Angie Smith is amazing. When she spoke last year at a conference I attended, I was moved beyond words. Giving expression to the depths of despair and the heights of hope, she reminds us to trust God with the hurts and sorrows and longings of our hearts. This past weekend at the dotMom conference she described motherhood as "beautifully devastating." Oh my word! Isn't that exactly right? Devastate means "to lay waste" ... oh y'all, isn't that just what motherhood does to us? It lays ... [Read More]
Overflowing Grace
After an evening of yelling and crying and overflowing YUCK, she was in bed asleep and I found myself overwhelmed by how quickly life’s circumstances – even the really small stuff – can gain the upper hand in my heart. That old self talk began … “You’re a terrible mom!” “She is not going to want to be close to you.” “You’re going to mess this up so bad.” “Failure.” Weary from the day, all I wanted was to go to bed and start over. The ache in my heart and lies in my head made crawling ... [Read More]
For the Mothers … All of Them
As Mother's Day draws near, may I share from my heart a piece of encouragement? For the Mothers For those who have longed for a child of their own and will stay home from church today because it's too hard - may your heart be cradled by the God who LOVES you. For those who mourn the child they have lost - may your tears be captured the God who SEES you. For those who are bleary-eyed and exhausted from late-night feedings and too-early cries - may your strength be renewed by ... [Read More]
Nobody Told Me
This morning, I'll be at the crisis pregnancy center ... ministering to women and families in need of encouragement, support, and truth. My friend, Melissa Neshdahl, shares my heart for crisis pregnancy ministry and I'm so happy to welcome her to my blog today! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Friends in Christ, My name is Melissa Nesdahl and I’m honored to be guest posting here on Teri Lynne’s wonderful blog (Don’t you all just love her?!). Her passion challenges us to dig deeper into His Word, inspiring us ... [Read More]
Are you a polite parent?
{We're out of town celebrating my daughter's birthday ... so today, a compilation of posts from the archives on the topic of Polite Parenting. I do hope they are encouraging to you as this new week begins. ~ Teri Lynne} Several months ago I pondered the question ... "What if submission begins with simply being polite?" In the course of that pondering, we looked at applying that idea to our marriages, parenting, and other relationships. In looking at how the idea of submission relates to ... [Read More]
It Happens so Fast
Eleven years ago at 6:30 am, I was hooked up to an IV sitting happily in the maternity wing of Helen Keller Hospital in north Alabama. We'd arrived at the hospital around 6:00 am to begin the next chapter of our lives ... parenting. I was all smiles and welcoming hugs for the 50+ friends and family who wandered in and out of the room that sweet Thursday morning. As I noshed on ice chips and took pictures with various people, I was blissfully unaware of how much my heart would grow at 1:04 ... [Read More]
