A Typical Mom Blog

Sometimes I write about things I don’t do well. This is one of those times. It’s not that I don’t want to do this well, it’s just that often, my sin gets in the way. Loving people with whom we disagree isn’t easy after all. If it were, we probably wouldn’t be commanded to do it.

These thoughts pertain mostly to the grey areas of life. Topics that are not specifically addressed in scripture. Adiaphora. Things on which we are free to agree to disagree. These tenets do apply to more direct Biblical commands as well, but in those cases, more care needs to be taken to discern what is truly freedom of opinion and what is not. For the record, I’m not talking about things that are clearly wrong, like driving slowly in the left lane. I mean, some states even have laws against such things, so there is really no need to discuss it.

I’m jesting.

[Read More…] about Loving Others

I don’t typically spend time in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder support groups on Facebook. Mainly because catching a glimpse of what life could be in 10 years for a child with an FASD is depressing, especially when looked at outside of the context of our individual lives. Separated from known success factors, such as a mom and a dad and a stable home, the statistics are dismal. Many kids don’t graduate high school. Many kids are in jail. Many kids abuse substances. And many commit suicide. Even with known success factors, kids with an FASD are likely to have very difficult teen years, develop co-diagnoses such as borderline personality disorder and depression, need psychiatric care and spend time in group homes, for their safety and that of those that love them, etc. It’s a rough road to say the least.

[Read More…] about Expectations

Several years ago, I was watching a popular talk show when the host introduced the author of a new book, The Gift of Fear. Although Gavin de Becker’s topic was dark and sinister, it was necessary and the premise remains the same today. We’ve been given the ability to fear. It’s wired into us. And when we’re confronted with the thing we fear, we should listen to the still, small voice inside our heads that tells us to run, to flee. It’s a gift and it’s benefited me on more than one occasion. I’ve been followed. I’ve been approached. And I’ve been spared, perhaps due to the gift of fear and most definitely due to the grace of God.

[Read More…] about The Gift of Fear

I was in college when I was confronted with a dark truth in Minnesota history. I don’t remember where I was or how I came about the information, but I remember what I felt. Repulsed. Horrified. Appalled. Three young black men had been lynched by a mob of thousands of white men in Duluth, home of my alma mater, about as far north as you can get from where these things were known to happen. Or so I thought when I was young and naive to the evil in the human heart.

[Read More…] about Where Do We Go From Here?

Several years ago, we reached an impasse in our homeschool co-op. It was during a time where many families who had been there for years had left and new families were coming in, many of whom wanted to do things a little differently and some of whom imported ideas we weren’t keen to adopt. And so we had some words and a bit of a falling out as many people in close relationships of one sort or another often do. Shortly after, I received a phone call from one of the women with whom I disagreed. She took the high road despite my lack of effort to meet her on it and she said something during our conversation that has stuck with me ever since. She admitted that we were far apart in our thinking on many issues, but she then said she believed we agreed more than disagreed. As Christians, we had a foundation. As moms, we had a foundation. As homeschoolers, we had a foundation. And she was right.

[Read More…] about Finding Common Ground