by Shannon Popkin | Aug 21, 2014 | God, Hardship, Parenting
On my son’s first night of football practice, his new coach started out with a short parent and player meeting to lay ground rules and set expectations.Twenty seconds in, the coach pointed at one of the players, leaned over and looked into his face, and said,...
by Shannon Popkin | May 2, 2014 | Hardship, Kids' Perspective, Parenting
I love……to see my kids red-faced, sweaty, and smiling, rather than pale and grumpy…it when they are fixated on the goalie box, rather than the box that the couch faces…to see them fighting together with a team rather than fighting each other...
by Shannon Popkin | Aug 28, 2012 | Anxiety, Church, Faith, God, Hardship, Leadership, Serving, Women
Last year, we left our church. Not the Church, mind you. But still, it was our church. And while we felt the Lord leading us to do so (despite our strong convictions against ‘church-hopping’), it was still really hard to leave. And hard to begin somewhere else.One of...
by Shannon Popkin | Jul 31, 2012 | Faith, Hardship, Pain, Problems
This lotion was like a magic eraser! When my friend spread it on her daughter’s horrible Eczema, the scales and blisters amazingly disappeared! Jen was so thrilled to be able to give her little girl relief.But within a short time, Jen noticed little bumps...
by Shannon Popkin | Jul 16, 2012 | Hardship, Marriage, Roles, Serving
I peeked around the corner into the living room, and shook my head in irritation.Just as I suspected, my husband was asleep in the chair.I turned back into the kitchen to finish making dinner. As I banged the pans around, the thoughts banging around in my mind went...
by Shannon Popkin | May 29, 2012 | Anxiety, Compassion, Differences, Hardship, Kids' Perspective, Mistakes, Rescue
Last week I asked my son who is favorite elementary school teacher was. He named several, but our conversation gravitated toward Mrs. DeKam–an exceptionally special teacher, when we especially needed one.The year before had been so difficult. My son had entered...