this book?
3:10 As a grandmother, what have I left behind?
3:30 Is there a meaning behind the book title?
4:45 What are some worries grandmothers have?
5:45 The word grandmother sounds old-fashioned. How can we get past that?
6:55 How can you build a relationship with your grandchild?
[tweetthis]Leave a legacy with your grandchild[/tweetthis]
