I’m blogging today over at Writer … Interrupted about something I’ve learned from Mary Kassian’s book, Conversation Peace.

I can’t say enough great things about this book and video series! We’re using these materials right now in our women’s small group that meets at our church.

The video only lasts about 20 minutes, giving us plenty of time to discuss what we’re learning, as well as enjoy each other’s company and share prayer requests.

Meanwhile, the church nursery workers oversee our children playing together outside on the playground! (Accomplishing two things at once!)

I’d love to hear what you think over at Writer … Interrupted.

P.S. Please note that I have a new email address for all future correspondence:

On Valentine’s Day this year, Darlene Schacht, editor of Christian Women Online magazine, was interviewed by Cindy Swanson for WQFL/WGSL Radio’s “Weekend Rockford.” I’ve been so busy this month, I didn’t have a chance to listen to the interview until this morning. It lasts about 20 minutes.

It’s a wonderful, encouraging interview! I really got to know a lot about Darlene and how she started CWO. Although she first began it as a writing project with a few friends, she’s been surprised at how it has taken off into a ministry. There have been several women who have come to faith in Christ because of this magazine — Darlene explains how that happened in the interview. She also shared more about the Prayer Room and what is going on there.

Cindy and Darlene talked about the blogosphere and how women are connecting online these days. Darlene shared that many of CWO’s readers are stay-at-home moms who enjoy being able to fellowship with other women while staying nearby their children. It was so enlightening for me to learn more about the blogging community.

If you’re a blogger and you haven’t joined the CWO ringsurf yet, I hope you’ll take a minute to join. There are now over 1100 members, so it’s the largest Christian blogring on the internet.

It was fun to hear Darlene’s voice since I’ve only known her through written correspondence so far. I really enjoyed reading her book, The Mom Complex.

If you’ve got a load of laundry to fold, maybe you can listen to this podcast in the background and enjoy getting to know this amazing woman of faith, Darlene Schacht.

I have a new column, The Parent Muse, which will appear bi-monthly at Spirit-Led Writer webzine. I’ll be highlighting successful authors who are also parents and will focus on encouraging the rest of us who feel called to write — in between diaper changing, carpooling, and heating up dinner.

Editor Lisa Crayton is always looking for inspirational articles and stories. In the Writer’s Guidelines, she says:

SPIRIT-LED WRITER is a resource for Christians who write in fiction and non-fiction genres for Christian and secular markets. It is for the beginner, intermediate and advanced writer.

As an alternative to secular writing resources, we choose to uplift the name of Jesus Christ, and give Him glory. Thus, we promote Spirit-led excellence and integrity in publishing. At SPIRIT-LED WRITER we recognize that our achievements come “not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord” and that “all things work together for our good.”

This month, I offer tips from three successful children’s authors: Katherine Paterson, Madeleine L’Engle, and Jonathan Rogers. I hope you’ll find a minute to check out the whole March issue of Spirit-Led Writer.

Pastor and author John Piper’s father passed away this week. In his blog, I found Piper’s Tribute to a Faithful Father to be one of the most moving essays I’ve ever read on fatherhood. It’s adapted from a sermon Piper once gave for Father’s Day.

I thank you heavenly father for my earthly father. What a legacy he has left to me and my children and grandchildren—and to this church. O, raise up fathers in this church with great legacies of faith. In Jesus Christ. Amen.

I hope you’ll have a chance to read it, a powerful reminder of the need for today’s men to rise up and be the godly fathers our children need.

Edit: Here’s a new tribute posted today on John Piper’s blog entitled, Hello, My Father Just Died. This was written only moments after Piper’s father slipped away into eternity. Every sentence is so poetic and beautiful, I dare not quote a single word out of context. I hope you’ll have a chance to read it — and pray for John Piper to continue on with his father’s legacy.

[Edit: I’m adding some ice cream to this post because I had no idea how many people would be stopping in from the party. By the way, welcome! I’m Heather, and I love blogging about books! Care for some strawberry ice cream?]

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

I’m BACK!

How was your week? I can’t believe I took a whole week off from blogging. Well, here’s a good excuse to come back — there’s a humongous Ultimate Blog Party going on over at Janice and Susan’s 5 Minutes for Mom blog.

Adorable — they even decorated their home for the party with balloons and streamers, made party food, and dressed up their kids.

