I’ve added a new category to my blog here, “Crafty people and things.” It’s been a few years since I’ve been into making crafts. But now that my kids are getting older, I’m trying to find hobbies we can do together — and knitting is one activity I’ve been considering for my daughters.

So I’ve discovered a “knitting mentor,” Jennifer Keene! She is so talented and full of ideas — and she manages to find time to work on her knitting projects while being a mom of two boys. Jennifer has a home-based business called The Knitting Queen2, where you can see all the wonderful items she has for sale online.

Aren’t these little rabbit booties adorable?

Hi, Jennifer. How did you get interested in knitting?

I’m not really sure! It started about 12 years ago. I had been working in a job I really didn’t like and decided to quit and take a little time off before finding another one. I told my husband that one of the things I really wanted to do during my break was learn to knit.

It was just a whim. I found a cute little knitting shop nearby and took a class — it was a series of four evenings. By the end of the first evening I was hooked.

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with my new “talent” (I have a couple of very ugly sweaters to show for that!) and I really found my passion when I was pregnant with my first son, about seven years ago. I started making baby hats for him and for my best friend’s son.

Baby hats are adorable and make such great gifts! Is it hard for beginners to pick up knitting?

I don’t think so. It’s pretty straight forward. Knitting is made up of two stitches — knit and purl. There are many variations on this, but it all boils down to these two stitches.

Knitting patterns can look pretty daunting — they’re often written in paragraph form and use a lot of abbreviations. For a beginner, I think it can look overwhelming. But it’s really not. If you have the right person teach you in the beginning, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to pick up.

What’s the best way for beginners to get started?

I think taking a class is the best thing. All knitting stores have classes for the beginner, taught by people who love to knit. People who work in knitting stores are there because they love it so much and they get great joy in seeing someone else “see the light.”

I wouldn’t recommend trying to teach yourself to knit using a book. That being said, I also think a beginner can learn a LOT about knitting in just a few sessions. For an investment of just a few evenings or Saturday afternoons, the beginning knitter will walk away with a ton of basic knowledge.

Do you have any favorite books you’d recommend?

Two books that I bought early on have been invaluable to me. One is Vogue Knitting. It has excellent pictures and drawings and you can look up almost anything.

The other is The Knitter’s Companion by Vicki Square. This is a small spiral-bound book that fits easily into your knitting bag. Again, great descriptions and covers a lot of basics. When I was first learning to knit, The Knitter’s Companion was my bible.

A spiral-bound book sounds handy so you can leave the page open while you’re working.

Yes — and keep in mind that most knitting stores welcome the chance to help you if you need to pop in for a quick question. If the help you need is extensive, they may ask you to schedule a time and charge a nominal tutoring fee. But if there is a step in your pattern that you just can’t get, ask the experts at the store to show you. That’s what I do!

You make this sound do-able! What was your first knitting project?

My first project was from the class I took. It was a sweater. I chose very thick yarn, in a color I don’t particularly care for, and it ended up being something I knew I would NEVER wear (no one ever needs sweaters that thick in Seattle).

Somehow, my mom ended up with it and I saw her wearing it once. I was horrified!

What project would you recommend for a first-time knitter?

A sweater is actually not a bad first project — if you choose a fairly simple pattern. A sweater teaches you many skills a knitter needs to know — increases, decreases, binding off, picking up stitches, and finishing (sewing your pieces together).

I wouldn’t recommend a sweater, however, if you’re on a deadline. Even for an experienced knitter, a sweater is not a task to be taken lightly.

Scarves are obviously a good choice — that can be about as basic as you can get. Also, many hat patterns are quite easy and you can finish up a hat pretty quickly.

I love to knit socks. They are a great portable project, there are gorgeous sock yarns out there, it’s fairly inexpensive, and you’re guaranteed to wear them.

Why do you think knitting has become so popular lately?

Honestly, I don’t know. I do think the books and patterns that are available now are WONDERFUL, compared to what they were ten years ago. Designers are coming up with much more wearable, usable items and I think that intrigues people.

Also, writers like Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (The Yarn Harlot, Knitting Rules) are writing bestsellers about knitting. Her books are hilarious, very true to life, and I found myself loving knitting even more after reading her books.

