THE AWKWARD MOM

because uncomfortable conversations are the ones worth having

Category: challenging (page 2 of 17)

Struggling with Faith? You’re in Good Company.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

struggling with faith

It was a conversation in my cubicle more than a decade ago, but my friend’s words remain seared in my mind: “You know, I think God loves strugglers.”

You know? I see it. read more

2021 Best Posts of the Year!

Reading Time: 3 minutes

But for the last few days, I’d been sifting through a few emotions about 2022. A new year comes with some gravity–especially after a tough 2021 for my family.

Recently I completed a yearly prayer of Examen–my second year of a new personal tradition. Like the Israelites standing at the Jordan and choosing stones of remembrance (Joshua 4), I’m looking back at how I’ve seen God writing His story in and around me. And how his presence has met me there. read more

Thankfulness: 11 Spiritual Life Skills for Kids

Reading Time: 4 minutes
Time for a holiday rerun–with a few extras added in! In light of the release of Permanent Markers: Spiritual Life Skills to Write On Your Kids’ Hearts, here’s a list of ways to encourage your kids toward thankfulness this month. 

1. The running list.

At dinner each night of November, see if your family can collectively think of 10 more things you’re thankful for. Keep a running list.

2. Turkey day decor.

Display a vase filled with your list written on slips of paper. Alternatively, scrawl gratitude items on kraft paper doubling as a Thanksgiving tablecloth—complete with markers or crayons prompting guests to add their own.

I am thankful for... craft paper table cover

3. The classic: Thank you notes.

Set a small, doable goal for yourself to send out a certain number of thank-you notes to people who might be a little clueless as to just how much you appreciate them. You might also consider enclosing a small gift card (think Starbucks, Amazon, iTunes) to add an exclamation point to your gratitude.

Polka-dot thank you notes: Print them here.

thankfulness

Print this polka-dot thank you note here.

Airmail thank you notes: Print these here.

thankfulness read more

On questions God doesn’t answer

Reading Time: 5 minutes

As an author and voracious devourer of fiction, I consistently get a kick out of the comedy Stranger than Fiction (2006), with Will Farrell and Emma Thompson.

Will Farrell’s character, IRS agent Harold Crick, begins to hear a narrator’s voice over his life–a narrator who has power to determine his circumstances. And who indicates he’s going to die.

Harold seeks a literature professor’s advice (Dustin Hoffman), who suggests he start to find his author by determining whether he’s in a comedy or a tragedy. read more

When Your Child’s Rewriting the Narrative Between You

Reading Time: 5 minutes

rewriting the narrative

A couple of weeks ago one of my teenagers was super-miffed with my husband and me.

On a car ride home from church, after explaining a biblical position we held on a touchy subject, this unnamed teenager maintained his shock and sudden anger. read more

Hope: It’s What to Chew On (FREE Printable)

Reading Time: 3 minutes

hope

So there’s this chance raising teenagers could kill me.

I’m (again) in one of these parenting seasons where hope feels like a mind game. There is indeed a battlefield in my brain, in my soul. read more

Grieving After Divorce: How to Help a Friend

Reading Time: 6 minutes

grieving after divorce

Genevieve’s voice poured through the phone to me. She’s a former pastor’s wife still wading through court proceedings following a horrific, jarring divorce. That’s not to mention the affair, the pregnant mistress, the mental disorders and gaslighting.  Her descriptions called to mind a life upturned, shaken violently, spilled. How do you help a friend grieving after divorce?

Some pieces of her former life had temporarily skittered beyond vision: Her ally in the world’s onslaught. Financial security. A co-parent and advocate for their boys. Her helper to pick up the kids or fix the washing machine. A calm presence after a nightmare. Someone to process the day with. A lover of her body. read more

When You’re Scrabbling for Hope for *That* Child

Reading Time: 5 minutes

hope

Anyone else out there go through these seasons when you’re struggling to find hope around one of your kids?

Gnawing on this recently, I realized I’ve gone through seasons of this with each of my kids. Some more than others, sure. But there was that year when I was deeply concerned about my daughter’s manipulation. Or my son’s ADHD taking a wrecking ball to his relationships. Or that kid whose ego I could see splintering him off from listening to God. read more

Good News, Bad News, Chubby Donkeys: Memos on Waiting

Reading Time: 6 minutes

bad news loss

That day, in the whirlwind of working with kids at home, I received the kind of email I felt in my chest. Bad news.

I heard my respiration accelerate as my fingers curled the counter’s edge. My daughter watched my face, then looked at the screen. read more

Me, Overfunctioning: 3 Bad Things It’s Teaching My Kids

Reading Time: 5 minutes

overfunctioning

So over here, school has started again. I may have subconsciously avoided my boys’ room this morning, which at last sight looked like someone flipped it upside down and shook it. My daughter’s room was pretty similar as she rushed out the door. Hers just smells better.

What I want to do? Overfunction just a little. read more

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