Here’s what you do if you want to join in the fun and be eligible to win FREE PRIZES. (Don’t we all love free things?)

You just write a post on your blog with a link back to the party, then add your name to the “Mr. Linky” set up on their site. And voila! You’re a party guest! Grab a grilled cheese sandwich and rock on.

Do any of you have a decluttering success story this week? As promised in my last post, I want to give somebody this free book — Too Much Stuff, by Kathryn Porter. Thank you to all of you who bravely shared your decluttering goals — I feel like we have a support group!

Mary of Relevant Blog, who has moved across the Atlantic twice in the past few years, says she’s a “decluttering fanatic,” but would like to get rid of some extra cups. She even has a great article online with In Touch Ministries full of tips for us stubborn packrats.

Deb of Mountain Musings is working on clearing out a space by a window in her bedroom to move a recliner so she can relax and get some reading/craft projects done. Sounds lovely!

Tonya of Raising Eagles is working on decluttering her study/office, which also must serve as an attic and storage room. She says, “I am confident that the Lord will help me … as He always does.” How encouraging!

Elle of Fall on the Grace is also in a decluttering mode, trying to pare down the abundance of children’s toys, which have been overflowing since Christmas. (I can definitely relate!)

Heather of Cool Zebras says she has been inspired by watching “Mission Organization” at her parents’ house. YEA! My mom is always telling me about the latest extreme organization makeovers on this show. I need to watch it too!

Liza of Liza’s Eyeview says the main area she wants to start with is the garage. Me too! Thanks for the support — it is NO FUN cleaning out a garage. We don’t even park our cars in ours right now because there’s a tractor and kids’ bikes and toys filling up all the space — but we need to do something about this!

Lisa asks us to “please pray” for her as she gets rid of clutter. She has found true joy in leading a preschool faith-based workshop and wants to keep going with this. She says, “Good luck to all of you with overwhelming emotions that literally seem to stack up around you!” So true! — our emotions are stacked up around us. What does this mean if we can get a handle on our clutter? Will we have a better handle on our emotions? (Praying for ya, Lisa!)

Connie is hoping to restore some order to her computer shelves and clean out some boxes in the basement from eight years’ worth of school teaching. Sounds like a great place for an educational yard sale! I’m sure there are many families who would be thrilled with a teacher’s cleanout!

Ruth of “It’s True,” Sighed Roo is also working on her office area. She’s been busy road-tripping to the beach, building up some great memories for her family!

Cmommy of Singalullaby says her goal is to “let it go,” when figuring out what to do with paperwork. Yes! This is also a problem I have — I think I’d better hang on to things, just in case. I also need to let it go!

OK … Drumroll please!

I put all of your names in a basket, and the name I drew to win the FREE book is…

CONNIE!

Congratulations, Connie! I’ll email you to get your snail mail address and get this book sent to you ASAP. And what a coincidence — we’ll both be down in our basements getting rid of clutter. YEA!

Well, I do not have a total success story from my decluttering goals this past week. I did clean out one kitchen cabinet — but I haven’t reorganized the craft supplies yet. I also spent several hours in the basement, and I took one trunkload of much-worn and beloved baby clothes to the Salvation Army. I was almost in tears when I handed the workers my boxes. It was like handing them a decade of my life!

But I felt better — FREE — as I drove away. I know I still have a long way to go, but in clearing out the past, I’m making room for the future (sounds corny, I know).

Here’s a quote from Kathryn Porter’s book, Too Much Stuff:

“With every piece of clutter that went out the door, I lost pounds of emotional weight. My soul felt lighter. Whatever feelings of comfort or happiness I derived from having too much stuff were multiplied by letting things go. I came to understand a new definition of the word freedom. My heart sensed God’s presence like never before. And I experienced a peace and clarity previously unknown to me” (from page 18).

Kathryn writes that her friends who came over to help her said this, “You can’t keep everything and keep a clean house.” This phrase became a mantra, something Kathryn repeated as she let go of the clutter that was robbing her of peace and joy.

You can’t keep everything and keep a clean house. (It has a nice rhythm, doesn’t it?)

Say this, as you give away your abundance to others. (And to the trash can!)

I know Connie will enjoy this book! I wish I could send one to all of you — it really is the best book I’ve read on this topic. So many books focus on the organizing itself — but this one goes to the heart of the matter, teaching you how to draw strength and power from God, through prayer.

