Running, Messes of Our Own Doing, and Controlling Emotions

Blog Pause Day 5: If you're like me, you might feel a bit nostalgic as we come to the close of another calendar year.  Reviewing my posts from 2013 has reminded me of many moments that I otherwise would have forgotten, and today's post highlights three additional entries from the year.  We start with a recent post about running, move to encouragement for those moments when we get stuck in our own messes, and finally share some practical tips for helping kids (and ourselves!) to control emotions. 

Thanks for joining me during this Annual Blog Pause! 

To Humor You: My Relationship with Running: An Adolescent Romance

If you love running, this post is for you.  If you hate running, this post is for you.  Much like an adolescent romance, my own relationship with running is somewhat complex, marked by on-again, off-again inconsistency and periodic swells of great affection.

Continue reading "My Relationship with Running: An Adolescent Romance"

To Encourage You: Messes of Our Own Doing

I volunteer in my church nursery one Sunday each month.  This past week there were a few babies in the nursery (disclaimer: I love holding babies because it's an easy way to get my baby fix without actually having a baby), but most were toddlers who will turn three and graduate to the classroom across the hallway soon.

These toddlers walk and talk and ask me to read books to them.  They interact with each other and eat Goldfish crackers.  Some are potty trained, like one sweet little girl with soulful brown eyes and lush eyelashes that practically fan her face when she blinks.

"I have to go to the potty," she told me right as the service was about to finish.

We almost made it.  (Which really means that we didn't make it.)

Continue reading "Messes of Our Own Doing"

To Help Your Kids (and you): Teaching Kids How to Control Their Emotions

"I want to tell you something." My husband pulls my daughter aside in the other room.  She's in a huff, a frothing mixture of frustrations and tears and hiccups, over something that her sister has done.

He waits until she simmers down to speak.  His tone is gentle, but it carries weight.  "I know that you're mad, but you control your own response."

It's a simple message that we're trying to instill in our children: they are the ones who control their reactions to whatever circumstances they encounter.  They control if they get mad, if they lose their cool, if they throw a tantrum.  Not anyone else.

Continue reading "Teaching Kids How to Control Their Emotions"

See you tomorrow for the final post of 2013!