When it comes around to late February and early March we are desperate for some tulips to start blooming. But alas! It still isn’t time to start planting. What do we do with these gloomy months of waiting? And how does the waiting help prepare us for the glories of Spring? 

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Christie Purifoy is a writer and gardener who loves to grow flowers and community. Most of all, she is a placemaker, and the place she is making with her family is a red brick Victorian farmhouse in Pennsylvania called Maplehurst.

She’s the author of numerous books including Seedtime and Harvest: How Gardens Grow Roots, Connection, Wholeness and Hope which was released by Harvest House Publishers in March 2024, which completes her trilogy of gardening gift books that began with Garden Maker (2022) and A Home in Bloom (2023).

As a Christian mom, I should know better than anyone that nothing I do is invisible. Everything I do—or neglect to do—is fully and completely known to God.

There’s no such thing as an invisible mom or a supermom. But there are moms who are fully known, fully forgiven, and fully loved in Christ. He has called us to live in the light as he is in the light. And as we abide in him, we need not fear our labor is in vain.

Sometimes it feels like the world depends on us and yet amidst our worry and wrestling, the Lord reminds us to call him “Abba, Father.” When we anchor ourselves to God through prayer, we free ourselves from the myth of our own sovereignty and trade anxiety for joy. 

If I’m totally honest, the idea of talking to my kids about sex isn’t the most appealing. But as a Christian parent, it is important that my kids are blessed with  a biblical vision for sex and sexuality. If I neglect this responsibility it may be the case that their thinking is informed by the world.

Today we are going to be talking with Garrett Kell, father of seven, pastor of Del Ray Baptist Church and author of the book Pure in Heart about how to talk to our kids about these sensitive subjects. 

We are going to talk through three general areas: how to first introduce the concept of human sexuality and baby making with elementary age kids, how to shepherd kids in purity as they reach puberty and how to help kids think biblically about the sexual confusion they might encounter among kids of their own ages. 

Below are some books for kids that Garrett recommends:

God Made Me Series
The Story of Me
The Talk: 7 Lessons to Introduce Your Child to Biblical Sexuality
Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today's Young Kids

In order to lead well, it helps to plan.
Nine times out of ten, days that I tumble into without intentionality, prayer, and planning feel more like chaotic, cranky, messy disaster zones I am desperate to get out of rather than orderly, productive, creative days filled with adventures and joyful memories.

The natural bent of this sinful world is towards destruction and decay. If I’m not proactive about it, my days are not going to bend that way too.

D.A. Carson stated, “we don’t drift towards holiness.” Delighting in the Lord, enjoying our kids, and creating an atmosphere of belonging and becoming doesn’t just happen.
Listen in for thoughts on priority setting, long term goals and daily habits and for a look at the mom chart.

If you'd like a hard copy of the mom chart email me at [email protected]

In God’s economy, joy and sorrow are often handmaidens. 

Christmas is a time of gladness –but often sorrow and joy go hand in hand. You can’t have the miracle of the resurrection without the cross. The birth stories of Jesus and his Eljah like cousin, John the Baptist, are no exception.

“Some longings have a season, but the nature of longings itself is universal. God has written everlastingness into our DNA; these time-bound hearts of ours were made to live forever, and when we cease to yearn and dream and ache and aspire, we cease to catch that soft sweet song haunting the borders of life, subtly, persistently, ardently calling us home.” -Lainer Ivester

Advent is a tradition that has been celebrated by Christians around the world since the 5th century. 

Rightly understood, Advent is a time for Christians to look back at God’s work in bringing the infant Savior into the world and look forward to when Christ will return as the glorious King to judge the living and dead and make all things new, right, and beautiful.

Listen in for the how and why of our family Advent practices as well as fun creative ideas to celebrate during December.

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Mark your calendar for December 6th -- St. Nicolas Day!

And! December 13th! St. Lucia Day!

Jesse Tree Ornaments 

Welcome to Part 2!

Listen in as Amanda Balikian and Laura Hughes discuss how a grateful heart is the what enables us to serve with a grateful and generous heart. 

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https://thesaltymarshmallow.com/easy-dill-dip/
https://lilluna.com/turkey-veggie-tray/

Happy Thanksgiving week!

Thanksgiving began as a time to celebrate God’s provision in the lives of a small group of Christians. But a thanksgiving feast wasn’t their idea! From the beginning, God has been telling his people to feast and that feasting can actually be a form of worship. All feasting should point us to a time when we will feast in total comfort and security away from sin and distress in the presence of God.

The fall feasts of Israel were a little different than our Thanksgiving celebrations, but they too were times when families traveled from long distances to gather together and eat specific traditional foods. 

Today I am joined by two of my closest friends and fellow Bible teachers Laura Balikian and Amanda Hughes and we are going to spend a few minutes chatting through the ancient fall feasts of the Israelites, seeing how those feasts ultimately find their fulfillment in Christ and finally reflecting on how we can serve up our families a picture of the gospel through the way that we set our tables and prepare our food.

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Bible Talk Podcast by IX https://www.9marks.org/episode/leviticus-16-on-the-pinnacle-of-the-pentateuch-bible-talk-ep-39/

In Galatians Paul urges us to each carry our own load. But sometimes as a young mom it can feel like  I am doing everything. 
But oftentimes when I am feeling bitter at my husband it may be that I am not seeing the load he carries –especially given the pressures he is dealing with outside of our family.

And the cultural narrative that each spouse should be doing 50/50 doesn’t help. How does anyone figure out what 50/50 is anyway? 

But on the other hand, a girl can’t do everything! How do we ask for help? How do we bring to light the “hidden” aspects of mothering and homemaking that are too much or too burdensome for us? In seasons when a husband might be traveling a good deal, how can we prioritize intimacy in marriage? (physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual)?

Listen in to a vulnerable conversation with writer and mom to four Moriah Lovett.