by Erin Weist I was thinking today about things I’ve learned about children since first starting out over 10 years ago. I was embarrassed to think about how little I knew back then and the mistakes that I made as a mother, but I hoped I...
by Diane Robertson Churches in Massachusetts this Thanksgiving face a conundrum for the first time: should they open their buildings up to the public to serve Thanksgiving dinner and risk up to $50,000 in fines or should they remain closed to the public to keep their...
by Ashley Corbaley "Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." -Alexander Hamilton Families are the fundamental unit of society. Everything good and bad in this world can boil down to the family. In today’s society the family is being attacked at every corner. Good family values...
by Erin Weist A fable written by the famous Greek storyteller Aesop tells of a group of three bulls. The bulls invariably pastured together, feeding and resting as a group, while a lion lay in wait. Because of their strength the lion was afraid to attack...
by Jackie Bowles In light of the upcoming Thanksgiving season, I have been thinking about the power of gratitude. I have seen so many blessings happen in my own life for being grateful. Frequent displays of gratitude seem to bring more goodness into our lives. In...
by Christie Masters Pornography is one of the greatest enemies of love in our time and its effect on relationships is devastating. The statistics on pornography are astounding, and its availability online has made it like a great darkness that threatens to blanket our nation and...
by Diane Robertson Sometimes, it’s best to step aside, turn it off, quit watching, or just stop paying attention. After the US elections, all media outlets emerged with pictures and videos of people rioting, crying, and venting their emotions. Social media was full of people defending...
by Ashley Corbaley "All happy families are alike." –Leo Tolstoy What does it mean that happy families are all alike? What makes a happy family? Parenting author, Charlotte Latvala shares six secrets for a happy family: Create Traditions Traditions do not have to be grand to be meaningful....
by Erin Weist Following a petition and protest by thousands of Mexican citizens standing against redefining marriage in Mexican law, a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage was shut down last week as the Commission on Constitutional Matters voted against the measure 19-8. The National Front for...
by Jennifer Johnson I am proud to say that I am the granddaughter of military veterans. My maternal grandfather served overseas during the Vietnam War, and my paternal grandfather would have deployed overseas during the Korean War were it not for health and family situations that...
by Christie Masters It had been almost two years that the exercise videos sat on the shelf covered in dust. A friend of mine had helped me choose them when she started a short term fitness group on social media. Every six weeks she would start...
by Diane Robertson I started keeping a personal blog in the early days when blogging was still popular in 2007. I was a young mother with 5 small children and they were and are the topic of that blog. Those 5 young children aren’t so small...
by Ashley Corbaley It’s the holiday season, a favorite time of the year for many people. While this is a wonderful season, it is also one of considerable stress for some families. Walking into the store the day after Halloween I was bombarded with Christmas music...
by Erin Weist Earlier this week I had the experience of being mocked on social media. If you’ve spent any time online this is not a revelation, the internet can be a brutal place to experience the full attack of opinions clashing with one’s own. However...
by Tashica Jacobson Life tends to get hectic from time to time for pretty much everyone; and when it does, it is easy to put some of the things that appear unnecessary on the back burner to deal with when life slows down again. Date night...
by Elise Ellsworth A favorite childhood memory of mine was my Great-grandma Leuthold’s annual Christmas gathering in Sherwood, Oregon. Nostalgic smells and a crackling fire greeted us warmly as we entered the gathering place. Aunts milled in the kitchen catching up and checking on the food...
by Diane Robertson The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear the transgender school bathroom case coming from the 4th Circuit Court-- G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board. The ACLU sued the Gloucester County School board in behalf of a student for protecting...
by Ashley Corbaley “The issues of power, control, and hierarchy are important in families. Issues regarding power are at the root of many family problems”- Richard Miller Issues regarding power are important in families and are often the source of many family problems. Why is that? I...
by Erin Weist Same-sex marriage has been in global news this week and it appears that many throughout the world are still unsettled regarding the growing acceptance of this new trend. Grenada is currently seeking to revise its constitution, introducing several bills through referendum, but has...
by Jackie Bowles Recently our school district invited parents to a Human Growth and Development (Sex Education) overview night. The presentation briefly stated the subjects that would be covered in the Human Growth and Development classes for grades 3-8. The summary was basically a one word...
by Mekelle Tenney Last year the “American Household Credit Card Debt Study” showed that the average American household credit card debt is $15,762. They also found that the average household auto loans average out to $27,141. Currently only 20% of Americans are debt free. Many people...
by Diane Robertson A couple of years ago, President Obama quietly changed Title IX by adding transgender to the law. Last Spring, the Obama administration stated that all schools that did not allow students to use locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports teams according to the gender...
by Ashley Corbaley “When you make the sacrifice in marriage, you're sacrificing not to each other but to unity in a relationship” –Joseph Campbell It is probably not a secret to most people that marriage requires sacrifice. Most things that are good in this life require...
by Erin Weist Beginning this week thousands of migrants are being evacuated from camps in the port city of Calais, France. The number of refugees camped in this area commonly referred to as “The Jungle” has swelled over the years, ranging anywhere from 6,000-9,000 people, the...
by Laura Friend A few weeks back I sat in my sister-in-law’s living room enjoying the company of extended family. My nephew and his wife sat close together, holding hands, and radiating that, “young couple in love” feel, which brought a smile to my face. My...