by Shannon Popkin | Nov 13, 2012 | Communication, Hospitality, Leadership, Mistakes
One Sunday afternoon, I was shuffling through the stack of papers that had accumulated on my kitchen counter.One paper–obviously a letter–caught my eye. I glanced to see who it was from, but the ink at the bottom of the page had faded into oblivion. This...
by Shannon Popkin | Oct 30, 2012 | Anxiety, Holidays, Humility, Jesus, Kids' Perspective, Mistakes
A repost from 2010–just because I love this story so much. :)Tonight, when I tucked Cade into bed, I could tell something was bothering him. It was his pumpkin. The one he made today, in first grade. “I tried to listen to the instructions, but I just...
by Shannon Popkin | Oct 15, 2012 | Goals, God, Mistakes, Parenting, Sin
When I was a teacher, I always started out parent-teacher conferences by asking the parents if they had any concerns that we needed to discuss. One such parent voiced one that I wasn’t expecting:”I’m concerned about my daughter’s tardy,”...
by Shannon Popkin | Oct 9, 2012 | Jesus, Mistakes, Parenting, Wisdom
By: Shannon PopkinThis morning, when I went to wash out Cole’s thermos, I found that it was full. He hadn’t even eaten the healthy meat-and-potatoes lunch I packed yesterday, and now it had to be thrown out.So I lectured him about the price of beef these...
by Shannon Popkin | Oct 1, 2012 | Communication, Discipline, Faith, Kids' Perspective, Love, Mistakes, Pain, Parenting, Teens, Wisdom
My friend’s son was a 9th grader when a girl suddenly began inserting herself into his life in a big way. She came to his games, invited herself over, sent him texts (lots of texts). She was everywhere. My friend became concerned by how much her son was enjoying...
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...