Although I love FlyLady and her routines dearly, I think Kathryn’s book teaches us the spiritual principles we need to accomplish our goals — relying on PRAYER and God’s Word as the source of our emotional decluttering — which leads to freedom in the physical sense!

Well, I have a ton more things I need to catch up on since I’ve been “absent” for a week — but I’ll spread some linky love tomorrow (there’s been a ton going on in bloggityville that I’ve been wanting to tell you about).

Also! For a couple of days, I thought maybe I should quit blogging to make more time in my schedule for other things — but then I checked the mail one day, and I got a package from Taiwan full of treats for my family! From a blogging friend! I want to write a separate post about this — but let’s just say the timing could not have been more perfect because my kids thought this was the coolest thing ever.

One more thing happened relating to this — a Christian author wrote me yesterday wanting to know if I could help with some research for a book she was working on. Well, the book topic is not something I’m too familiar with, but I wrote her back and said one of you bloggee people has a total passion for this topic! So this author contacted the blogger I mentioned — and GUESS WHAT? They’re a perfect match. She wrote back and said in all-caps, “You ROCK!”

So I can’t quit. Because it’s fun to feel used by God to connect women to resources they need. Anyway! Thus the name, “Mom 2 Mom,” although I certainly don’t want to limit this to only moms.

I hope you have a great weekend — and don’t forget to head on over to the Ultimate Blog Party!

I hope you’re having a marvelous Valentine’s Day, savoring every piece of endorphine-loaded chocolate as much as I am. (The dark kind is healthy, you know.) I’ve been to three kids’ Valentine’s parties today — refueling on sugar and parent gossip like everyone else — and now it’s pure joy to sit down a minute and focus my mind on books.

Books I LOVE!

Really, I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to tell you all about one of my favorite mom-lit series — as it turns out, my waiting had a purpose because the author herself agreed to come visit for an interview. Tracey Bateman is here!

Have you read any of her books yet? If you haven’t, you’ll love them. You’ll love her. And you’ll definitely love her main character in this mom-lit series, Claire Everett.

These are the books that drive my husband crazy when I’m reading next to him because I laugh out loud at least twice every page. The books are so FUNNY — and don’t we moms need something to laugh about at the end of one of THOSE days?

Yet the novels are not just fun and fluffy — Claire is growing in her relationship with Christ, and you will too, as you read how she handles things. Like the author herself, Claire is a writer and mother of four — so her life is pretty chaotic as she tries to balance career and family.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the first book, Leave it to Claire.

In this scene, Claire is dropping off her popular teenage daughter at the high school where she will be cheerleading:

I see her group of followers pointing at me and whispering among themselves. Okay, they’re probably looking and admiring her, and most likely haven’t noticed me, but when you have the kind of self-esteem I have, laughing kids translate to “laughing at me” kids. That’s the way I feel if anyone is cracking a joke anywhere in the vicinity, and I’m not in on it.

It’s something I’ve dealt with since I was a kid. Full of myself one second, down on myself the next. I probably need therapy. I hear Dr. Phil has a diet book out now. Maybe I should read it and kill two birds with one stone. Get my head and behind shrunk for one low price of $19.99.

HA! Every time I read that last sentence, I have to laugh. I keep my Claire trilogy in a prominent spot on my bookshelf — and whenever I begin to take myself and life too seriously, I read a few lines.

Tracey Bateman is an award-winning author of more than sixteen books and lives in Missouri with her husband and four children. She’s been a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) since the early months of its inception and served as President for nearly two years.

As author of several romance novels, Tracey has been a long-time favorite among Heartsong club members. In 2005, she was voted the club’s fourth favorite author!

If you love Kristin Billerbeck’s California style chick-lit, you’ll adore Bateman’s midwest-based books for moms. Tracey has over 600,000 books in print.

Who is Claire Everett? How did you come up with a character like her?

I like to think she’s everywoman, but that’s a little far reaching, even for someone who dreams as much as I do. But inside of her are all the insecurities of body image, motherhood, career.

Okay, I’ll just admit it. She’s a heckuva lot like me and pretty much has all of my angst. 🙂

What’s going on in her life in these books?

She’s trying to connect with her kids, trying to lose a few pounds (aren’t we always?) Trying to keep her feet on the ground and grow in her relationship with God.

