Discipline is one of the most constant forms of leadership in your daughter’s life.

And one of the easiest to get wrong.

It isn’t about punishment, shame, blame or guilt.  Discipline, at its core, is about teaching and training for life.  If you are a mom or mentor of a teen girl, then you are in that training arena right now. 

School is not her only learning space.  In fact, her largest learning space is in your kitchen, your car and in your living room.  When was the last time you ...

Somewhere scattered in the spring of 2018 our family visited the Grand Canyon.  While the views were breathtaking and the experience was priceless, our unexperienced selves were not prepared for 3 important lessons we were about to learn that day.

1. The temperature drastically changes going up to the canyon ridge. We were all comfortable in the dry Arizona heat, but quickly turned ice cold when we stepped out of the van. By the time we left, all six of us were outfitted with brand new Grand Can
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 She is coming at you, erratically throwing every behavior and emotion bomb she has in her arsenal.

Sadness.
Anger.
Frustration.
Passive aggressiveness.
Maybe even a little deceit.

It looks like your daughter, but in the moment you’re not entirely sure.

Then you feel it.

That rush inside of you as your own army of frustration, sadness and anger begins to rise up and prepare for battle — and you still don’t even know why this is happening.

What do you do?

Do you let emotio...

No one applauds the mom who shows up for the 109th practice.

No one hands you a trophy for sitting in the carpool line again.

But heaven sees it.

Here is the truth: the most powerful leadership in a young woman’s life often happens behind closed doors.  It is unseen, unpaid, unrecognized work that is eternally significant.

I am starting a new series called The Leadership No One Applauds because it is easy to feel like your efforts are meaningless when you don’t see the fruits of your l...

If you have a daughter, or are around youth in ANY capacity, it is impossible to miss the conversations about being left on “read”. 

What does this mean?

It means that your daughter sent a text message and the someone on the other side read it, but did NOT respond.  (note… on any iphone you don’t even have to be on “read”, you can just be on “delivered” and the same cascade of emotions can occur because on those phones you are able to “see” a message without technically opening it)

W...

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it". – Proverbs 4:23

How do you guard your heart? 

The same way you practice love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness and faithfulness…. through the ninth and final piece of the fruit, self-control.

Self-control, or often referred to as self-discipline, is the cornerstone of it all.  This is about what you choose.

Choose Christ.

Choose to love.

Choose to seek and hold joy.

Choose peace.

Choo...

Years ago, I was a new believer sitting in the corner nook of a church in Indiana, sorting through the newness of it all.  The vocabulary, stories, truth… the scales were falling from my eyes so fast that my vision seemed blurry.  Then I overheard something from a neighboring conversation that was stated calmly, but abruptly, and I was immediately sobered from my spiritual stupor.

“Even demons believe in Jesus”. 

What?  That didn’t seem right.  How could something so good be believed by ...

Have you ever read through the fruit of the spirit and mumbled through goodness, kindness and gentleness like they were one big lump together?  Aren’t they all about the same thing?  We certainly have used them interchangeably in our culture and I know that when “Be good”, “Be kind” or “Be gentle” rolled off my tongue as a mom of 4 toddler girls they all meant, “Please don’t smack your sister in the face and grab that toy!”.

The truth is, these three attributes of the Spirit, and of maturity...

Every part of the Fruit of the Spirit serves a purpose. Each attribute stands alone while simultaneously depending on its counterparts in such a way we will only begin to understand in this life.  But one thing is certain…. you cannot bear just part of the fruit, if you have surrendered your life to Christ then you bear the WHOLE fruit.

Have you ever seen an apple tree produce just apple peels? Or an avocado tree produce just large brown pits?

No.  Of course not.

There are many parts...

A heavy storm pounds your windshield as you try and make the next kid pick up, meeting or drop off.  You honestly don’t even remember.  The wipers do their best to keep up with the large dollops of rain, but they are no match.  You just need to see ahead to the next car and maybe, hopefully, the yellow and white lines that act as suggested guardrails at your sides. 

It is so easy to focus on the rain and what you are doing to dodge the storm that you forget about the purpose and gift of rain.  ...