PJ Media Parenting's Best of the Web

Happy Fall! We took a trip to our most favorite pumpkin patch today with Grammy. It’s a family-owned business that my mom took us to as little ones. And it reminded me that taking a day away from school to spend investing in each other is totally worth it.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist showing you how much fun we had :)

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As parents who are constantly trying to make every moment count with little ones, this was a huge encouragement to me! Thanks, Jim and Lynn Jackson, guest writers at We Are THAT Family!

“Under the surface of behavior-focused interactions, kids are learning far less about right from wrong than they are about what mom or dad thinks about that child. And this is REALLY important because our children look to what we think about them to help them figure out for themselves who they are. They form their identity, their beliefs about who they are around their perceptions of what we think and say. So let’s look at this behavior-focused approach to see what kids might be learning to believe about themselves.”

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This article by Abigail Dodds at Desiring God revealed more about my current mental status as a mom than I would’ve liked it to, but I’m a work in progress.

“Being a mom brings it all to the surface. It reveals a more truthful version of ourselves, not because we were previously being untruthful, but because we now are shaping a life for someone else, not simply ourselves. Mothers are making decisions every day that can and often will impact another person’s entire existence. This pressure to make sure we don’t mess up our child’s life is pretty intense. It creates some heat that tends to wear us down to the core of what we really believe about God, ourselves, and the world.”

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I’m slowly (really slowly) getting on the oil bandwagon. And for what I lack in passion about the health benefits, I make up for by making my house smell delicious! From Small Fry Blog:

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Finding and growing adult friendships can be so difficult. Want to expand your tribe with genuine friends? Here’s some great advice from Erica Layne at Let Why Lead:

“Building friendship as adults can be hard. We’re short on time, energy, and—if we’re really honest—courage. We’ve learned that some people open up easily, while others don’t. And we’ve also noticed that sometimes we’re bursting with things to talk about with a friend… Other times, and for a hundred reasons, we just aren’t.