The catalyst is when she is forced to stop working for a few weeks due to carpal tunnel. Time to face herself and the mess she’s in.

When you started the series, did you have any idea how you’d end it, or did you sort of let Claire take over and decide for herself?

I pretty much let her do her thing. It was just too much fun from day to day waiting to see what she would do or say.

Was it hard to finish up the Claire trilogy, or were you ready to move on to something else?

I was ready. I had another series contracted with the same publisher to do chicklit — The Drama Queens — and I love it. Although I wouldn’t mind doing one more and let her get pregnant AND juggle the rest of her life. That would be fun.

What are you working on now?

Book two in the Drama Queens series. The first one, Catch a Rising Star, releases in July.

I can’t wait to read it! Tracey, I love your sense of fun throughout the Claire books, yet you bring us back to the reality that God’s in control, no matter how much our lives seem to be spinning into chaos. How do you keep your own faith strong?

I don’t always. I have weak, weak days when all I want to do is lay on the couch and watch Lifetime movies. My faith always wavers when I have PMS. 🙂

The root stays buried in the soil, though. I’m learning that my emotions are not always reflecting what I know about who I am in Christ.

I give myself permission to be weak because I know that when I’m weak God is strong. It’s why I choose to write about real women who would love to be perfect, but who are simply not. Because as much as I’d love to be together even fifty percent of the time, the fact is I’m usually sitting around in my PJs, or yoga pants, hair a mess, frustrated because I am late on yet another project.

But this is the life God’s given me. Four fun, fabulous, CRAZY funny kids, three dogs, a guy who adores me even though I don’t deserve it, and the kind of schedule that doesn’t allow for housework AND Lifetime. And I mean a girl has to relax SOMETIMES. Right?

Thank God for chocolate and Pizza.

Ah … yes. Thank God for chocolate and pizza. And I’ll add one more thing I can’t live without — funny books! Like yours. Thank you so much for making me laugh out loud and forget my stress by escaping into the hilarious life of Claire Everett.

You’re welcome!

You can read more about Tracey’s books and humor on her website, which includes a blog. Her Claire trilogy includes Leave it to Claire, Claire Knows Best, and I Love Claire.

Recently, in the blogosphere, there was a discussion, a very good discussion, about whether or not meditating on scripture is “New Age.” The blog post referred to an article by Keri Wyatt Kent in the popular magazine, Today’s Christian Woman.

I read the article, Fresh Air, in the magazine when it came to my house, and I thought it was great. It encouraged me to hold on to certain words, certain phrases from the Bible and meditate on them throughout the day. This is so important for us women, especially us moms who are being watched nearly every second by the little souls God has put into our homes to disciple.

So I was surprised at some of the things that were said about this article, and especially surprised at some of the comments by bloggers who didn’t take the time to read Keri’s article to understand her full meaning.

Well, we must be careful not to use our blogs as a place to gossip. In Matthew 18:15, it says “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

What this means is — if you have a problem with someone, you need to go to that person individually to discuss it. In the 21st century this means if you don’t like something someone says or writes, it’s not a good idea to go blog about them and get your readers to turn against them as well. For one thing, misunderstandings ABOUND when we read words instead of seeing the speaker say them in person. (Body language and voice intonation account for a huge percentage of communication).

Keri Wyatt Kent is a fine Christian woman, a mother who has given her life to the Lord, and who uses her gifts of speaking and writing to lead women to a closer walk with Jesus. You can write her personally from her website.

She was a guest on my blog last April. I read her entire book, Listen: Finding God in the Story of Your Life and reviewed it for CWO Book Buzz here. You can read our interview here.

She is NOT a New Ager — she’s not leading people into a cult. She’s leading them into a deeper love of Scripture through meditating on God’s Word. Keri has often encouraged me as a weary mom with her inspiring articles in the magazine MOPS publishes, MomSense.

In case you didn’t click over to read the complete article, here’s what Keri says about the practice of listening:

Christians have prayed and listened to Scripture through a practice called Lectio Divina (Latin for “Sacred Word”) for centuries. You read a passage slowly several times, spending time in silence between readings, letting the words sink into your soul as you listen for the one word or phrase that touches you most deeply.

