All in Family Management

As we gathered around tables set with gold, blue, and green chargers topped with china; iced water poured into crystal, flowers brimming over vases, we also noticed several lovely, mismatched little pitchers scattered amongst the setting. Some were plain creamware, others cut-glass, some painted with dainty flowers, others edged in gold.  Joining us at the table set in her kitchen area, Sally Clarkson picked one up and reflected, “We wanted you to take with you a reminder of your need to be filled, as you constantly pour out to your families at home.”

5 Habits of a Happy Family

“Mommy, come. I’ve found this path and there are so many flowers.”

It’s morning, and our second day camping in Jasper, Alberta, our favorite place on earth with its mountain peaks—like a father’s hands cupped, shielding this sacred hollow of water and spruce from the rest of the world.

I leave my coffee and follow my oldest son to the path he’s found and he points out the daisies, the bluebells, the buttercups.

Contentment is a Choice

I can see it so clearly in my oldest daughter—that constant yearning and wanting and always needing something more.  No sooner does she get what she wants than she is on to the next thing, constantly pining for something else that is just out of reach.  Sometimes it feels like she is incapable of just enjoying the moment she is in, of appreciating what she has instead of worrying about what she is missing out on.  Her insatiable need for more scares me sometimes. 

And yet.

I am one of the busiest moms I know. I write three to four books a year, blog, homeschool, and lead a teen moms' support group. Oh yes, and I'm working with an amazing production company that's making huge progress in having one of my book series turned into a TV series! (I know; it blows me away too!)

Sometimes I can't believe this is my life. I'm a former teenager mother. I have no college degree. I live in Arkansas, not Hollywood, Chicago, or New York. Yet all I do and have goes back to one thing: realizing God's designed purpose for my life . . . and having the faith to run with it.