Loving My Children

On a recent family road trip, we stopped at least once an hour. No exaggeration. By the fifth potty stop for the same child, it was all I could do to hold my tongue as we walked to the restroom. I felt impatience filling me like a balloon, and I was about to burst. I can’t even tell you which rest stop it was or what state we were in, but the Lord reminded me of this verse tucked into Genesis, “…I will lead on slowly…at the pace of the children” (Gen 33:14). Jacob’s words slow me down every time. At the pace of the children… When my son can’t find his shoe and everyone else is in the car. When my daughter takes twice as long to eat her lunch as the rest of her siblings. When my two-year-old decides to potty-train, something I didn’t write on the agenda for the first week of school. When one child takes longer to learn to read. When a sleepy toddler needs to be carried halfway through a family walk. Whenever I feel like a child is slowing me down;

In 2013, three of our (then) four children were diagnosed with the same rare genetic condition. Overwhelming grief entered our home in a way my husband Scott and I'd never experienced.  In God's providence, he put the words on my heart to write the draft for a short book titled  L oving My Children: Embracing Biblical Motherhood prior to our children's diagnosis, little knowing that the truths it contained were the ones I myself would need most. While visiting a church to share about my book, I woke up early one morning and went for a walk.  Today, the True Woman blog shared how God met me on that walk as part of its recent series, "You Can Trust God Stories." Read the article and be encouraged that you can trust God too.

Fourteen years ago, I nibbled Saltines to settle a queasy stomach before climbing out of bed in the morning. I craved anything citrus, super-food for a growing placenta. As I moved into the second trimester of my first pregnancy, a ravenous appetite replaced morning sickness. Blissfully oblivious to the idea that eating for two was an old wives’ tale, I dug into that extra bowl of Breyer’s ice cream with gusto and a super-sized spoon. It wasn’t long before my mom, a fruit connoisseur, brought beautiful fruit salad—a mix of melons and luscious berries with some bright, yellow pineapple chunks—to my bedside as I recovered from an emergency C-section and fumbled with the art of breastfeeding. At home with my newborn son, my mother-in-law fed me post-partum bran muffins and my pastor’s wife brought her famed lasagna. There was a perfect food for each stage of my early motherhood, and it reminds me of manna, the perfect food that God provided for the Israelites when they wande

"Each fall, I see the yellow school buses navigating side streets. I see clusters of parents walking their children to the neighborhood elementary school. I 'like' pictures of friends’ children posing for the first day of school. Then I turn around and see four of my children huddled around the kitchen table completing math problems as my toddler places colorful ABC magnets on the refrigerator. I’m deeply grateful that my mom chose to educate my four siblings and me at home during our formative years, and it’s my privilege and joy to instruct my kids at home also. But I try not to talk about it much." Why do I downplay our family's educational choice? Read more at The Gospel Coalition . For more about Katie's book,  Loving My Children ,  click here .  Email Katie at  lovingmychildrenbook@gmail.com .

We want quick fixes and immediate answers, conflict resolution and happily ever after. And we want it all yesterday. I increasingly see the distance between what we want and how life often plays out. We walk in this wilderness space between “it is finished” and the resurrected life. Sin is defeated, but it still plagues us. Promises are ours, but they’re not all realized. We have hope, but some is deferred. Whether we battle our own sinful tendencies or disappointments, face a new diagnosis or a child wrestling with faith, weighty matters squeeze our hearts. And often, whether we like it or not, we can’t see the end from the beginning. What do we do with our unmet expectations, especially the ones we never knew we had? Our expectations for marriage, healthy children, godly children, enduring friendships, a church that feels like a home, or a robust bank account? We’re given a multitude of choices, and one is to take the long view. Sometimes the long view is rea

What does it really mean to be a good mom anyway? I'll never be good enough according to my own definition, let alone everyone else's. The good news is that I don't have to be. I just need the One who is good. Read more of my latest article at Her View From Home: I'll Never Be a Good Enough Mom . For more about Katie's book,  Loving My Children ,  click here .  Email Katie at  lovingmychildrenbook@gmail.com .

You are not alone. You are not invisible. I see you. I see you struggle to get out of bed. I see you go through the motions. I see you do the next thing. I see your outer shell, but I also see into your heart—the real you. You are not voiceless. I hear you. I hear all of your questions and cries, even the wordless ones. Don’t think for one minute that your words fall on deaf ears. You are not unknown. I know your past, present, and future. I know your scars, pain, suffering, and agony. You are not forgotten. Others may move on, but not Me. I remember. I was there then, and I’m with you now. Do you feel abandoned? I’m here. Do you feel lost? Come to Me. Is the darkness overwhelming? Even darkness is as bright as day to Me. I see all of “it”—the mess, the worry, the fear, the loss, the struggle, and the confusion. Your tears? I catch them all. Oh, my dear one! You are seen, heard, known, remembered…and you are loved. So very loved. I lov

Do you ever read a verse in the Bible and associate it with a particular time in your life? I read certain verses, and I immediately picture myself among a circle of teenagers memorizing Scripture for Sunday school under the encouragement of godly teachers. Or I remember a crisis with my children and how God used a Bible passage to illuminate truth and provide comfort in a specific and personal way. God used a friend and  Galatians 1:10  to unpack a spiritual principle for me in my teen years that has been so helpful. We were walking uphill as my friend recited, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” ( Gal 1:10 ). My friend struggled with an eating disorder, and one of her high school sports coaches recognized its impacts on her health. He happened to be a Christian, and in a compassionate way, he sought not only to care for her physical health, but he also brou

My five children don’t have to look past their bedroom doors to know who their neighbor is. He lives in the bunk bed above or she sleeps in the crib across the room. Sibling relationships provide one of our earliest opportunities to learn what it means to love one another. Having grown up in a large family myself, I sympathize with the challenges of sharing a bedroom with a sister. It isn’t easy when one habitually leaves her clothes scattered on the floor and the other likes everything to not only have a place but be found in its place. Not only did my sister Becky and I share a bedroom, but we also took turns doing the laundry. One day, our clothes came out of the dryer with streaks of purple on them because my sister forgot to take a purple crayon out of her pocket before tossing her pants into the load. I remember making the difficult choice to love and forgive my younger sister when my initial response was anger and resentment. Memories like this one help me to understa