The other day I spoke to a group of moms about the opportunities we have as parents to embrace teachable moments, to help our children grow into who we have envisioned them to be. Who God’s envisioned them to be. Especially as it relates to making Him famous. When my time on stage ended, the moms gathered around tables to discuss questions related to what I shared. One group asked me to join their table.

As we spoke, these women shared their “God dreams” for their kids. One lady said, “I want my kids to love Jesus. But not just halfway. Not on just on the surface. I want them to love Him more than anything.”

Another woman shared something she heard a pastor once say, “I want my children to run into a collision course with God’s grace.”

As they talked, I reflected back on my own growing up years. I made some irresponsible and painful choices that led me down a tunnel of deep heartbreak.  But it was the collision course with grace that made me love Jesus more than anything.

I want my kids to love Jesus like this, but I fear their journey. I worry that they

I posted this blog this time last year and many parents told me they felt the same way I did. I’ve made a dew updates, but here you go. Slacker parents unite! 

Dear future teacher of my oldest son,

I want to apologize in advance for the chaos that will invade your second grade classroom a week from Monday. I was quite the slacker this summer. So when my kid walks into your class one waffle fry short of a Chik Fil A kid’s meal, you can blame his behavior on me.

We are out of our school-year routine.

These last three months, our meals have consisted of dinosaur chicken nuggets, pizza, and Happy Meals. Last year, I appreciated the school’s month long Healthy Eating for Life program complete with wonderful incentives. Are you offering this again?

Following the school’s advice to keep gaming to thirty minutes a day, during the school year I enforced strict rules about Playstation Privileges. Those rules have gone by the wayside. He may have played all day for most of the summer. On a positive front, his hand eye-coordination has improved.

Bedtime during the school year comes at 6:30pm. But late night plans and my—It’s  summer. Let

My boys are seven and five. When summer rolls around, they beg me to go to the community pool.  Every. Single. Day.

I hesitate to say yes. There’s so much stuff to gather for a trip to the pool. Snacks. Swim toys. Water bottles. Towels. Flip flops. Pool keys. Sunscreen.

Ugh. Sunscreen. I loathe applying this smelly, thick, not-easy-to-blend-in cream on my kids. They hate it too and complain and squirm while I bathe them in it. But sunscreen is a must-be-done annoyance.

Then there’s me in a swimsuit. There’s something so revealing and vulnerable about wearing a swimsuit in public. Why? Because people at the pool look at other people at the pool. And they judge. And if I’ve had a delicious, but bloat-inducing cheeseburger the night before, I don’t want to be critiqued the next morning when my kids are ready to swim.

So, if you’re like me, when your kids ask you to go to the pool, you justify an occasional “no” not because you don’t want to bother with snacks, toys, water, and sunscreen, but because you don’t want to wear your swimsuit in front of other people.

A few months ago something hit me. I have a limited amount

If you’re like me, you desire to teach your kids the true meaning of Easter. And you want to keep fun traditions, like an egg hunt, but also want to know how to keep Christ at the center of the celebration. Here are 4 easy ways you can keep Jesus’ resurrection the main focus of Easter this year.

1. Resurrection Eggs – So these are pretty old school, like twenty years old, but they still do a great job of telling our kiddos about the cross. In each of the twelve plastic eggs your kids will discover a surprise that allows you to narrate Jesus’ journey. I will often use these eggs in lieu of a Bible story at night during Holy Week. They can be used multiple times throughout the season: at breakfast on Easter morning, after your egg hunt, even on Good Friday. Purchase them at Family Christian Stores or online at CBD.com and Amazon.com.

2. An “Empty Tomb Egg” – If you ask kids, “What’s the point of Easter?” most will respond,

This morning I dropped my son, Deuce, off at the bus stop.

He doesn’t always take the bus. 7:15 a.m. pick up is too early for me. But every once in a while, when he sees something yummy on the school breakfast menu, like breakfast pizza, or egg tacos, I give in. I love these mornings. I don’t have to make breakfast and because it’s so early, I don’t have to make lunch—he’s buying then too.

“Bus mornings” are also a great way to start my day with him. With a cup of coffee in my hand, we take the walk down to the corner where the street light illuminates the sidewalk and road is still quiet. We talk about his upcoming day, his fears, and his anticipations.

Today on our trip to the corner, he saw our neighbor’s cat, Curtis, and sang “Felix the Cat” but inserted Curtis’ name.