It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg thing, though. Did people finally start seeing how fun knitting can be after seeing the great yarns and patterns, or are the new yarns and patterns the result of knitting’s rise in popularity?

For me, it is a relaxing hobby that I can do around my family. I really love to read as well, but reading is very anti-social. I can knit and talk to my kids or my husband at the same time. Many projects are easily portable and it’s a great way to kill time.

How do you find time to knit?

I quit cleaning my house! Seriously, that’s only partially true (part of the reason I quit cleaning my house is that I find it to be a losing battle. I have two small boys and a messy husband … enough said).

I often will schedule in knitting time — I do my errands, housework, etc. in the mornings. Then I usually knit during my four-year-old’s nap, and I often knit in the evenings after the house is picked up and the kids are in bed. I admit, I’m a TV watcher, and I find I can knit easily while relaxing and watching TV.

Also, my kids are getting old enough (four and seven) that they can play together and don’t need constant supervision. They would LIKE my constant attention, but I think it’s important that they rely on each other more for entertainment.

So in the afternoons I will often sit in the living room and knit while they play. I’m still very much available for them, but I am teaching them that Mommy has things she likes to do too. My family knows that knitting is important to me and I think they’ve learned to accept it (either that, or they’ve completely given up all hope…).

I’m in a Bible study once a week, and after our discussion there is an hour-long video we watch — I always knit during the video. I know some people who will actually knit during church services. I can’t do that. I honestly think I would still stay focused on the sermon, but I think others would find it disrespectful, so I don’t feel right about it.

Can you tell us about your business, The Knitting Queen2?

About a year ago I started selling my baby hats on ebay. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for seven years now and I really wanted to find something that I could call my own.

I’m not ready to go back to work, but I want to try to contribute a bit to the household income (or at least make enough to support my habit!). Knitting is something I am truly passionate about and it just seemed like the next logical step, to try and sell my creations.

I had been knitting for friends and had been getting a lot of great feedback, so I’m trusting that the general public will also feel the same!

I agree. Your knitting creations are so adorable!

I knew ebay wasn’t quite the right venue, but, well, you have to start somewhere.

The name Knitting Queen was already taken, so I became Knitting Queen2. I carried it over to my Etsy store just so I wouldn’t get confused with my different IDs.

I was so excited when I found Etsy! It’s a website to sell hand-crafted items! It’s easier and less expensive than ebay and I feel it’s a much better fit for me. So now I am exclusively on Etsy, trying to make a go of this.

I’m selling hand knit baby and toddler hats, baby slippers, coffee sleeves (I’m from Seattle, remember?!), and hand knit plush cupcakes. I have a list a mile long of upcoming projects, so the more people buy, the more I can afford to come up with new creations!

How can we get in touch with you?

My shop on Etsy can be found here. I also have a blog at The Knitting Queen or people can email me directly at jen_keene@hotmail.com.

Thanks, Jennifer. You’ve inspired me to learn more about knitting!

Thanks so much for inviting me, Heather!

You can see Jennifer Keene’s knitting creations at her website, The Knitting Queen2.

The “spring forward” time change is hard for me to get used to. For one thing, it’s still LIGHT outside when it’s time for the kids to go to bed.

Last night, after supper, the clock said 7:30, but it just didn’t seem like bedtime yet. I went upstairs and rocked and read to the baby (almost 2!) and put her to bed. But then — I wasn’t in the mood to go start reading our nightly chapter of Harriet the Spy.

For some strange reason, I felt like watching TV. ME! I never watch TV. I can’t stand to sit still in front of a flat screen when there are so many good books to read!

For several years, we didn’t have cable or satellite, so all we could watch was PBS. But a few months ago, we finally got a satellite installed because I was tired of hearing the theme songs to Arthur and Clifford in the mornings. Now my four-year-old’s favorite show is “Little Einsteins,” and I love the classical music!

So I wanted to watch TV last night — something interesting, yet kid-appropriate since our TV is in the main family room. The Food Network — ah yes! I turned it to this show, Emeril. Do you watch this guy? He’s hilarious!

We had just eaten whole-wheat penne pasta with tomato sauce for dinner — and that’s what he cooked last night — except he made it look so exciting! Flipping the pasta up in the air from the saucepan — tossing in bits of olives and red onions. How fun!

