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Oh How He Loves Us: Guest Post
By Kristin L. Nelson There are no words to describe the depths of God’s love for us. His love is more powerful than any of us could every fully know. His love is strong, yet tender. He is the mighty creator of the universe, yet he knows each one of us by name. He...
Why I’m Not Afraid To Air My Dirty Laundry On Sundays
Last Sunday we returned from a family trip in the wee hours of the morning. After attending church and eating a good meal, we spent the majority of the afternoon relaxing, what we normally do on Sundays. A day of rest. A day set aside for worship. A day different from...
Slow and Steady Does Win the Race: The Challenge of Consistency
Remember that Tortoise and Hare? There's a saying, "slow and steady wins the race." Other words describing this principle are consistency perseverance doing the work Is it hard to be consistent and persevere when you don't see it paying off? In the Love Affair that's...
Knowing God’s Character
How To Be Strong When There’s A Weak Link
I'm 4% permanently partially paralyzed. A fancy way to say I have a torn ACL from a workman's comp injury. I have a weak link. As my surgeon released me from treatment, he said my knee will only be as strong as the muscle above it. "You have to keep that muscle...
Friday Chat
I'm sitting in a hotel room with my family trying to quietly type. I don't think it's working. There are lots of things happening in the ministry of Life Beyond the Picket Fence. Parenting: First, I'm excited to join the writing team at Ten to Twenty Parenting. I'll...
Intentional Parenting
Find faith-based life balance during the busiest years of parenting.
How To Respond When Faith Isn’t Tangible
There's a machine making background noise as I'm typing. It's a dehumidifier taking the moisture out of the heavy summer air. Every twelve to fourteen hours, a light on the machine says, "Bucket Is Full" because the machine has collected enough unseen water particles...
Parenting Resources
Brenda is a parenting columnist for 10 to 20 Parenting, NotaLone Mom, and Choose Now Ministries. Subscribe via email for weekly posts to your inbox or see current posts on the sidebar.
Forty-five. Why Mid-life Is Not What I Feared
Today I'm forty-five. Not forty, not fifty, but halfway in between. Half of my life is completed, if I live until ninety, by the grace of God. For to me, to live is Christ, to die is gain. Philippians 1:21 Ten years ago, for my thirty-fifth birthday, I borrowed a...
If Heaven Were A Place and Why I Stay Away
He stands in an empty room. It’s quite and still, but his heart speaks to memories the he holds. I couldn’t stand in that room, so I stay away. There are moments when the pain of what is gone is too great. It sears your mind and heart like a flaming sword reaching to...
The Important Things a Dad Does Wearing The Superman Cape
I was cleaning when Harold the Helicopter caught my eye. Harold's been sitting on my husband's dresser for years. It's the spot where he keeps his important things, a sacred place I don't usually disturb. "Dad can fix anything" was what my son said years ago when...