If I could retitle this essay, I’d name it: "For the Mom Who Idolizes Productivity." Or maybe, "For the Mom Who Keeps Raising the Bar." Because while it’s true this is an essay about a time I sent my kids back-to-school and had a meltdown, the bigger truth is that it’s a time I gave myself a pep talk about silencing my evil inner critic.  This is Chapter 44: For the Mom on the Verge of a Back-to-School Meltdown. Listen in.

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I wrote this essay after talking with a friend who was at a doctor’s office and witnessed a teen openly disrespecting his mom. My friend was outraged that the mom said nothing in response and was expecting my approval. Instead, I sided with that mom. This is Chapter 43: Dear Mom of the Mouthy Teen: an Open Letter. Listen in.

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Who knew that the decisions I made in 2015 would still be affecting me so profoundly now in 2025? As we approach the end of the year, I hope this list inspires you to make some decisions of your own that stand the test of time.

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Of all the essays I’ve written in this book, I think this is the one I’ve personally shared the most often with my personal friends. It’s hard-fought wisdom from the toughest years of parenting on record. This is Chapter 41: Six Strategies for Staying Calm When Your Teen is Freaking Out. Listen in.

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Some people struggle to offer apologies. But I have the opposite problem: I apologize too often. That isn’t a humble brag, like, “I don’t know why, but I’m just soooo generous. I just loooooove giving away my money and my time to people." No. Apologizing too often for the wrong things is messed up. In this essay, I explain why.  Listen in.

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Making decisions as a parent can be tricky. Often, we lack all the facts–either because our child is withholding them or because the child doesn’t have them either. Thankfully, God has all the facts, and He gives us His Holy Spirit to guide and direct us—in the form of a gut feeling. That’s what I’m talking about today. Listen in.

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I grew up in the 70s and 80s where I never learned about sexual purity. Then, I started parenting in the late 90s on the tail end of the Purity Movement. Neither of those approaches worked well for me as a mom. Today I share what did.

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For me, middle school was the most challenging season of parenting, hands down. It wasn’t all bad, but it was tricky and confusing. If you have a middle school student, this essay alone is worth the price of admission. Today, I offer you literally everything I know about parenting through this short season. 

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If you know me at all, you're already aware that I have a complicated relationship with social media. What you may NOT know is that this complication began almost immediately after I joined back in 2008. And I’ve been writing about social media and its effect on me since that time. This is an essay I wrote 11 years ago after a 20-day Facebook break. 

Is it time for YOU to break up with social media? Take the quiz and find out. 

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For many of you, parenting through the middle school and teenage years is the most challenging season of all. If you were sitting across the table from me in the midst of an exhausting season with your teen, this is what I’d say to you.  This is Chapter 35: A Parenting Pep Talk. To Me, From Me. But Also, To You. Listen in.

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Each year in January, I compile a list called “What I Learned Last Year.” I include several of these lists in this book because they mark changes I made in my parenting, my marriage, and my health. This was written at the end of 2013--a doozy of a year (yes, I just used the word "doozy"), when I learned so much about everything. This is Chapter 34: What I Learned Last Year, Vol 1.  Listen in.

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