because of His great love
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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}
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}
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}
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}
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}
Bedtime often comes with a headache and a wave of nausea for parents. Visions of temper tantrums and creeping-feet-out-of-bed-for-the-15th-time haunt us senseless. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Bedtime can be an enjoyable time in your home. Yes, I promise. It really can. And as a bonus, you won’t go nuts. Before I offer you trouble shooting for those nightmares, I must mention that a good routine is key. If you work on this consistently, you will see {Read More}
Have you considered giving a set of prayer cards to someone you love? I was excited to hear how many of my readers were purchasing sets of the JOY prayer cards for their neighbors, nieces, nephews, and even friends. What a blessing it would be to give a gift that grows children in their walk with Christ! Because you all have blessed me so very much this year, I want to bless you, too. So, I am offering a $2 off {Read More}
The first time I heard the words they were healing. It was in the car on one of many trips home. With heavy hearts we packed for the week alone, saying goodbye to what I knew would be his last day in our home. For the 10 hour car ride, I had downloaded this new best selling book about being thankful. It hardly seemed appropriate given the circumstances, but I’ve never been one to argue with blatant popularity. So I {Read More}
Hi friend, this post is part of my series: parenting a hurting child. I pray that you will be blessed. Check out the other posts in the series and be sure to subscribe so you won’t miss any updates. I think of Samuel. Just a boy, he ministered in the temple. In a time when the Word of the Lord was rare, Samuel had a calling on his life (1 Sam. 3:1). His mother had surely taught him of the graciousness {Read More}
Hi friend, this post is part of my series: parenting a hurting child. I pray that you will be blessed. Check out the other posts in the series and be sure to subscribe so you won’t miss any updates. It was a rather ordinary day. Light rain beat down on the windshield as we drove home from our weekly Bible study. Our car pulled up to the stop sign and she stole our hearts. A precious lady standing there in the {Read More}
Hi friend, this post is part of my series: parenting a hurting child. I pray that you will be blessed. Check out the other posts in the series and be sure to subscribe so you won’t miss any updates. I am fairly positive that my in-laws celebrate holidays completely opposite of the way it’s supposed to be done. Well, at least that is what I spent the first few years of my marriage thinking. For them, a holiday can be celebrated {Read More}
Hi friend, this post is part of my series: parenting a hurting child. I pray that you will be blessed. Check out the other posts in the series and be sure to subscribe so you won’t miss any updates. Last week someone stopped reading my blog because I revealed that my family was using food stamps. Her words cut deep into my insecurity. In that moment, years of pain flashed before my eyes: empty pantries, social services offices, and divorce papers. {Read More}
Hi friend, this post is part of my series: parenting a hurting child. I pray that you will be blessed. Check out the other posts in the series and be sure to subscribe so you won’t miss any updates. She chased me with a knife. Up and down the hallways of our rather small double-wide trailer, my sister would chase me into submission. She was younger, but quite a bit more feisty. When she wasn’t holding me hostage, she was setting {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...
