I won’t give in to my crazy-triggers or get onboard that crazy-train. I know what my triggers are, especially here at the start of another busy school year. Do you?

Every afternoon these days, whether heavy grey clouds are creeping over the horizon or the clearest blue sky is canopied above, I walk out into my garden. Orange blossoms mix with the scent of ripe Meyer lemons. Jasmine climbs over everything — miniature flowers offering up their fragrant praise.

What does the Gospel have to do with parenting?

Everything. Absolutely everything.

That’s my short answer to the question bound up in the title of this blog post. The Gospel has everything to do with parenting, and parenting has everything to do with the Gospel. And the Good Lord knew what He was doing when He put sinners together in families — charging moms and dads who have been saved by grace to lead with grace.

The last few days I’ve been a bit hard on my boys. Hard on me. The holidays, while wonderful, can also be challenging. The kids have been loud and dishonoring and…loud. And, I guess, I’ve been frustrated that they’re still each a work in process, and haven’t yet “arrived” — whatever that means. It’s just how I sometimes feel. Needless to say, my words haven’t all been gracious. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve grown a lot in the area of Gentle Parenting. Unfortunately, while I don’t yell like I used to, my words can still be calm and crushing if I’m not careful. 

We’re in for a treat today. I’ve invited my friend, Heidi St. John, to tell it to us straight. Because it’s hard to parent gently and from a place of peace and calm when we’re bouncing around on the dramatic waves of our feelings every day! Are you addicted to drama? Is it effecting the way you parent? The way you feel? The way you walk through life? And are you exhausted by it all?

Here’s the simple truth: I’m a busy mom who tries to carve out space first thing in the morning to spend time with the Lord. And I want my time with Him, at the break of day, to transform the way I parent the rest of the day. Pure and simple — I want my time in the Word to work like manna from heaven. If I gather a little or I gather a lot, I want it to be enough to get me through each hectic, mothering day. Trouble is, most of the time it isn’t and it doesn’t. And maybe it shouldn’t.

First of all, HAPPY FALL YA’LL! And nothing says “fall” quite like the simmering goodness of a crockpot! Today’s installment of Interview with a Renaissance Mom is a cozy, autumn chat with lifestyle blogger, adoption advocate, and recipe book author, Shay Shull. Her latest book, “Simmers,” is packed with recipes even the kids will love! You’ll adore this conversation, so let’s dive in. If only we could have it face-to-face along with a generous serving of Shay’s Apple Bread Pudding!

I was silent on social media yesterday because the world is such a sad place some days and I don’t have more than one healing word. More like a Name than a word, come to think of it.

Jesus. Oh, Jesus.

I guess that’s two words. Or a sad groan that finds its rest in the One who is the Word. That word, that name, was the only one that felt secure in the face of human suffering yesterday…and many days.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the next installment in our on-going series, Interview with a Renaissance Mom where we get to cozy up with a cup of something yummy and get to know another creative mama who is balancing home and family and art. Today, I am overjoyed to introduce you to KariAnne Wood of Thistlewood Farm — I know you’ll be blessed by the beauty she brings to the online conversation with her incredible decorating skills and wonderful story-telling.

The dashboard read a steady 108 degrees nearly all the way up the mountain. Had anyone else been in the car with me last Sunday, I would have had the windows rolled up tight and the AC pumping recycled air over coolant. But I was alone on the road, so the windows were down, the air conditioner off. Hot wind whipped through my suburban, through my hair, a trickle of sweat ran down the nape of my neck, with the music turned up loud. I was alone in the car, with my family all together back down the hill at church.