For all the women who mother ... by birth, through adoption, through child sponsorship, through teaching, through surrogacy, through simply loving the children (little and big!) God has placed in your path From my heart to yours ... thank you! Happy Mother's Day! For more thoughts on motherhood, may I invite you to read "For the Mothers," a tribute I wrote a few years ago. My "Dear Teri, Love Teri" series is also filled with gentle words of encouragement and grace for mothers everywhere. Or ... [Read More]
{Dear Teri, Love Teri} An Index
My desire to write this series was born from watching moms who are younger than I am straining and stressing to do and achieve and promote and make themselves known. They make me tired. I hurt for them. I want to encourage these sweet souls to slow down, to let go of the expectations and the plan sometimes. I want to tell them that it's okay NOT to know how to pray or even what's for lunch. I'm very average. I have a unique gifting and calling and I long to live in those ... but I am ... [Read More]
{Dear Teri, Love Teri} For the Years Ahead
Dear Teri, We've reached the end of these letters, at least for now. Your girl is twelve and she is beautiful, inside and out. Don't lose sight of that in the months and years ahead. I know you tire of others who tell you how bad the teenage years can be. The next few years will be filled with challenges you cannot even imagine right now. That's one reason why it is so important that you treasure every day. Laugh with her, get to know her friends, and make memories. But know ... [Read More]
{Dear Teri, Love Teri} You’re Not a Quitter
Dear Teri, Washing dishes, making beds, and cleaning house. Tasks that you complete almost every day. A never-ending cycle of picking up and laying down. You come from a long like of picker-uppers and layer-downers. From both sides of your family tree are the strong women who sacrificed self for child. You've been welcomed into a great cloud of witnesses to the glory and the grit and the grace of motherhood. From great-grandmothers who have whispered words of wisdom deep into your ... [Read More]
{Dear Teri, Love Teri} Treasure Each Day
Dear Teri, You can never know what day will change your life forever. Today is one of those days. May 7, 2004. You had no idea when you took the girl across the street to have her portraits made while Scott was at the doctor how much your life was going to change. Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic purpura: a bleeding disorder in which the immune system destroys platelets, which are necessary for normal blood clotting. Persons with the disease have too few platelets in the blood. {U.S. National ... [Read More]
{Dear Teri, Love Teri} You Can Change Your Mind
Dear Teri, You've said some pretty ridiculous things about parenting! In fact, there have been a few occasions when I wish I could have taped your mouth shut. For example, you might have forgotten saying, "We believe it is our job to protect our daughter. Therefore, we will never put her in public school." {How'd that whole foot taste as you choked it down?} The point isn't, though, that your girl is now in public school. The thing is you're learning to understand that there is rarely ... [Read More]
