[from the archives] We walked down the trail toward the camp glad to be finally going down hill! I was in the lead, because I’d gotten a head start, knowing that I’d soon be at the back of the pack as my energetic family would pass me by. Lizzy was right behind me followed by… Continue reading My Rights vs. Love
Category: Posts by BARBIE POLING
Something’s Missing
[from the archives] We’re camping on the Oregon Coast. It’s so beautiful out here! The waves are crashing on the rocks, and making huge powerful splashes. The trees are so interesting as they’ve been mis-shapen throughout their formation by the constant wind. We’re enjoying our new-to-us trailer and the bubbling of the little stream running… Continue reading Something’s Missing
Fault-finding and hidden sin
[from the archives] Josiah came and sat down on my bed. “Lizzy says I’m picky. Do you think I’m picky?” He was not offended, but pensive. I was chatting with a somewhat distressed mom on facebook, so he heard the “pop, pop, pop” of the facebook chat and knew that it was just as if… Continue reading Fault-finding and hidden sin
Driving You Crazy or Drawing Closer?
[from the archives] This afternoon I walked into the chiropractor office with Lizzy and Josiah. An elderly man was sitting in the waiting room, and as my eyes fell in his direction he began speaking to me. “Just wait till those get to be teen-agers,” as he pointed to Lizzy and Josiah. “They’ll drive you… Continue reading Driving You Crazy or Drawing Closer?
Birthday
[from the archives] I came into the living room early in the morning to hang Josiah’s Birthday Banner. I made one for each of the kids when they were young. Each year on their birthday I put a “patch” on it that represents something significant about them or their interests for the previous year. The… Continue reading Birthday
The “Dance” Ends
[from the archives] In my previous post I described a habitual relational interchange that was relatively frequent between my youngest two children. Josiah would like to tell Lizzy how something should be done, Lizzy would ignore him, Josiah would become frustrated and finally try to grab what ever it was, Lizzy would deflect and body… Continue reading The “Dance” Ends
Christlike Character and Chores
[from the archives] Rachel came into my room and flopped onto my bed. “Hi Mommy!” she said in her happy-to-see-me high voice. She rolled over to face me with her chin in her hands and asked me what I was doin’. “I’m trying to sort through these Lifestyle of Learning articles. I want to categorize… Continue reading Christlike Character and Chores
Provoking and Offense
[from the archives] “You can blog about how I ate FIVE strips of steak, Mommy!” Lizzy recommended enthusiastically as she finished off her fifth piece. We all burst out in laughter, and so did Lizzy. That’s very common at our house—laughter. So there you have it. I’ve blogged about Lizzy’s five strips of steak! The… Continue reading Provoking and Offense
Unloving Control Ends
In my previous blog I talked about the unloving way my son Phillip used to handle kitchen clean-up. He saw that his younger siblings were not doing what they were supposed to do, but he responded by trying to control them with harshness, like so many parents try to do with their own children. At… Continue reading Unloving Control Ends
Getting More Specific
[from the archives] In my last blog post, I was talking about training my children to clean the kitchen in love together as a team. As I think more about my kids’ process of learning, I remember more about how it used to be as I dealt with their hearts in this area. Phillip was… Continue reading Getting More Specific