by Shannon Popkin | Sep 19, 2012 | Compassion, Discipline, God, Mistakes, Serving
As my friend, Wendy, and I were waiting with the rest of the choir to go on stage, I noticed something. Her choir dress was black and mine was burgundy. And our folders were just the opposite–hers was burgundy and mine was black. “Let’s...
by Shannon Popkin | Sep 17, 2012 | Compassion, Food, Funny, Kids' Perspective
Here’s a conversation I had one summer morning, with my nine-year-old son: Me: Honey, did you open the side door in the garage this morning? Him: Yeah, I went outside this morning while you guys were still sleeping. Me: What??! What were you doing outside? Him:...
by Shannon Popkin | Sep 5, 2012 | Christian Growth, Communication, Family, Humility, Leadership, seasons
On Sunday afternoon in a shallow area of Lake Michigan, I called my family in for a huddle. I challenged them all to a contest. For the next day and a half–the last moments of our summer vacation–we would only speak positive words. Any negatively spoken...
by Shannon Popkin | Aug 20, 2012 | Family, Father, Hospitality, Kids' Perspective, Writing
Yesterday, I had my arms loaded up with good deals, and was headed up to the check out when a hanger slipped off one of the shirts I was carrying. Before I could bend down to get it, a little girl–probably about four years old–skipped over to that spot and...
by Shannon Popkin | Aug 13, 2012 | Humility, Jesus, Kids' Perspective, Leadership
When Cade was seven, my friend Karee told me about a conversation she had with him while waiting in line at church. Probably feeling quite grown up, compared to Karee’s little toddler, he turned to her and said, “So, how’s everything with your...
by Shannon Popkin | Aug 6, 2012 | Faith, God, Sin, Wisdom
For Cole’s fifth birthday, we bought him a fish, which he named Goldfish. Goldfish has become legendary at our house, and we love to tell her ‘fish tales’ over and over. Though the story I’m going to tell today is the last story of...