Lectio Divina is a way to meditate on Scripture by listening and then responding—breathing in God’s Word, breathing out a prayer. Traditionally, this practice includes four parts: reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation. Deep listening to Scripture requires a focus on God’s words rather than ours. In Lectio Divina, I listen to what God wants to say just to me through the text. I’m open to listening not just to general truth that’s applicable to everyone, but for specific truth that applies to my unique circumstances.

In this practice, I read a short passage. For a month or more one summer, I kept going back to Psalm 27, reading a few verses at a time. I found myself drawn to verses 3-5, so for several days, I returned to that short section. I read it slowly, noticing how often I found myself drawn to the word “dwell.” What did it mean for me to “dwell in the house of the Lord” (vs. 4)? Did I really believe I was “safe in his dwelling”? How could I truly dwell in his presence?

These verses became a love letter from God to me, an invitation to deeper intimacy with him …

She later continues to explain the practice of “breath prayer:”

Psalm 1:2 exhorts us to meditate on God’s Word, to delight in it. Unlike Eastern meditation practices, which focus on emptying the mind, a breath prayer is a way of filling your mind—but filling it with God alone.

I ask you, is there anything unbiblical about this? David meditated on scripture throughout the psalms. If I had more time and were not taking care of sick children, I’d look up many verses in the Bible where God’s people meditated on the Word, including Jesus, who was constantly meditating on scripture.

This morning where I live, it’s cold and rainy. My voice is hoarse, and I keep coughing from this nagging cold that has swept through our whole family (three kids still sick).

My two oldest daughters were slow to get up for school, complaining about this and that. My 1st grader couldn’t find her favorite shoes, and we spent 20 minutes running around the house looking for them, until we at last found them in our downstairs bathroom.

All during this time, I had a verse in my head: “Choose you this day whom ye will serve … but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). We know this is when Joshua is talking to the Israelites, giving them the choice to serve the Almighty God or to wander off and choose the false gods of the Amorites, in whose land they were settling.

My mind dwelt on the word, “CHOOSE.” Every second, I had a choice. Will I lash out in wrath at my daughter for being careless and whiny? Every part of me wanted to scream, “If you’d put your shoes in your closet where they belong, they wouldn’t be lost! Quit your whining!”

Instead, I kept my voice soft and my tones encouraging. I found another pair of shoes for her and put these on her feet tenderly while we kept up our search.

When I realized I had forgotten to pack lunches, the words came again to my mind, “Choose whom you will serve.” This means, will I live for Jesus and offer a sacrifice of praise with my lips? Or will I live for me and scream out, “OH NO! I forgot the lunches! Why can’t you kids pack your own lunches?” Blah blah blah.

The choice came. I packed their lunches quickly, without complaint. I CHOSE God’s way because I’d hidden His Word in my heart — through meditating on a single verse when I desperately needed it most.

I’m not writing all this to make myself look good — because I have the choice right now to go have fun and read some blogs or get off the computer and go wash the breakfast dishes that are stacked in the sink. Yet another choice, and guess what I know I must do? Without complaining!

I’m reading the Bible through this year chronologically, so I’m reading huge passages that make me feel like I’m reading a novel. But the Bible is not a novel. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” MY HEART. My achy-breaky evil old heart.

This Word is living in me, breathing fire in me, helping me to slay the dragons of my emotions (anger, bitterness, depression) that have had a hold on me during my hormonally wacky child-bearing years (yes, a whole decade of feeling this way!).

As I read through the comments in a follow-up post I’m more impressed than ever with two women of God: Carol Moxley and Ann Voskamp. Their comments were written using wisely chosen words, demonstrating a love of Truth — but above all, a love of God’s people. (Oh, how I wish I had the gift of writing like these two women of faith!)

Ann has taught me so much about being thankful through her gentle, quiet spirit — and I’ve had to realize how awful my attitudes have been over the years. She has made the Bible come alive for me through her living, active faith. And I admire Carol for her ability to discern good from evil and to have the courage to stand up for what is right.

I’m not there yet — I’m still a mess, still a work in progress, making mistakes every second. But I love these women of faith, for what they continue to teach me. And I will CHOOSE today, this very second to serve the Lord. Which means getting off the computer and getting out my Windex, thanking God that I have a home to clean and a family to care for.

That’s my choice for today. What’s yours?

