One of the important spiritual preparations I've made this Advent to enable my heart to draw closer to the Christ-child, to recognise the wonder of God-incarnate, sent from heaven to rescue us from ourselves, is... ...to re-write Baby Shark with Nativity words. Yeah, that kind of sums up my … [Read more...] about THE ADOPTIVE ROLE OF JOSEPH IN THE CHRISTMAS STORY
Seasons
WHAT GOES IN OUR ADVENT BASKET?
The kids and I love Advent, and all the fun preparations for Christmas. We have loads of little traditions that we look forward to, and try to focus on sharing the story of Jesus' birth in creative and fun ways. One of these traditions is our Advent basket. You may do something similar in your home … [Read more...] about WHAT GOES IN OUR ADVENT BASKET?
END-OF-TERM TEACHER GIFTS: ARE THEY COMPULSORY?
It's that point of the year when we're all (figuratively, if not literally) crawling our kids to school, fingernails scraping the parched grass as we pant towards the finish line of next Friday. Of course, we're aware of just how much our children's teachers have done for them this last year, and … [Read more...] about END-OF-TERM TEACHER GIFTS: ARE THEY COMPULSORY?
WHY MY SON TORE UP HIS MOTHERS’ DAY CARD (AND IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK)
As an organised, sentimental yet time-starved Mum, my approach to archiving all those special bits and pieces that your kids produce (and which you want to keep because, my gosh, some of it is truly awful), consists of throwing them all into named box files. It works pretty well: each child has a … [Read more...] about WHY MY SON TORE UP HIS MOTHERS’ DAY CARD (AND IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK)
SHOULD WE AVOID MOTHERS’ DAY JUST BECAUSE IT’S HARD?
Every year Mother's Day rolls around. And every year I see a barrage of comments on social media or blogs about how hard Mother's Day is for many people. And every year there's someone who's calling for the whole thing to be abolished. I do wonder whether Mother's Day - like many festivals, … [Read more...] about SHOULD WE AVOID MOTHERS’ DAY JUST BECAUSE IT’S HARD?
5 FABULOUS THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR FAMILY THIS LENT
After the long Autumn term - which feels like it'll never end - this term, by comparison, goes in a flash. Linger in January for a moment too long, and suddenly it's Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday and BANG! We're into Lent. I love using the seasons and festivals to make some family traditions and … [Read more...] about 5 FABULOUS THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR FAMILY THIS LENT
THE UN-BIRTHDAY: CELEBRATING THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHILD YOU HAVEN’T MET
I wrote the following nearly two years ago, on the occasion of our twins' first birthday. Today, our twins turn one. I haven't yet met them, but I love them already. We need to celebrate - and yet how does one celebrate the birthday of someone they've never met? Someone who is already so firmly … [Read more...] about THE UN-BIRTHDAY: CELEBRATING THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHILD YOU HAVEN’T MET
ADOPTION AND ADVENT: COMING HOME
The following comes from my Advent devotional, Redeeming Advent. Buy it here! Advent, for our family, is a season full of traditions. I'd love to say that it was a time for increased spiritual growth, as I lead our young family in meaningful Bible reflections every morning - but, in … [Read more...] about ADOPTION AND ADVENT: COMING HOME
FOLLOW ME! LENT DEVOTIONAL FOR FAMILIES
It's a sad irony that the years when storyteller Amy Robinson and I lived in the same city never overlapped with the years of me being a parent, as I think our family would have loved her storytelling performances. The next best thing to being able to watch Amy, though, is surely to immerse … [Read more...] about FOLLOW ME! LENT DEVOTIONAL FOR FAMILIES