Homewise: Building Blocks For Discerning Women

What do you do when you are home all day with young children? What does it mean to BE WITH your children? How do you get things done? What are some practical things you can do with naptimes, mealtimes, bedtimes, playtimes, to keep a happier home? How can you consistently build biblical foundations in your littles? The post Home (Not) Alone appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.

Steve & Kara talk about their child (still in the womb) being diagnosed with spina bifida. How have they seen God’s providence and care during an uncertain time? How are they making decisions and thinking about the future knowing their child is likely to have physical challenges his whole life? See how you can help the Murphy family during this time HERE. The post Pregnancy: Carrying a Baby with Spina Bifida appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.

What is the role of parents in the process of courtship? What kind of physical contact is appropriate for engaged couples? How do you get families on the same page with their expectations? With more people involved in the relationship there is more opportunity for sin, how can you deal with this rightly? How do you keep a humble attitude when two families don’t agree about how courtship should go or what the wedding should be like? The post Navigating Courtship appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.

How can we regain some sanity on this difficult issue? Is there a formula? Does courtship always have to work the same way for every couple? Can courtship ever be a sinful thing? Is fear a driving force in your family’s understanding of these issues? Steve and Kara discuss some of their experience as their children have started to marry. The post The Case for Courtship appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.

What are some of the things that “kids” need to be able to do before they are ready to take on the responsibility of marriage? Do they need to be ready to parent? What does it take to be financially ready? What level of maturity is needed? What are appropriate expectations? How can you gauge their emotional readiness? The post Marriage: Knowing When Your Kids are Ready appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.

How do you start preparing your children for marriage? How can you cultivate a good attitude toward marriage from an early age? How does the preparation differ for sons and daughters? What kinds of practical skills do they need? The post Preparing Teens for Marriage appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.

How can we maintain a gracious attitude toward those we have disagreements with about non-essential issues: breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding, home birth vs. hospital birth, vaccinate vs. not-vaccinate,  homeschool or Christian school, organic vs. not-organic. Families have strong opinions about these and other topics. How can we keep these things from becoming divisive? How do we keep from creating laws for each other where God allows freedom? The post Being Gracious on Non-Essential Issues appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.

Kids will do what you do not what you say. When you yell at your kids to stop yelling, what are they learning? Are you telling your kids they should be saving their money while demonstrating how to get into credit card debt? Living out a good example is a powerful form of teaching. The post Kids Do What You Do appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.

What price do children pay when their parents are uptight, controlling, and fearful? Does being plugged in to all the social media feeds and parenting apps breed an uptight attitude in your parenting? Are you constantly comparing yourself to everyone else?  What does fear have to do with it? Why do parents think they can control EVERYTHING? Join Steve and Kara for conversation on loosening up when necessary. The post Uptight Parents Make Uptight Kids appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.

It’s easy to let things slide. How do you regain ground when you realize that you or your kids have backslidden on tasks or skills or habits you’ve already learned or thought you’d mastered? How can you revisit old lessons in a way that makes your family stronger and keeps you moving forward. Are there times when it’s okay to coast for a bit? How do you know when it’s time to hit the reset button? The post Pushing Reset appeared first on Highlands Ministries Online.