How to simplify your life right now

Do you remember the simple things of childhood—after school games of hide-and-seek, kick the can, or swimming in the old swimming hole?

OR, as you grew older, you’d grab a hamburger after school and walk over to a friend’s house to study before going to the Friday night game?

I don’t remember ever having a conversation on how to simplify your life when I was growing up.

No one had a cell phone. A chat was face to face or over a telephone mounted on the wall and shared with the other members of your family.

No one had internet.

We didn’t know we needed it.… Read the rest

Summer’s transition into fall hasn’t gone so well this year, has it?

My youngest son lives 10 minutes from where the August 17th, Barcelona terrorist attack occurred. Another son and his family live in Helsinki, Finland, not far from where another terrorist attack happened the day after the tragedy in Spain.

Don’t you know that my mother’s heart was shouting, “What the hey?!? Those are MY babies!”

Next, on the world stage, we have North Korea defying the world with her nuclear threats aimed at the United States, and Russia distancing herself from America. That doesn’t make me feel real comfortable!… Read the rest

10 things to do with your grandchildren this school year

Having grandchildren in school opens up some unique opportunities for grandparents to be involved in their lives.

I know you may think that this is difficult if you live far away from your grandkids, work at a busy job, or aren’t able to get out on your own much.

But it’s not. Among the 10 ideas I’m sharing in this post are ones you can do even if you aren’t able to be active in their lives in person.

10 things you can do to participate in your grandchildren’s school year

Don’t wait to be invited to be involved. You’re the grandma here, so put on your big girl panties and participate in your grandchildren’s school year!… Read the rest

You’ve probably heard the story of the cute little frog placed in a pot of nice cool water. Slowly the water heated up until the cute little frog became a cooked little frog. He never saw, or felt, it coming.

That’s what happens in our families when we ignore the little changes that slowly take over our lives … until we start looking back and wondering what happen … and when did we stray so far from where we once were?

Losing your way

When Sally married, she never imagined her spouse would slowly become verbally abusive towards her. She’s put up with it for years.

… Read the rest

How to carve out a few moments in time for yourself

Yesterday I carved out a few moments in time to stop and look at five boxes of books I’d packed up to take to the thrift store. Did I really want to get rid of each book?

“Yes,” I firmly answered myself. (I love books. I should have been a librarian.)

So far, so good. I figured I had about six more boxes to go.

It isn’t that I was moving anytime soon.

No, this was my way of retiring. Packing up all the books I wouldn’t need again. Pastoral books, church planting books, mission books, Bible commentaries… you get the idea.… Read the rest

How to talk to yourself when you get discouraged

Ever get discouraged? Let’s face it. The biggest enemy of us is us. We talk ourselves out of victory in Christ and talk ourselves into emotional defeat more times than we care to admit.

At least I do.

I’ve served people long enough in ministry to KNOW that you do too. So don’t pull that “Whaaat?? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Susan” stuff on me.

We’ve got a problem. It’s called discouragement. And most of us get discouraged way too much.

You want your legacy to be one of joy, right? Like in “the JOY of the Lord is your strength” and “for the JOY set before Him, Jesus endured the shame and the cross….” THAT kind of joy.… Read the rest

Do You Accept the Paving the Way Challenge?

Whoo hoo! Hot apple pie and ice cream!

Can you believe it? Your kids have grown up. Wasn’t it yesterday that they were starting kindergarten? Where did the time go!?

Crazy, right?

But some kids leave home and never seem to connect with God. Whatever relationship they may have had with the Lord is stored away with their yearbooks and childhood memories.

Your heart longs to see them sharing their lives with Jesus, but it ain’t happenin’. As far as you can tell, that’s not changing anytime soon.

And that’s exactly why I’m thrilled to launch a new 5-day Challenge for you called Paving the Way: 5 Ways to Attract Your Grown Kids to Jesus…

…complete with surprises and prizes.… Read the rest

I’m not sure what hurts more, colon cancer surgery or a grown kid who isn’t interested in Jesus.

I’ve had both.

Did you know that 70% to 88% of kids raised in a Christian home will choose not to follow Christ after they finish High School?

If you weren’t a Christian when you raised your kids, the percentage is even lower that your children will ever become believers.

Maybe it’s something you’re embarrassed to talk about, but I’m not. I want to talk about it.

I want every, single, little toe that I played “This Little Piggy” with to make it to heaven.… Read the rest

Camp Grandma Ideas and Tips

Ready for a new download of Camp Grandma ideas and tips? Good, because we just finished our 2017 camp, and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Your Camp Grandma, Cousins’ Camp, Grandma Camp (or whatever you call your special few days with your grandkids) can be in your own home, apartment, at a campground, or on a trip.

Use the following ideas, tips, and resources to ignite your planning.

Quick tips:

Use your older grandkids as camp counselors.

It’s great bonding time and saves you prep time and energy.

I added granddaughter #3 to our camp counselor group this summer.… Read the rest

Father’s Day. Do those words put joy to your heart and a spring in your step? If not, it may be because:

You didn’t have a good relationship with your dad.
Your heart hurts for your kids who didn’t have healthy dad experiences.
Your grandchildren are growing up without a dad to look up to.
You miss your dad who has passed away.

I’m asking because I counsel so many people who struggle with father issues.

Even those who had a great dad often find it difficult to relate to God as Father.

They can’t feel His hugs or hear Him whisper words of affirmation in their souls.… Read the rest

When I was an awkward, chubby little girl, I loved to sneak away and play with my cousins in Grandma’s huge, old barn near our house.

We weren’t supposed to play in there, but with all the hay bales, ropes hanging from the rafters, and chickens with eggs just waiting to be used as weapons, how could we resist?

I distinctly remember my Aunt Nancy barging into our game of chicken war one Saturday afternoon.

She was super mad at her girls.

They were all dressed up for a wedding that now they were going to miss. I guess the eggs and hay all over their fancy clothes was a problem.… Read the rest