My daughters heard me laughing — so they joined me on the couch. Then my sons, settled down from their waterhose fight out in the yard, came in to watch. And my husband, seeing us all gathered together, also joined us. We were all thoroughly enthralled by this guy — which of course got a joke from me, “Look,” I said to my husband. “Isn’t it nice seeing a man in the kitchen?” haha.

Is this on every night? I’d like to watch it again. Maybe I’ll try flipping my pasta up in the air and garnishing our humble meals with freshly grated mozarella and sprigs of parsley.

I checked his website, and he offers a database of over 6000 recipes. All you have to do is type in the name of the recipe you’re looking for or a main ingredient.

The older my kids get, the more energy I have — and cooking is something we can enjoy doing as a family. It’s not fun when you have a newborn screaming — or a whining toddler hanging on to your pant legs … but my elementary-age children are starting to be big helpers in the kitchen. I think we’ll start trying to be more creative with our meals … with a little help from our TV friend.

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.

I was a sophomore in high school when Sarah, Plain and Tall was published, so I missed out on reading this delightful children’s book. I bought it for my girls for Christmas, and we found time over the cold, quiet weekend to read the book together.

What a beautiful story.

I won’t tell you about it — you can read a review here. But I wanted to tell you how interesting it was the way we responded to reading this book together. In this story, Sarah likes cats, and she likes to draw. My daughters and I talked about how nice Sarah must be, since she takes care of animals — and how God loves people who are kind to animals.

While I read, the girls got out some crayons and drew. My six-year-old drew a picture of our fluffy prodigal cat (who ran away but came home), and my nine-year-old drew a variety of little pictures.

When I finished Sarah, Plain and Tall (which was quite short, only 67 pages!), I felt like reading more — so I read the girls a couple of stories they’d written a year ago, when our hamster died. They loved hearing me read their own words, just like I’d read Patricia Maclachlan’s.

Then they each got busy writing something new — which they couldn’t wait for me to read. If you’ll indulge me a minute, here’s what they wrote (along with their pictures):

A Story of Briar Rose (by daughter, age 6)

One day, a little sweety pie named Briar Rose the great pie.
She is not really a pie, but we call her that because she’s really qute.
One day when Mama was reading Sarah Plain and Tall, Briar Rose interrupted my story I wrote when I was in kindergarten by doing something very qute.
She was in the side of the under the couch laying down.
Oh how she loved the warm air coming out of the vent.
Oh how I can’t stand how qute she was!
I could not even sit down because guess what Briar Rose sat down instead.
One time Briar Rose ran away from home. And did not come back for a very long time. We missed her so much. But one day she got sick, and had to come back. We took her to the vet and we saw our grandmother. She had a ear enfeckshen [the cat, not the grandmother] and she tilted her head when she walked. Now it is still tilted.
And still very qute.

(Oh, I almost hated to have to tell her that “cute” is spelled with a “c,” but the teacher in me must do these kinds of things.)

You Can Learn Your Pictures Too! (by daughter, age 9)

Practice these pictures. You can practice drawing, saying, writing, and find these pictures in places around your home. Try to find them in stores too!

Star, Rain, Teddy Bear, Flower, Blue Circle,
Ice Cream Cone, Grass, Rose, Pictures, Potato,
Milk, Juice, Water, Lake, Chick, Swan,
Snow Man, Rabbit, Grapes, Yellow Triangle,
Book, Ball, Jelly Biscuit, Punch, Shirt, Pants,
Skirt, Dress, Rocks, Inchworm, Hearts (Blue and Red)

What would we have missed, as a family, as a mother and daughters, if we’d watched TV instead? Since I can’t stand kid shows, I would have most likely been in a separate room doing my own thing, while they sat in front of the TV.

Or even if we’d watched a movie together, a good family movie, they still wouldn’t have responded with their own pieces of writing — I don’t think. Although watching movies together can be a good bonding activity, it still doesn’t even come CLOSE to the interactive joys of reading together.

I guess that’s why I’m so nuts about books!

I’d love to collect a bunch of parent/child literature responses like mine here — parents who read out loud to their children and experience something exciting — and then teach a workshop of some sort (when my kids are older).

