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A Change in Perspective
Heaven Not Harvard started with my acknowledging that all the world’s pressure on my parenting was creating unnecessary stress, weighing on me, pushing me to be cranky and insistent with an incorrect perspective, trying be a perfect mom based on imperfect standards. Inside my head, I yelled, ‘stop!’ And I shifted my parenting away from a generic “Harvard” goal and prioritized my focus on a “Heaven” goal. Over time, that mantra has shifted my focus in a myriad of ways, including my goals for myself, including my perspective on my marriage, and including events like Thanksgiving. Today, I simply wanted to focus on being thankful, with a peaceful attention on…
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Why Should You Stop Throwing Temper Tantrums
Why should I stop throwing temper tantrums? As parents, those generally aren’t the tantrums we think about. But over the past few years, I have grown increasingly convicted about my anger, especially towards my daughter. And one verse today just wrecked me. And I want to come to you from that place right now: not a place of having conquered, but still conquering, sometimes still failing. But I see God’s work in my heart as I grow more and more. My temper tantrums were damaging my family. Yours are too. God has called us to control our temper tantrums now. I’ve been trying to rewrite this post for days, but…
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Let’s get intentional, intentional!
“Intentional, intentional. I want to be intentional about my love for you, Lord. Intentional, intentional, I wanna get intentional in my home for you, Lord. Let me show you my Godly walk, let me show you my Godly talk. Intentional, I wanna get intentional.” If you didn’t just have a horrible 80’s flashback of Olivia Newton John’s ‘Physical’, I am sorry. Your life must have taken some horrible turn or you are simply too young to appreciate the power of 80’s music. You may also have missed the memo about my super power – taking random songs and making up words to fit any scenario. I am the Weird Al…
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Seriously Harvard!? How I reset my parenting expectations
My parenting expectations were WAY out of whack. I realized this after a harmless Facebook post almost sent me into a tizzy. A mom friend posted on Facebook. “My 6 yo daughter is so smart! Harvard should get ready.” She was being quippy. (Heaven not Harvard is as a participant in affiliate programs including the Amazon Associates Program. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.) But my mommy radar sounded an alarm, seeking some measuring stick by which to gauge if my daughter might also be in this very elite kindergarten predestined for Harvard group. I began to type a long comment, but paused. She was being funny. Her…
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Understanding How to Pray Ceaselessly as a Mom
Understanding how to pray ceaselessly was a lesson God had waiting for me as a mom. I had always known that prayer was important, but it was something we did at church, before meals, during difficult times. I didn’t really know how to pray ceaselessly, yet. One night, when my daughter was just three years old, her bedtime had slid backwards a few minutes because her glow stick bubble bath ran a little long. She had played until the water was cold, her fingers tiny raisins. By the time I was finishing her bedtime story, sleepiness had turned her into a tiny ball of hysterical giggles. Letting her laughter rise…
