MWS Blog
Answer the Call
As school started for many of my friends, they posted pictures of happy (and sometimes not-so-happy) children with colorful chalkboards and fresh clothing or backpacks, noting their ages, grades and excitement for the new school year. As I looked at the many pictures...
God’s Provision for the Me Generation
As parents, how many times have you said the words, "The world doesn’t revolve around you?" Honesty time: as a teenager or younger you, how many times did you hear those words said to you? The self-absorbed, self-centered tendencies of the human heart have been with...
Keep Growing
How many sizes can a kid go through in a season? At the beginning of the summer, when their little t-shirts swallow them up and their flip flops are flip flopping everywhere but securely on their feet, we think, "That’s OK, they have room to grow." By the end of...
Glory or Foolishness
We all make mistakes. I have made many (as in, beyond count) in my lifetime. And while I’m thankful for grace and forgiveness, I sometimes have a hard time letting myself off the hook. Because some of those mistakes I still find myself making. As I attempt to walk...
When Our Words Need Grace
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45 We’ve all done it. We’ve all said those words, that phrase, that cut...
Return to Slavery
We all learned about the horrors of slavery in school. Some of us have even learned from family descendants of slavery, while others are painfully aware that it still exists today, in our backyards. Our children also will learn, and we’ll have to face tough...
Starting a Life of Prayer Journaling
I’ve always been a note-taker. Not only do I learn and retain better that way, but it keeps my mind on the matter at hand. And it keeps me from saying, “what was that he said about Daniel???” I can go back to what I’m taking notes on, digest the subject in parts...
The Perfect Equation
Think back to your favorite subject…I’m going to bet it wasn’t algebra! Ok, for a few of you slightly-off individuals it was, but most of us just endured algebra. It was all “a*(b/c) = x” and you were left to find how the thing made sense. I bet that as you...
Moms on a Mission
The pull of the flesh. It’s a constant battle. The yearning to eat that treat, have things our way, say the thing we ought not say. Does that sound familiar? What about the other stuff, like gossip, unhealthy thoughts, greed, or vanity. The struggle is real,...
House Rules
Do you ever have those days with your children where you look at them and think, “What am I doing wrong?” Shaking your head, you might wonder, as you pause, breathe deeply and count to ten before saying something really loudly or snarky, “Why can’t they just do (or...
Proverb 31 Woman: Part 2
After digesting THAT lady’s excellence, what did you think? Her fear of the Lord – the key to her excellence (verse 30) – shouldn’t that be our first priority when trying to attain God’s standard? That while charm and beauty are fine, they are secondary in importance...
Proverbs 31 Woman: Part 1
Deep breath…where do we begin with her? She’s that lady that has it all together. Her husband raves about her and not only treats her like a gem, but she IS a priceless gem in his heart & eyes, her friends are in awe of her (though it probably doesn’t keep them...
Joyfully Obedient
The word “obedience” brings us back to childhood, doesn’t it? Having to submit to the will and the rules of our parents, “suffering” because we had to be home at 10 or couldn’t go to the movie everyone else got to go see. It was a bummer. We saw their rules as...
Holding His Hand
One of the most beautiful ways that the Lord speaks to me is through His Word. I could sit there, reading and delighting in it, from sun up to sun down. One of the things I often notice as I read are repeated phrases or words. I recognize certain things in His Word...
Dare You to Move
It seems like an unintimidating dare…movement. A dare, in itself, loses some of its “street cred” when we get past adolescence. Beyond the game of freeze tag though, movement can be complicated. In real life, making a move, any move, has consequences. Physically, we...
The ULTIMATE Authority Figure
Do you feel your prayer life is stale? Maybe nothing much is happening there, or you don’t feel any sort of accomplishment when you pray. There are a few reasons that could be, but one of them could be that you aren’t fully aware of the kind of power you’re tapping...
Oh Just You Wait
I hear it all the time…the dreaded, “oh, you think it’s hard now, you just wait until they are older”. Let’s be REALLY honest with each other. That doesn’t help anyone. It doesn’t make me look forward to the future or encourage me in raising children and it doesn’t...
Do as I Say, and as I Do
My daughter recently has had to be on antibiotics. She had to take them 3x’s a day. That would mean taking a pill at school. Luckily in her 5 years in school, we have never had to take medicine. Little did I know about the hoops you have to jump through to allow your...
Jesus Loves Me
Jesus loves me This I know, For the Bible Tells me so. A simple song that I have known my entire life. Simple stanzas that are so complex to comprehend. He allows me to catch a glimpse of His infinite love; to wrap my finite minds around His incomprehensible...