Posts tagged Parenting
How to Fight Your Fear of Failure so God Can Take You Further
How to Fight Your Fear of Failure so God Can Take You Further

What keeps me stagnant in my faith is often not the fear of unknowns but the fear of failure. It has taken years of wrestling to understand that my hesitancy to say yes to where God is calling me lies in my propensity to trust in my own performance over his presence. But in his Word, God reminds us that we are called to go deeper on our journey of faith, and he promises to lead us himself.

So, if you feel stagnant today, stuck even, allow these encouraging reminders to help you fight your fear of failure so God can take you further.

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Faith, Education, Parenting, StewardshipShawna SullivanNew York, Faith, Parenting, Encouragement, Failure, ProgressComment
10 Strategies to Connect With Your Child Through the Art of Conversation
10 Strategies to Connect With Your Child Through the Art of Conversation

As parents who desire connection with our children at a deeper level, it’s helpful to remember that there are layers to a conversation, much like water. We have a choice: slowly wade into the shallow or dive headfirst into the deep. Since not all circumstances allow for diving into the deep, here are ten strategies to better connect with your child and foster the art of conversation.

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Education, Faith, Homeschool Tips, Parenting, Summer, Stewardship, Tips for ParentingShawna SullivanParenting, Faith, Conversation, Connection, EducationComment
Five Prayers to Create Space for God to Move in the New Year
Five Prayers to Create Space for God to Move in the New Year

At the end of every year, expectations run high as to what the new year holds. We want to work out more, eat less, and finally focus on that dream we keep putting off. Before we know it, the calendar fills with plans and expectations, yet sometimes, we don’t stop to ask God what He desires for us. So, as we approach the new year, let us position our hearts with these five prayers, seek to hold plans loosely, and create space for God to move.

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Faith, Education, Parenting, New YearShawna SullivanNew Year, Prayer, Faith, Education, ParentingComment
What Potato Soup Has To Do with Gratitude
What Potato Soup Has To Do with Gratitude

After reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, I knew it was the perfect time to visit our local Holocaust Museum. I attempted to prepare my eighth grade students for the breadth and depth of tragedy they would encounter. In hindsight, I’m not sure that’s possible.

However, what I didn’t expect was how much a simple story of potato soup would teach me about gratitude.

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Education, Faith, ParentingShawna SullivanHolocaust, Faith, Gratitude, Encouragement, Parenting Comment
Spring Cleaning: 3 Ways to Tidy Up Your Time and Cultivate a Fruitful Life
Spring Cleaning: 3 Ways to Tidy Up Your Time and Cultivate a Fruitful Life

The time for spring cleaning is near, but have you ever thought of tidying up your time?

I know what you are thinking:

  • How can I tidy my time?

  • How can I continue to make progress if I allow rest to hold prominence?

  • How can I remain faithful to the goals I set at the beginning of the year?

  • How can I know what areas of my life need to be addressed this season?

I’m glad you asked. Read here and find out.

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Faith, Parenting, Time, StewardshipShawna SullivanTime, Encouragement, Parenting, Faith, Stewardship Comment
Where To Find Joy Here and Now
Where To Find Joy Here and Now

“What do you need to surrender?” Her question echoed through the microphone and searched my heart.

I sat while my mind invited the Spirit to search my heart. Before getting on a plane and entering back into real life, what was God asking me to surrender to increase my agility and joy along this faithful race?

While several areas came to mind, one clearly stood out.

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Faith, Education, Parenting, SisterhoodShawna SullivanSisterhood, Encouragement, Parenting, Marriage, FaithComment
Three Ways to Shape Your Child's Heart Toward Generosity
Three Ways to Shape Your Child's Heart Toward Generosity

There is no better time to begin shaping your child’s heart for generosity than now. The holiday season ushers us into the spirit of giving like none other, yet it’s threatened by our desires to get. We all feel the tension.

So, as parents, how can we model generosity as a family at this time of year and beyond? Here are three helpful ways I’ve found to do just that, along with some resources to get you started.

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Education, Faith, Parenting, StewardshipShawna SullivanChristmas, Generosity, Parenting, Encouragment, Faith, Education, Giving, Serving, StewardshipComment
For the One Wondering If God Sees All You Do
For the One Wondering If God Sees All You Do

In my prayers, I began presenting God my platters of good deeds, sacrifices, and accomplishments, and expected Him to return my offering with earthly blessing, favor, and gain. As time passed, life grew arduous. Soon I discovered the only variable increasing in my life was bitterness.

Did God even see all that I was doing? Did He even care?

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Education, Faith, ParentingShawna SullivanParenting, spiritual encouragement, MotherhoodComment
Balm for the Brokenhearted: Affirmations to Quiet Your Anxious Heart
Balm for the Brokenhearted: Affirmations to Quiet Your Anxious Heart

The Lord builds. He gathers. He heals. He binds.

I whisper in exhale, “Thank you, Jesus.” This is what my heart needs.

The beat in my chest rests, and I continue navigating the next seventeen verses of Psalm 147. Along the way, I discover five P’s of God that create a healing balm for areas that feel most broken in my life and in the world.

As if a healing balm, these attributes of God cover and calm.

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Faith, Parenting, Lent ReflectionsShawna SullivanAffirmations, Anxiety, Encouragement, Parenting Comments
Three Reasons To Give Thanks Even While Serving
Three Reasons To Give Thanks Even While Serving

Ready or not the holidays are upon us. Opportunities to serve, host, cook, and clean will become plentiful. After an exhausting year, how can we make it through “the most wonderful time of the year”, and have even an ounce of joy left? Here are a three reminders to get you through the coming months with your joy in tact even as you serve those around you.

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Faith, ParentingShawna SullivanFood, Hospitality, Holidays, spiritual encouragement, Faith, Parenting, ServingComment
The Blessing of Sibling Rivalry
The Blessing of Sibling Rivalry

It has always existed and it will always be apart of our life on earth: conflict. The past few weeks have been peppered with more incidents of sibling rivalry in my home and it’s drawn us more deeply into a conversation of creation than I would have expected.

Here I share the one truth that has helped provide perspective and wisdom in this area of rivalry.

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Faith, Education, ParentingShawna SullivanParenting, Encouragement, Faith, Sibling RivalryComment