In contrast, here’s an article from today’s Scottsman’s News: Children’s TV is Linked to Cancer, Autism, Dementia. Yes, TV does more to our children than make them fat and lazy; it can damage their minds and bodies.

Read with your children!!! 🙂

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.

My kids spent the day with their grandparents, so I missed hanging out with them after school. Tonight, they were all being extremely nice to me. I thought it was maybe because they’d missed me.

My son asked for hot chocolate, so I said I’d make him some, and he said, “Well, that’s great if you can make me some, but if you can’t that’s OK too.” Then he thanked me about five times after I popped a mug filled with cocoa and milk in the microwave.

Um … you’re welcome. Really, it’s not that big of a hardship.

Later, my girls kept thanking me for little things, and then as I kissed both of them good-night they said, “Thank you for being a nice mama, Mama.”

My heart was so FULL … until my oldest daughter said, “Our chapel teacher told us to say that. Today our chapel was about contentment and they told us to stop whining so much and to tell our parents how thankful we are for them.”

OH!!!!! Did I tell you today how much I love their school? Oh, maybe that was yesterday.

Consumerism is the god of America’s children. Cultivating contentment is the response. When we are discontent, we are not grumbling about our circumstances, per se. We are actually grumbling, raising our fists against God. Who owns it all? Who provides for our every need? When we complain and practice discontentment, we tell God that He is not sufficient.

Amy and I emailed a few times last month as she and her family are looking to buy some land and relocate. They briefly considered our area in Georgia, but I read today they’ve narrowed it down to Tennessee or Kentucky.

Bummer. I guess I need to keep practicing contentment that one day I’ll have a blogger friend who lives nearby. 🙂

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!

Every week I receive a wonderful parenting tip from Trish Berg. She’s the author of a soon-to-be released book called The Great American Supper Swap. If you’d like to receive a free weekly parenting tip, check out her website to see where you can sign up!

Top 3 Valentine’s Day Tips for Kids

1. Homemade Cards — Instead of spending a fortune on store bought Valentine’s Day cards for your kids to hand out in school, go to the Family Fun Magazine website for simple hand made card ideas, including printable designs your kids can color. All it costs you is the white paper and some crayons – and you’ll gain time spent with your kids, and more giggles than you can imagine!

2. Pink Heart Shaped Pancakes — Use Bisquick or your favorite pancake recipe, and add 3 drops of red food coloring to make the batter pink. To make heart shaped pancakes, you can either: 1) Cook regular round ones on the griddle then cut them into a heart before serving them, or 2) pour the batter into a squeeze bottle (such as a clean chocolate syrup container) and shape the hearts one lobe at a time. (They’re really just a V shape, which spreads out into a heart on the griddle.)

3. Hidden Love Notes — Write 3 love notes to each of your children on cute heart shaped paper. One each write something like, “I love you because…you care for others and always lend a hand.” Hide the loves notes through out your house. After dinner, let your kids hunt around for their love notes. When all are found, sit at the dinner table and have each child read his notes aloud to the whole family! Then share a sweet treat for dessert and watch them all smile!

Top 3 Valentine’s Day Tips for Moms and Dads

1. Dinner on a Dime — Eating out at a nice restaurant is so expensive for moms and dads, factor in paying a babysitter and you could go broke! So, instead, try this neat tip. Feed your kids a simple meal (like pizza) early that evening, around 5, and then put them to bed at 7 or 8. Make your husband’s favorite meal for two, and after the kids are in bed, have a late night candle lit dinner.

2. Top 10 List — Make up your own top ten list for your husband, listing the top 10 reasons you love him. After the kids are in bed, share your list and watch him melt.

3. Love Notes — Write several love notes to your husband. Spray each with a dab of your favorite perfume. Then leave them in places you know he will be on Valentine’s Day like on the seat of his car or on his desk at work. You can even enlist the help of some of his co-workers to deliver some to him for you! When he comes home, I guarantee he’ll be smiling!

Send your great ideas and tips to help moms simplify motherhood to Trish at trish@trishberg.com, and maybe they’ll be in Trish’s next Tip of the Week!

Be sure to check out all the FREE stuff, tips, recipes and more at Trish Berg’s website, where every mom goes to simplify motherhood!

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…