I wrote this ten years ago. I’m glad I did, and that I stumbled upon it today, because it helped me remember that summer—along with the ones before it. Whether this sounds familiar or like a fading memory, I hope you’ll drink up the last drops of summer. ...
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...
I have absolutely no idea how my high school friends and I figured it out. Maybe we were driving along one day and it randomly happened. Or maybe we were trying out an urban legend. Whether it was on purpose or not, somehow we discovered that we could make the garage...
So it’s the last week of school. The last week! You’d think our house would be buzzing with cheerful enthusiasm and playful banter.But, no. We are dragging ourselves to the finish line. While I did wake-ups this morning, one of the kids whined,...
As a young mom, I was in a small group ladies’ Bible study. One day I shared a concern about my little boy. I was discouraged and fearful about some patterns I saw forming in him, and I just wanted my sisters to pray for me.But these ladies wanted to advise more...
When Cole was a baby, we were in a neighborhood play group. There were about a dozen kids, so it got pretty chaotic while the moms chatted and the kids rammed trucks into each other and banged pots on the play stove.On one particular week, I was asking the other moms...
When we moved into our house two years ago, the previous owners were kind enough to give us their big basket of Christmas lights. They even went so far as to give us a diagram, showing which strand of lights went on which roof peak.I was delighted! Now, at long last,...
By: Shanon PopkinWhen did I feel most loved by my husband this month?It wasn’t when he gave me the gift card which came with his new credit card. (Though I’m really looking forward to using it.)It wasn’t when he got up early to take our daughter to...
Dear Tiny Paragraph Reader,Can I talk to you a sec? I just wanted to say thanks. You–a reader with access to the world wide web– obviously have a lot of other reading options. I’m happy to have you visit anytime, but if you’re someone who stops by...
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...