So what are some of the things we are doing “right”?  I asked my friend, Ana Hoeksema, to be thinking about that and she came up with some great thoughts…

LIVE: Have you seen those cute wooden signs all over Pinterest that say, “Excuse the mess, the kids are making memories”? I just love that! We live at home. The more we are there, the more messy it gets. We live and play and get dirty. We have piles of laundry. I’ll get to it one day. I prefer a neat and clean house, but not at the expense of living. I don’t want my kids to remember a perfect home; I want them to remember a home alive with activity and their favorite foods and sticky floors and unmeasurable joy.

LAUGH: In our home, laughter reigns. It is such good medicine to a weary soul. We laugh with each other constantly. We love movies and TV shows and funny YouTube videos. If one of us is laughing, everyone wants to know why. Laughter is unifying. Laughter is infectious. Laughter makes my home noisy and full of joy.

LOVE: We love. We love through discipline. We love through time together cuddling our little ones and sneaking in a hug with the big ones. We love by loving our spouses and treating them with selflessness. We love when things go wrong. We love when things go right. We love with unconditional, unchanging love. Showing our kids the love of the Father is the greatest act of love we bestow on them. The greatest gift of love is pointing them to the Source of joy, not happiness, but joy. Joy unspeakable.

I love Ana’s style!  If we will LIVE, LAUGH and LOVE our families well, we can count on our good Father to fill in the gaps.  We will never be that perfect mom with perfect families, but we will make some priceless memories down this path to raising the next generation!  You are a good mom and wife; just keep your eyes focused on Him!  He’s been this way before!

My love,

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You can swim confidently into the murky waters of parenting teens! Rescue offers wisdom, encouragement, and practical applications. Working with a group of young “Lifeguards” throughout the book, Candy Gibbs gives struggling parents the life preservers they need to rescue teens from a drowning culture. With Biblical insights and Candy’s own creative techniques, Rescue is the “Noah’s Ark” of parenting books, ensuring that today’s teens will carry on a legacy of godliness to generations to come. Find out more!