“Curtis the cat. The wonderful, wonderful cat.”

He didn’t know the rest of the song, so I finished, “Whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks.”

Curtis ran away from us in fear. We laughed so loud we had to quiet each other, worried we might wake a

Do you ever think about the scene Christmas night so long, long ago?

Not the scene in Bethlehem. But in heaven as she stared down on earth below.

And knew what was about to take place,

in a stable that night would rescue the whole human race.

Then all the angels turned their heads to watch the Son step off His throne,

And walk toward His Father, knowing He’d soon be alone.

As Christ approached the Almighty, both their faces fell.

And as Mary labored, the Father whispered, “Go bring me Glory, My Son. Farewell.”

Christ handed over His robe and His crown,

His holy glory, this He would drown,

For if any human were to see it, they would fall face down,

Not able to stand. But this was not God’s plan.

Instead God would send His son, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, to be born and live like one in poverty.

Reflecting the exact heart condition of you and me.

He would look like a man, live like a gypsy.

And we would scoff at Him, not listening to His plea,

That he’s the only answer to a life lived eternally.

God was sending send His son, to die,

And would watch Him be crucified.

And though I can’t imagine

One evening in early December after putting our oldest, 3 year-old son to bed, Markus and I sat on the couch and had the dreaded “Santa” discussion. “To do Santa or not to do Santa, that is the question.” We needed to decide which side of the “Santa line” we stood on. As we talked, we swapped stories and memories of growing up with the big red fella.

In the lunch cafeteria one December a fellow first grader, Cyndie Clyde, proudly exclaimed, “Santa is not real!” I ran home in tears and begged my mom for the truth. To which she responded, “What do you think?” I didn’t know, but knew I wanted to believe.

That Christmas, we traveled to my grandparents’ house in Monticello, Arkansas. On Christmas Eve guess who showed up at their front door? Yep, Santa. He came inside and sat down on the couch next to me. I was so excited, I thought I just might pee my pants.  He held Rudolph’s sleigh bells in his white, fur-trimmed gloves. And with a thick, Arkansan accent said, “Rudolph has run off with some girl reindeer. Have you seen em’ Lisa?”—he knew my name!  I shook my

Is there an injustice that when you think about it, makes you ball your fists in anger? Yeah, me too. Any injustice against the innocent, especially women and children, churns my stomach—like lava in a volcano about to erupt.

I went to the “House of Hope” in Managua, Nicaragua on a mission trip with Woodcreek Church this month. There we served women and their kids escaping human trafficking and prostitution. So you can imagine I spent a lot of my time there with my fists balled.

In Nicaragua, prostitution is illegal for those under the age of 18, but for those 18 and up? Well, they are fair game. Every morning, we drove past brothels on our way to see the women escaping such a life. We heard about the sex markets always open at the back of the open air shopping markets. And we spoke with the women who are now free from the terror of their pimps. But arriving at freedom wasn’t easy.

The women and children trapped in this life are told from a young age they are worthless, will never amount to anything, and are useful to men for only one thing—and they might as well

Recently I spoke at a large women’s conference .The audience consisted of many high level women’s ministry leaders and influencers. My heart beat like a metronome on steroids. I battled the desire to make God famous through my words and the desire to impress all of those women. To be honest, I hoped the influencers might hear God’s words through me and ask me to speak with their groups. And the influencers in those groups would invite me to their event, and so on and so on.

As my time drew close to walk on stage, I took deep, slow breaths to calm my racing heart. I told the Lord, “I just want to glorify You and make Your Name great on this stage” and a peace settled my spirit. But as soon as I remembered the possibilities beyond the curtain, my focus shifted off of God and onto me. My heart raced again.

But then God whispered, “Lisa, do not dismiss what I’m about to do and have already done for the possibility of what’s to come.” His words reminded me that as long as I look to and hope for the next thing, I miss the gift of

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him – Jeremiah 18:4

This fall, I’m going on a short term mission trip with the women’s ministry from my church. Here’s an excerpt from my letter to friends and family asking for their prayer and/or financial support:

This mission trip is to the House of Hope in Managua, Nicaragua, a faith-based non-profit that is a vocational rehabilitation program for women and their children who have escaped human trafficking.

House of Hope is dedicated to empowering women by providing them with essential life skills, such as cooking and jewelry-making. Through their program, these women not only receive housing, education, and job training, but they also discover the transformative power of God’s