There are some questions that we never knew people would be asking. It is even more strange that we are now baffled to answer such simple questions like, what is a girl? But, I think we have realized that this is no longer a simple question. What IS a girl? And how do you teach… Continue reading How To Teach a Girl Who She Is
There are too many things that a mother must worry about when raising her children. Food, clothing education, self-esteem, friends, physical activity, bad influences, good grades. But there is one thing that outweighs all of the little things that may keep her up at night. And strangely enough, many parents don’t give it a second… Continue reading Tell Their Story
It’s nothing new, we all have felt the war between what we know is true from the words of God and what the culture says is good and right. Most of the time though it doesn’t affect us directly, usually it is just those other people out there doing something we totally disapprove of. But… Continue reading Reclaiming Our Children’s Identity
Each teenager told their own story by their posture in the little church library chair that Sunday morning. Proud, comfortable, shy, sleepy drooling over a cup of coffee, all were present and in their own way eager to have the conversation. In our Youth Sunday School, some were just learning the language of faith, while… Continue reading Inspiring Conversations with Children
What do you want for Christmas? A new iPhone. How many times do you think Jolly Ol’ Mall Santa Claus hears that one this year? Wow, the pressures of Christmas presents, selfish expectations, and parenting issues tied up in this one little yearly tradition. Within earshot of course, mom’s eyes shift side to side and… Continue reading Guilt Gift
There are moments when the things that my children say take me totally off guard. Listening to the sweet little voices that come from their young mouths, yet hearing something totally unexpected and shocking. Most of these times it gives me opportunity to reflect on my parenting and try to discover where they learned such… Continue reading Expected Advent
Sound asleep. A squeal that I barely heard form the back corner of a dream. Open eyes, drowned in blackness and silence. I thought I heard a scream, but maybe it was residual imaginations from my sleep-state world. Waiting, straining to hear, eyes wide open even though I could see nothing. Holding my breath, listening… Continue reading Defective Mother
Blue or pink? That was the critical dilemma a few months before our third daughter was born. Choosing a wall color for the baby’s nursery should have been an easy enough thing, but it was weighted with more pressure than I thought. Choosing a color for her brand-new tiny eyes to focus on for the… Continue reading Create Their World
“It’s just confusing,” she said. I waited another minute as she fidgeted with her pink ribbon headband. As force of habit, she twirled the ribbon and then chewed on a chipped blue nail polished thumb. Not usually the careful thinker of the class, I almost wasn’t ready for the question for which she was trying… Continue reading Super Confusing Stories
I’m ashamed for her. I mean, there she is, acting like a fool again. She had every chance to turn her life around. Since her new life, she now knows what God really wants for her. She was almost over the mountain of her painful past. She was on her way out of the suffering.… Continue reading Fool-Proof Baptism
Cindy Koch 