Control Relinquished

I recently heard a sermon on the familiar story of Daniel. The beautiful thing about Scripture is that it's Living and Active and the Holy Spirit reveals new thoughts and challenges to meet us where we are at in our journey through life. The part that jumped out at me last Sunday was in Daniel 1:8-16 where Daniel and his friends were determined not to defile themselves with royal food and wine. After a period of 10 days, they looked healthier and better nourished than those who had eaten the royal food. So, the choice food was taken away and everyone was served vegetables instead! I admire them for being willing to go 'extreme' for the Lord! They knew that taking care of their bodies, physically and spiritually, would allow God to use them in mightier ways than they ever imagined! Healthy diets and lives with exercise plans are permeating the culture all around us. It's scientifically proven that eating our fruits and vegetables help us live longer. Regular exerc...

I never meant to exit the blogosphere for an entire month. But that's how long it's been since I last wrote. To be honest with you, I've been resisting and wrestling this topic for weeks. Even after having several God-ordained conversations with other women about this very topic and knowing I wasn't the only one, I resisted being vulnerable and exposing the ugly, dark side of me. Until yesterday, when someone at church commented to me that I was such a relaxed and patient mother. My response was a chuckle and truthful, "Oh my, no there are definitely days I blow my top!" And I knew, it was time. Time to be truthful to myself and to the rest  of the world. Almost 2 years ago, I began noticing a trend in my parenting. I was beginning to yell, a lot . In the safe confines of my home where I couldn't be judged by others, I turned to yelling to control my kids. In the moment, it felt good to vent. Yelling reminded my kids who the boss was and their response ...