The nearly unthinkable happened last month: my 15-year-old went on his first date! We were out shopping for a new button-down dress shirt for his date when he said, “Mom! I have to look nice when you drop me off …
Inshallah: Finding Peace Through Letting Go
A year ago marks a turning point in my life when I said no to living in chaos and yes to living in peace. I didn’t know I was in a bad place; I thought I was coping. In fact, …
Silent Night
Now a few years removed from those early infant stages, it seems barely real; how I functioned through the bleary days after no sleep – night after night – pacing the floor alone with baby while the rest of the …
Tea Time: Finding Peace in Shared Ritual
A mother of young children is unlikely to describe her home as peaceful. Certainly lively, hopefully joyful, but not usually peaceful. And yet attaining a spirit of peace in the home is incredibly important and powerful; it can transform not …
Wholeness Within
The normal to-do list is overwhelming. The holiday to-do list makes me wish for hospitalization or incarceration just to escape it. The truth is we all can escape it by cultivating an interior life of wholeness. In my opinion, wholeness …
Wholeness, in Parts
I texted a group of mom friends this question: During the crazy holiday season, how do you create peace and wholeness – shalom – for your family? One mom responded that she needed some time to think about it and …
Christmas by Design
The holiday season is fast approaching, complete with delights and disappointments, merriments and meltdowns. What a blessing and responsibility it is to introduce the beloved story of Jesus’ birth to your child. Claim this holy work! As a mother, you …
Facing Political Talk at the Holiday Table
Here it is, the first Christmas season post the craziest presidential election in recent history, and you have to go over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house to face Uncle Bob or your sister’s neighbor. You know, …
Our Family Home
How do you define home? Is it the result of the neighborhood you choose, the messages and furnishings you fill it with, or the love you provide? In part, certainly all of these matter. But can you follow a step-by-step …