Mamas, have you had enough?

I have.

I’m not talking about the clutter or the toys underfoot, the bad attitudes or the never-ending requests for a drink at bedtime.

It’s not the usual mama stuff, but honestly it’s more usual than it should be.

I’ve had enough of listening to the news and hearing about another black man, woman, teen, or child harmed, harassed, and/or killed for no particular reason.

The list is never-ending, and every one of the names on it represents a child of God. And that child of God was also a child of a mama just like you and me.

Except maybe not.

National Screen-Free Week is a special time for Disciple Mama each spring, because here we’re passionate about the benefits of eliminating as much screen-time as possible for our kids. In the best of times, screen-free parenting, and even setting firm screen-time limits can be a daunting task. During a time of pandemic and self-isolation, stay home orders, and extreme social distancing; setting screen time limits is even harder.

In fact, setting these screen-time limits is so difficult right now that Screen-Free Week for 2020, which was supposed to be May 4-10, has officially been postponed. You can read more about it at ScreenFree.org. 

Another week or so of this pandemic has passed, and tomorrow starts a new phase here in Michigan: Our governor has put a Stay Home, Stay Safe order into effect, calling for further restricted movement and business operations throughout our state, reflecting our infection numbers, which have gone from 0 to over 1000 in less than 2 weeks. My little family and I haven’t left home since I last wrote, though we’re all recovering now from whatever it is that we’ve been dealing with. But, though it’s actually been nice for us to have more time at home together in many ways,

Don’t just go to church–BE the church.

Have you heard that before?

No matter where you are in the world, your life has probably been affected by COVID-19, the novel strain of coronavirus that has rapidly become a global pandemic. Opinions on the dangers of the virus vary widely on social media, ranging from “It’s basically the flu, but not as deadly,” to “the world’s healthcare systems will be completely overwhelmed and millions of people will die.”

I’ve been following the coronavirus news since January, mostly because we were preparing for a family trip to Asia. I wanted to do my due diligence in being informed about the risks of our travel.

Fast forward to mid-March

Daylight Saving Time is back, I’ve got a crocus blooming, my daffodil leaves are poking up a few inches from the soil, and the local park is getting more visitors than it has in quite awhile. It’s (almost) spring, and it’s time to end winter hibernation and get the kids out of the house on a regular basis. Outdoor play for toddlers is important any time of the year, but now that it’s not SO cold (at least here in the north), let’s talk about some of the amazing and lesser-known benefits of getting motivated to take our kids outside!

My husband and I have decided to set a concrete goal this year, and we’re aiming to…

Do you have a word of the year for 2020? Last year, for the first time, I chose a word of the year to help keep me focused on how I wanted to work on myself (with God’s help, of course).

I’ve never been one to make a lot of new year resolutions, because I haven’t known a lot of people to be successful with them beyond the first month or two, and I know myself well enough to know that I’m going down in February (if not before).

It’s fall, and I’ve been working on this list of experience gift ideas for awhile, already. I know it’s early, and I’m completely on board with keeping the holiday season confined to November and December, but the reality is that if you’re on a budget, you have to plan ahead or your bank account can’t take the hard holiday hits!

It’s pretty easy to have a good spiritual focus for Thanksgiving, but when it leads straight into the materialistic frenzy of Christmas prep, there’s potential for our messages to get mixed. Don’t get me wrong: I love Christmas decorations, the smell of a fresh Christmas tree, and the thrill of giving and receiving gifts. I think there’s room for that at Christmastime, but it’s important for us as Christian parents to help our kids keep focus firmly on Jesus and family togetherness–that’s why I’ve put together this list of experience gift ideas.

Welcome to The Christian Mom’s Guide to Mom Guilt, Part 2: How to Deal with Mom Guilt. If you missed Part 1, What is Mom Guilt? Please go and read it right now, and then head straight back here to read this important information on a tough, but crucial topic.

Mom guilt

Mom guilt is not something I really put much thought into until recently. I am co-leading a small group on parenting at my church, and one of the topics we explored a few weeks ago was mom guilt, just because it kept coming up, and it seemed like it was worth digging into a little bit. Well, doing that little study on mommy guilt really going me thinking, and I realized that so much of the stuff I’ve been carrying around with me since becoming a parent falls into this mom guilt category.

I decided to write a short little devotional post to encourage moms, but when I sat down to actually find the words, I realized I wanted to know a lot more about what aspects of mom guilt that my readers/friends/peers are struggling with. So, I thought I’d send out a quick little survey so a few people might give me some insight. Well, 67 responses and 2 weeks later, I finally have the first part of what has turned into a small series on mom guilt ready for you.

Welcome to The Christian Mom’s Guide to Mom Guilt, Part 1–we’re going to dive into what mom guilt looks like and how to tell the difference between guilt and shame (and why that’s important.

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to share my experience and ideas about screen-free parenting with fellow ministry wives, and it was so much fun!

Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it because I was too nervous, but once I got started I really enjoyed sharing with these moms and helping them connect with some of what I’ve learned about the importance of screen limits for our kids.

Of course, some of these women were already aware of many of the facts I presented, and quite a few of them already limit their kids’ screen time. Many of the moms, though, seemed to be thinking about taking more action toward reducing their children’s screen use.

One of the questions I get the most–from moms (and dads) like these–is, “If I take away screen time, what do I do with my kids when I have to get something (cooking, cleaning, an important phone call, a shower, etc.) done?”

Well, I’m going to do my very best to answer that question today.