Fresh Roots Parent Coaching

Grace.

This is a word that has been on my heart this fall. It is a word that can be thrown around without much regard and yet it holds a great weight that invites freedom. The Christian faith believes that grace is experienced in the love of God shown to humanity; the unmerited favor of God. To be honest, I am rather humbled when I sit with the truth that God’s love is unmerited and even on my darkest days God offers this unmerited love upon me.

Grace.

There are about a BAJILLION (preschool language for a really large amount) moments throughout our day that we feel less than adequate. These moments are encountered everywhere—the middle of the night wake-ups, job changes, dirty diapers or accidents, friendships, relationships with our adult parents and siblings, meal prep, health diagnosis, at work, during a divorce, with the loss of a loved one—moments where the weight of the world rests on our shoulders and we find ourselves lacking. We have all experienced the feeling of self doubt, disappointment, and failure.

Grace, my friends.

My prayer is that we will all lean into this unwavering love of God as we do life with one another. May we be a community that extends grace to ourselves, our spouses, our children, our siblings, our co-workers, our teachers and the strangers we encounter throughout our day.

For my local high school, this weekend is our "Homecoming Weekend". It a blink of an eye all of my old stuff around being asked or not being asked, having the right dress, having a cool after dance plan, and..... the list of stressers goes on and on. Then I remember how my mom always told me to use her as the excuse, reason, and a resource for getting out of sticky situations. Thanks Mom!

I just came across this article that made me reflect on my own "safe walls".

What Teenagers Need From Us More Than (Almost) Anything Else As parents and youth leaders, kids need us to be a wall. A wall of support that doesn’t withdraw or abandon them. Even when kids withdraw from us—often hurting us in the process—they need us to be the adult who stays steady.

Mindful. Practice being mindful of what's on around your kids. You may keep the news off in your home but kids are smart and exposed to the world around them. Be mindful of what is happening and listen to comments or behaviors that you children may be demonstrating, telling you they have witnessed a glimpse of our world. Here are some helpful strategies to having good conversations. As always, I'm here if you have specific questions you'd like to talk through.

Disasters and Scary Events: Helping Children Cope | Seattle Children’s Hospital As a parent, you can’t control natural disasters or events in our world, but you can help your child cope when they do happen. The following tips provide ideas for helping your child feel safe, recognizing when your child is having trouble coping and being a good role model.