Purposeful Living
Creative ideas for enjoying your family in all seasons of the year, including spending time in nature, creative ways to celebrate holidays, and ways to teach your children the art of hospitality.
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7 Replenishing Bible Verses for Tired Parents
Ribbons of sunlight dance through the treetops and a dozen shades of green mingle with the dawn. I gaze out the window with a newborn in my arms. He sleeps soundly for the first time in hours, and I open my Bible in search of encouraging Bible verses for tired parents. 7 Bible Verses for Tired Parents Our third child burst into our lives this week, and it feels like we just stepped from one season to another. The change of trajectory has been stark, to say the least. We have leaped into new routines with a new normal that is full and blessed. Nevertheless, we are tired. As I…
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Welcome Aiden James Pardoe!
We’re thrilled to welcome little Aiden James to our family! Thank you to everyone who prayed us through this very long journey that has carried us to the sweetest kind of blessing!
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3 Ways to Let Go of Regret and Overcome Guilt
Thelma and I became friends when she was 94. I showed up at the nursing home one December evening with framed photos of angels and gave them to the elderly residents for Christmas. It was a quiet act of kindness, and I had no way of knowing that it would lead me to one day learn how to let go of regret in the face of heartache. Thelma’s mind was sharp, and she was dressed like she was going to church the first night we met. Her white hair was perfectly styled, her lipstick was bursting with color against her pale skin, and she wore nylons, heels, a skirt, and…
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To the Mom Who Is Barely Hanging on
I drove past you in the dusky light this evening. You looked like you were barely hanging on. With an infant strapped to your chest, the handle of a stroller in your left hand, and the leash of your small and energetic dog nearly yanking your right shoulder out of the socket, your face said it all. Your face told me that you’re barely hanging on. I wonder if you were stuck in the house all day. Maybe the walls started closing in, and you grew weary from changing diapers and cleaning up the same fifteen toys a dozen times. You were barely hanging on, and you needed some fresh…
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How to Raise Frog Eggs and Have a Blast Doing It
Spring is here, and the world is coming alive again. As we embrace longer days, sunshine, and spring bulbs rising through the soil, this season is a perfect opportunity to help our kids connect with nature. This year, our little family is learning how to raise frog eggs, and we’re having a blast in the process. Providing children with opportunities to interact with wild creatures in safe ways is one of the best ways to spark life-long interests in the natural world. A frog egg project is a great place to start, and even the least savvy naturalist can pull this off. I remember multiple frog egg projects throughout my…
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3 Questions to Help You Find Your Calling in Life
Have you been trying to find your calling in life and coming up empty? You’re in the right place. Let’s jump right in and talk about how to find our God-given callings. How to Find Your Calling in Life I remember where I was the moment I decided I wanted to be a teacher. It was my junior year of high school, and I was sitting on a grassy hill watching mist ascend over viridescent fields. It was my favorite season of the year, the season that seemed to awaken every part of me, track and field season. Sitting on the wet earth, I searched my life for the places…
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10 Outdoor Activity Ideas for Families
While community playgrounds and backyard sliding boards offer hours of entertainment for our children, greater adventure awaits those who are willing to lace up their trail shoes and head to the woods. Today, we’ll explore 10 creative and inexpensive outdoor activity ideas for families. A local community park, nature conservancy, or State Park can be a great resource for instilling an appreciation for the natural world in our children. Teaching kids to connect with wildlife develops a passion that can extend into adulthood. Creative Outdoor Activity Ideas for Families Here are ten creative outdoor activity ideas for families to help your kids enjoy nature: 1. Wildflower Identification Many people are…
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6 Creative Ideas for Showing Hospitality This Spring
As the daylight gradually begins to linger later into the evenings and the late-winter blizzards become less frequent, spring is a wonderful time of year to open your heart and home to others and embrace opportunities for showing hospitality. Ideas for Showing Hospitality: Here are six ideas for opening your heart and home to others this spring. Above all else, remember that you do not need to pursue perfection to create spaces where others know they belong. Simply show up and love those around you, and you will be a blessing. 1. Embrace Maple Syrup Season Yes, maple syrup actually has its own season, and it might not be what…
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8 Powerful Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children
Do you want to be more conistent and focused as you pray over your kids? Today, we’ll explore eight powerful Scriptures to pray over your children. First, I invite you to join our family in the forest on the day I decided to be more intentional about praying for our kids. 8 Powerful Scriptures to Pray Over Your Children It’s a quiet Saturday morning on the cusp of spring when I sense that we need a change of pace. The oldest is glued to the laptop, and the youngest is watching his second movie of the day. I need to think of a better option before too much screen time…
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10 Bible Verses About the Beauty of Nature
The hills are lavender today. I drove to the lake to sit on the shore where the water laps against sand-colored stones, and the time outside renewed my soul. Spending time in nature is restorative. Let’s take just a few moments to turn to God’s Word as we study 10 Bible verses about the beauty of nature today. 10 Bible Verses About the Beauty of Nature Nature calls us away from the fast-paced lives most of us have learned to accept. Wild places create space for slowing down, making memories with the ones we love, and much more. Let’s look at what the Bible says about God’s created world. 10…
