by Shannon Popkin | Mar 19, 2012 | Compassion, Fear, Funny, Kids' Perspective, Parenting
It’s Yellow Ball Monday, and the Farmer’s Wife has the ball!Work-from-home moms tend to use rather unconventional methods of keeping their children quiet while making business calls. I’m not proud of it, but I used a frog and a bathtub with my three...
by Shannon Popkin | Mar 13, 2012 | Beauty, Fear, Goals, Teens
Last night, at a coffee shop, five moms and their middle school daughters discussed the crazy lengths girls go to for beauty. It’s ludicrous, when you consider how few of us ever achieve (and much less maintain) today’s stick figure standards. (We’re...
by Shannon Popkin | Feb 29, 2012 | Communication, Fear, Marriage, Witness
Last week, I put a stick of butter in a pan, turned on the burner, and reached for the milk. Only a few drops left.I thought, “If I leave now, I can stop at the store before I have to pick up Lindsay.” So that’s what I did. Only I forgot to turn off the burner.Thirty...
by Shannon Popkin | Feb 15, 2012 | Fear, Friendship, Mistakes, Parenting
Lindsay remembers the day in first grade that she couldn’t play with Abby at recess. She wanted to, but I had told her she couldn’t. I said that Abby wasn’t a good influence, and Lindsay needed to have more than just one friend. “So...
by Shannon Popkin | Jan 19, 2012 | Communication, Fear, Jesus, Kids' Perspective, Rescue, Salvation
I know it’s old fashioned to talk about hell. But since Jesus did, I think we should at least mention it to our kids. I mean, we tell them about the danger of hot stoves and electrical sockets and busy roads; shouldn’t we also tell them about the one who...
by Shannon Popkin | Nov 14, 2011 | Fear, Freedom, Jesus, Marriage
When I was twenty-three, I sensed God leading me to accept a job offer in Milwaukee. Before making the decision, I had visited a Milwaukee church, and being the single girl that I was, I scanned the pews for any interesting looking guys. Zilch. I didn’t see even one...