Welcome! Introducing the Family You’ll be Reading About..
Want to learn more about the Ellis family who are frequent subjects in my writing? Get a quick summary of each so you’ll feel like you’re one of the family.
Read, Laugh, Ponder, Learn, Share, Comment
Meet Melissa.. Sometimes I call her DB.
This is what one might call a “God Story.” I actually first met her when I was her camp counselor and she had big red-framed glasses and in the 9th grade. She was hip… I mean, cool. That’s the word we used then. And, so sweet. I remember she was a loyal friend and…
Practical Tips to Encourage One Another
Have you ever been reading the Bible and a specific person came to mind? And done nothing with that thought? Here are practical tips so that you are prepared to encourage one another right away.
How could this mother/daughter praise God during their suffering?
Have you experienced suffering? I tell you about one such time in my own life and some encouraging words from Psalm 118 about sealing God’s blessings in our hearts and not wasting a crisis.
The Load Bearing Column
Picture a large, beautiful southern plantation home with massive columns on the huge front porch. One, or at most a few, of these are LOAD-BEARING COLUMNS. The others are, well…. decorative,… and therefore, have no bearing on the sustainability and power of the structure as carrying the weight. The analogy is this: The load-bearing column is…
INTENTIONALLY Dreaming Big … About Money
Do you have any particular view on MONEY and SUCCESS? Are you INTENTIONAL in your parenting regarding teaching and living out a biblical view on money, possessions, and success? “Huh? What does that even mean?” you ask. I mean, do you have a goal in mind for shaping the hearts of your kids in their foundation…
High Chair Training: It’s Called R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Even children at the “high chair age” can be taught to show RESPECT. Yes, Respect… Communicating their needs with respect. Eating with manners – by not throwing food, continually dropping their sippy cup onto the floor over and over, watching you pick it up time and time again, without realizing that YOU have allowed HIM to train YOU. Wait?…
Want to have respectful kids who know how to behave, even in new situations?
This one parenting technique may possibly be one of the most significant things you do in raising respectful children who know how to behave in all situations. Once you understand it, you’ll most likely be using this every day to prepare your children to be respectful in whatever situation is coming up next. See this…
Kids Unloading the DIshwasher.. and the KNIVES?
I’ve been writing about TRAINING AHEAD – meaning training your child BEFORE they are expected to do something. This involves YOU teaching them by talking in a calm adult voice (not baby-talk), at their eye level, with clear communication, and letting THEM HOLD whatever ITEM there is so that they are DOING whatever thing you are…
Snapshot: The FRUIT of Your Training
I’ve been sharing photos from the past, showing you HOW we TRAINED AHEAD when the kids were YOUNG. (if your kids are not so “young” right now, it’s NOT too late..start now.) Would you like to see the FRUIT of TRAINING? . I hope this gives you a VISION of what YOUR children can do. Stay true to…