by Shannon Popkin | Mar 9, 2014 | God, Parenting, Wisdom
“Mom, can I take a bath in your bathroom?” my son asked, when he was about seven. “There’s no hot water left in my bathroom.” I tried to explain that all of our hot water comes from the same place, but he insisted that my bathroom’s...
by Shannon Popkin | Feb 27, 2014 | Christian Growth, Communication, Gifts, Goals, Leadership, Marriage
Words of blessing, allowed to sift into a soul’s murky depths, often act like yeast. Over time, these yeast-like words have the power to activate and give rise to areas of giftedness which otherwise might have lain dormant. Words can cause people to rise and expand...
by Shannon Popkin | Jan 17, 2014 | Faith, Fear, Gifts, Humility, Kids' Perspective, Pain, Parenting, seasons, Teens
As a mom, one of the most painful things in life is to see my kids struggle through something that is humiliating. I alternate between wanting to fix my child and eradicate the struggle, and wanting to pummel anyone who would dare to snicker or poke fun at...
by Shannon Popkin | Dec 20, 2013 | Gifts, Holidays, Wisdom
Some women are hard to shop for. They just are. You weave through the store, muttering, “Nope. She won’t like that. Probably not that, either. Or that.”Last Christmas, you spent far more than you budgeted on something that you had no idea whether...
by Shannon Popkin | Dec 9, 2013 | Holidays, Mistakes, Wisdom
I was a new wife. He was my new husband. And I returned his Christmas gift.It was a jewelry box–one of those big wooden ones–and he spent a fortune on it. But he encouraged me to take it back if I didn’t really like it.I thought I was being...
by Shannon Popkin | Nov 25, 2013 | Control Girl, Faith, Fear, Humility, Parenting
My friend, Amy, struggles with fear. Especially fear of something happening to her kids. She used to be convinced that if something life-threatening ever endangered one of her kids, she would go into a fetal position in the corner and never come out.But when I talked...