[Edit: Catez Stevens of AllThings2all in New Zealand has an extremely thoughtful post on this topic. In fact, she wrote Keri Wyatt Kent with her questions, and posted Keri’s reply, which clears up many misunderstandings. Please go read her post, Transcendental Meditation & Prayer: A Short Discussion with Keri Wyatt Kent.]

Yesterday, my fifth-grade son asked if he could spend the night with one of his classmates Friday night. “It’s his birthday,” he told me. “And he’s invited all the boys in the class.”

A few years ago, I would have told him no, we don’t do spend-the-night parties. That’s what my husband and I had decided when the future was hypothetical, and we imagined all sorts of nightmarish things for our precious little boy.

Well, we’ve changed our thinking. That’s part of parenting — not being legalistic about things. Instead of making rules that can’t be broken, you have to pray about everything, and pray that you’ll be obedient to God.

He goes to a Christian school this year, and there are four boys in his class. We know all the families of these boys; we cheered on the sidelines together for flag football, and now we’re cheering on the sidelines together for Upward basketball. We know where they go to church; we’ve visited their homes.

So I told him yes — but that doesn’t mean I won’t pray about it. The main concern I have is materialism. We are STILL the only family around who doesn’t own a single video game. My husband doesn’t see the point in having kids stare at flashy pictures on a TV screen that will make them long to sit inside instead of going outdoors to play basketball or run around in the fresh air.

This morning, I told my son, “We wouldn’t let you go to __’s house if we didn’t know his family well.”

“Why not?” he asked me.

“Because, well, they might let you watch a movie that wouldn’t be good for your mind. Like something that’s rated R.”

“What does rated R mean?”

“It’s something that could be violent,” I explained. “Or something that could have adult stuff in it that’s not good for you. The Bible tells us to think on those things that are excellent, things that are pure.”

Here’s where I see the hugest difference in public school and even our homeschool (the way we did it). At their private Christian school, they’re memorizing HUGE passages of scripture in the lovely King James version of the Bible. They say these scriptures every day out loud, in unision, over and over again. There’s something to be said for being with a group of people when you repeat scriptures out loud together.

“That sounds like what we learned in Philippians 4:8,” he said. And he quoted this to me, verbatim, after breakfast, while he dribbled a basketball in the kitchen.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Thank you Lord that our children are going to a good Christian school this year! They’re encouraging even me to search the Scriptures and find YOU, find YOUR best plan for our family. Please continue to protect their minds and hearts so they can enjoy a few more years of the innocence of childhood. And then give them the weapons they will need to fight the Good Fight in the years to come.

I tell ya, there’s Power in the Word!

P.S. In case our kids’ grandparents are reading this, thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re impacting the next generation through blessing your grandchildren with the gift of Christian education! We couldn’t do it without you unless I went to work outside of the home!

There’s a good discussion today over at Shannon’s blog about great books for Christian parents. She recommended several of her favorites for moms-to-be, as well as new parents. And the list continues to grow in the comment section — so here’s a good link to check out!

If you’re expecting your first baby, your mailbox is going to be bombarded with free magazines, sent by advertisers. I didn’t realize this at the time — it was over ten years ago for me — but very few of those magazines (if any) will have any Bibilical content.

Although you can find plenty of wise pregnancy and parenting advice in secular magazines, watch out for the subtle moral advice that might creep in. Specifically, you’ll see articles that make you feel like you’re not in charge: your child is. Although I don’t have teenagers yet, I know what will happen if I let my children decide everything now — how will they respect me when I suddenly decide I want to be in charge?

If you’re looking for a monthly magazine that offers sound Biblical advice from professional writers, please consider subscribing to HomeLife Magazine or ParentLife Magazine. I’ve never been disappointed with the articles in these magazines — and you can visit Lifeway and see the other resources available (for singles, parents of teens, mature adults, etc.)

ParentLife is a great resource for moms-to-be all the way to moms of kids through age 12. I’m thankful my church orders several copies and hands them out to us busy parents!

I watched this video a few weeks ago and wanted to post it after the new year. It’s a video of Amy of Gentle Whisper giving her first sermon. I “met” Amy through the Carnival of Beauty at some point last year and have enjoyed reading her blog.

This is a 12-minute video, which she bravely posted, and it’s great! She made some really, really good points about getting out of debt — and how to stay out. From a Biblical standpoint. Click here when you can manage to grab 12 minutes of quiet…