because of His great love
I’m a guy so I’m tough right? I can handle anything. I don’t ask for directions. I never cry (yeah right) and sometimes I’ll size another guy up and wonder if I can out bench him. We like being strong and hip to guy things. We’re talking with our buddies over the water cooler about the Miami Heat’s latest winning streak or how good our fantasy teams are doing or how many miles we ran on the treadmill that morning. {Read More}
“I want to teach a sign language class. Do you know anyone who would be interested?” Tamara asked during our conversation after church. This was music to my ears. Home schooling four kids ranging from 8 to 16 was always a challenge but trying to meet the state criteria for high school graduation seemed daunting at times. One requirement was two years of foreign language. The state of Colorado recognizes sign language for those requirements, and I had four children {Read More}
A pair of arms slipped around my waist and squeezed me tight. I looked down to see my son with his face buried against my side, his dark head tucked into the crook of my arm. We had just arrived home for the evening and life had slipped into its normal routine. Homework. Dinner. Laundry. Dishes. We had already had our nightly discussion about the things we needed to do and I had left him in his room, working on {Read More}
For a long time I felt like the world was just an unfair place. It wasn’t fair that my husband chose himself over his family and responsibilities. It wasn’t fair that I was trying to manage being a full time law student and a single mom. It wasn’t fair that my daddy was dying from cancer. It wasn’t fair that my son had a brain that is wired differently from “normal children”. Pity, party of one! You see my life was {Read More}
His voice broke the darkness. “Mama, I had an accident in my bed” It takes all my strength to open my eyes and peer at the alarm clock. 5:00 am. I swing my feet out of the bed and immediately feel the throbbing pain of the past two 60+ hour work weeks. The sheets are changed and he’s tucked back into bed when I crawl under my own covers again. But sleep won’t come through the tears. This is not {Read More}
One night after my daughter’s bus dropped them off at our house, my oldest comes to find me with tears on her face. You see, she’s nine. She’s in third grade…and she’s cute as a button. And the boys are starting to notice. She explained to me about a little boy who started chasing her…but this wasn’t the normal chasing. Chasing boys at our house is nothing new. I mean this is coming from the little girl who had her {Read More}
This is a tricky question. Where are all the military children from? This topic came up recently when I heard the children discussing whether or not they were from California, Texas, or Georgia. We are currently living in Nebraska and this is the longest place we’ve lived since my husband and I got married in 1996. All agree, however, that this is not the place due to the ages the kids are now. In 1996, when my husband was in {Read More}
I noticed something recently – men and women are different. Social media tipped me off. Check out the Facebook page of the average guy. Links to ESPN videos. Pictures of things shot, trapped, or hooked. Cars. Bacon. Jokes about farting. Then, check out the Facebook page of the average gal. Kittens. Links to Beth Moore videos. Poetry. Stylized quotes worthy to be pinned on Pinterest. Crock pot recipes. Insightful comments about feelings, relationships, child rearing. My electronic gal-pal Janelle posted {Read More}
I make the drive on autopilot, having made this trip hundreds of times now. I never bother to look for empty spots as I snake my way down to “our” parking stall, the one in the corner of the lowest level. “Our” parking spot is near the stairs. Some days as we run up the six flights to the top floor, I pause to exhale a prayer of thanks. Taking the stairs is a victory for my daughter. The first {Read More}
When the Third Reich was defeated and Germany was divided communist East and capitalist West, a story emerged from the broken country. It is told that in one area along the division, people from the East would throw their trash and debris over the wall, cluttering the West with junk. People along the wall on the West didn’t know how to respond or what to do to stop the constant flow of garbage. Until one day someone had an {Read More}
A hard lesson I am learning in motherhood is the need to be an enforcer of consistency and follow through in disciplining my kids. I am the first to admit I am a pushover! So, when it comes to following through on instilling consequences for negative behavior I can’t tell you how many times I have given in to second, third and (who’s counting anyway) chances. I have also, at times, completely forgotten the consequence I had given in the first {Read More}
Last November, we were given an amazing opportunity to visit the Creation Museum. (We have some relatives who live nearby who invited us to join them.) The trip was unbelievable. I left so excited about what this company is doing and about who God is. It truly blessed me. Wanna take a peak? The first part of the museum was the hardest for the kids. It was full of evidence that points clearly to God as the creator of the universe. {Read More}
A few years ago my life was turned upside down. I was enjoying the “American Dream”. I had a great family, a wonderful job and was plugged into an awesome church. However, as I look back upon that time I realize that in many ways I was living on pins and needles. From the outside looking in, people thought I had the perfect life but as I’ve thought more and more about it I’ve come to see that my life {Read More}
Hello new friends, I am Janelle Reed, founder of SingleMomzRock; a single mom’s ministry in Springfield, MO. I would like to share with you a little bit about me and my journey these last few years and how I came to helping single moms in my area. I grew up in a small town in Southwest Missouri and married my high school sweetheart, but in 2010 after 12 years of marriage, I was faced with a divorce and being a full-time {Read More}
It was one of those days of ugly. You know, the type where you and your spouse can’t keep from arguing and it (almost) feels like a relief to put things out of your head and into the open. This time it was about how much we pay attention to each other. The problem was rooted in his military career and who was paying less attention to whom when it came to our downtime. We weren’t connecting very well but {Read More}
This blog is the story of a broken girl living in a messy world. A girl who was once consumed by the circumstances, but is now consumed with the love of Jesus. I invite you on this journey as I daily give God the pain and invite Him to fill the emptiness, choosing never to be consumed by anything else again. Read More...
