RESOURCES from 4word
Don't Call Me Mr. Mom
Parenthood and decisions- there’s no escaping it. Once a couple receives the news that they will be parents, the countless decisions begin. One of the most pressing decisions is probably deciding who will watch the child during the day. Did you know that in the past 10 years,… Read More
How I Met God In Rome
A few weeks ago, my family and I spent some time together in Rome. My daughter Rose has been studying abroad there this semester and the rest of us joined her for Thanksgiving. Leading up to the trip I was excited to see Rose and be with my… Read More
When Relationships Get Messy:: What Do You Do?
Shivaun Palmer, CEO and co-founder of Plaid for Women, knew that relationships can be complicated and difficult. Upon marrying her husband, a widower with four daughters, Shivaun experienced many of these challenges for herself. Today, she has a great relationship with her step-daughters, and Shivaun gladly shares about… Read More
Home for the Holidays: Marrying In
Getting married is a lot about creating a new family with your spouse. A lot, but not all. It’s also about joining one (or more) existing families; families with unique history and traditions and cultures. Becoming part of a new family can be a great gift, but there… Read More
Home For The Holidays: The Mother-In-Law Perspective
There must be thousands of books out there about how to keep your marriage relationship strong, but where are the books about how to love your in-laws? I don’t mean that in a negative way! Even in the very best of circumstances, those relationships require real work and… Read More
Working with Your Spouse
Ever wondered what it would be like to be your husband’s boss? April Anthony doesn’t wonder – she knows. She and her husband Mark have worked together for the past seven years. We asked April for the inside scoop on how they maintain a healthy marriage despite their… Read More
Doing Less, Because You Care
How often do you find yourself taking on extra work just because “It’ll be quicker if I do this myself?” Or even worse, because “no one else will do it right?” I’ve seen women (and men for that matter) around me who do this every day both in… Read More
The Fatherhood Project
In honor of Fathers Day this Sunday, we bring you a special interview with one of Diane’s colleagues, Dan Dolsen. Several years ago, Dan founded The Fatherhood Project, with one mission in mind: building great dads. From left to right: John, David, Kristin, Dan and Michael Dolsen… Read More
Serving God as a Family
Remember Marcia Larson, who we interviewed a few months back about her experience in Hurricane Sandy? This week, we spoke with her mother, Margaret, about their family’s history of taking overseas mission trips together. Margaret, Esther, Wally Jr. and Marcia Larson on one of their family mission trips… Read More
Supporting Your Teenagers
Many times as mothers of teenagers, we worry about how to connect with our children. How do you encourage your teens to grow up as men and women of character when they’re in the middle of those “my mom is so uncool” years? One way to connect your… Read More
A New Year for Love
It’s “resolutions” time again! Something about starting a new year makes everything seem possible. That’s why it’s a great time to reflect on your goals for the year. Plenty of people make offhanded New Year’s resolutions. This year I encourage you to act, scheduling a specific time to… Read More
Raising Middle Schoolers
As an area director for Young Life and step mother to two girls aged 17 and 20, LaTonya Stevenson has a good deal of experience with the challenges facing today’s middle schoolers. Last week, she shared some of her insight with us. -------------------- 4word: So you work at Dallas… Read More
My Christmas Traditions
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Beth mentioned in her interview that Christmas traditions help make the holidays special. On this Christmas Eve, I wanted to share a few of mine with you. My favorite thing about Christmas is having our whole family together: Chris, all four… Read More
Staying Sane during the Holidays
This time of year it’s easy for us women to get overwhelmed, feeling like we have to get all the right gifts and decorations, bake cookies for our kids’ school parties, fulfill family and in-laws’ expectations, etc. I’ve blogged before about setting healthy boundaries for yourself, but I… Read More
Talking With God.
Is your life feeling a little rocky lately? God’s plan for you is good, but that doesn’t mean it’ll always be smooth. My family and I have faced some seriously rocky times of the past year and half, including the death of both of my parents and the… Read More
A Legacy of Love… and Pumpkins
Been pumpkin picking lately? Fall might be my favorite time of year. Growing up, it was always a special time for my family and the family orchard. My parents always felt strongly that whatever blessings and resources came into their lives were meant to be lovingly shared with… Read More
Wrestling with Infertility, Part 2
Good afternoon, everyone. We’re back with part two of our first interview with Sandra Crawford Williamson. If you haven’t yet, we recommend that you read part one. Otherwise, read on! -------------------- 4word: What kind of support system did you have going through this? Sandra: That's an interesting question… Read More
Wrestling with Infertility, Part 1
Today begins our interview series with Sandra Crawford Williamson, Founder and CEO of Crawford Consulting and a woman of marvelous faith in the Lord. This week, Sandra is sharing a particularly painful part of her story with us: her struggle through two years of infertility and four miscarriages.… Read More
Finding Balance
Several weeks ago, we posted a set of mini interviews with some of our board members about what “having it all” means to them. Today, we’re following up with 4word CMO, Betsy Gray, on how she has learned to set boundaries and maintain balance between work, love and… Read More