The Lord Will Fight for You!
The Last Lecture "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." Professor Randy Pausch spoke these words in The Last Lecture, a talk he gave at Carnegie Mellon University. He had just learned his pancreatic cancer, diagnosed a year prior, was terminal. Pausch didn't ask for pity or talk about his challenges. Instead, he...
Remarriage Rewards Come in Later Seasons
Happy Anniversary My husband and I celebrate 24 years of marriage this week! In the beginning, I wasn't sure we would make it to our next anniversary. With God's help, Randy and I learned how to navigate the turbulent waters of stepfamily life in a "his, hers, and ours" family. We now experience the rewards of remarriage every day with a love...
When It Feels Like You Can’t Forgive
Over the years, I've spoken to numerous stepmoms dealing with rebellious stepchildren. I've dealt with it in my own home. When my stepson was an adolescent, he would lash out at me. Some days I wasn’t sure there was hope it would change. And there would be no change…except for God and my ability to forgive. But forgiveness isn’t always easy....
Why We Need to Ask for Help
They needed help. Several years ago, I spoke with two stepmoms who were covered up with too much to do and too little time to do it. They were trying to do it all by themselves. With kids at home and constant household duties, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and underappreciated as a stepparent. Add working outside the home and you can have a...
When Our Thinking Becomes Distorted
There are times that our thinking gets distorted or blown out of proportion. Our youngest child graduated from high school this spring and has left for college. An empty nest brings many changes. AND many memories of when Nathan was home. Almost a decade ago I was reading a book to him titled Parts. It's a cute story of a young boy who gets...
