Why Won’t My Kids Listen?

Spoiler alert: you don’t (and they won’t). Wait wait wait, please keep reading, I promise there’s something useful here! If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a ton of times: it takes a village. My friends and neighbors and small group and Mothers Ministry are my village, and someone from each one of those groups has either parented their children or somehow given me a tidbit of wisdom in PRACTICAL real-time situations that stuck with me. What I mean is, I read tons of blogs and books and listened to tons of podcasts on parenting, but there’s just something about seeing a mom interact with her five-year-old who is having a colossal meltdown in front of you that makes it stick with you more than all the best blog posts in the world.

Read on, and don’t forget to comment at the end if you have something that’s been particularly helpful in your season. Share so we can all benefit (myself included)!

It’s been ten weeks of quarantine. Since all this began, life has changed so much—both because of covid and because we had a baby at the peak of the pandemic. We’re not only adjusting to life with three kids but adjusting to a new normal along the way. And since every day is the-same-but-different as information and recommendations change, “new normal” seems like a moving target. 

Yes, another one. That’s the reality of this weird time we’re living in. Whether you’re only following your local news, social media, all the headlines, or just getting updates from your neighbor, by now it’s absolutely impossible to escape it.

What does that change for this blog? Nothing except maybe more posts as we sequester ourselves and try to remain healthy while still meeting the needs of our family. This time is completely unprecedented and so very strange — I imagine that is the sentiment you, dear reader, feel as well.

This past spring, my neighbor-friend and I co-led a Bible study for the ladies in our neighborhood on “Building Rooted Community.” We did a topical study on obeying the “one another” commands in Scripture: love one another, pray for one another, build one another up, encourage one another, be hospitable to one another, etc. One of the ladies who joined us suggested doing something tangible to welcome new neighbors who move into our development. It was such a great way to use the theme of our study toward a service project: something we could do together in our home, that would be kind for “one another” in our neighborhood. Enter: The New Neighbor Welcome Basket! The best part is that it cost less than $10 to make each basket.