raising godly children Archives • The Foster Parenthood

How to Stay Sane as a Parent

October 11, 2015 by Roxanne

This idea & phrase to help stay sane as a parent is a guest post from Kara Carrero.

Malcom X and Mother Teresa. That’s how I describe my two wonderfully vivacious daughters. They are both world changers. One is a spit-fire, while the other is a mellow, gentle soul. Neither do I know how to handle appropriately. The introvert in me needs my space and the “feeling” side of me absorbs too much of the emotion that happens throughout the day. Nevertheless, I have been entrusted with their souls. And their eternal selves are daily shaping and sanctifying and teaching me to stay sane as a parent because there’s a purpose to the madness.

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The Three P’s of Fatherhood: Patience, Persistence and Parenting

September 8, 2015 by Caleb Foster

If you’re like me you discover boundaries by stumbling across them. If this were the method for locating trip wires and land mines in the military you can rest assured there’d be casualties.

I entered parenthood with images of my cape flapping in the winds of success. Has it happened? Actually yes! I’ve accomplished all the things I set out to do. Oh and by the way – pigs fly!

Not a chance in… HELP! I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

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A Letter to My Future Son-in-law

September 1, 2015 by Roxanne

Do you all think about your children to-be? I can’t help but think about mine often. Lately, my future son-in-law has been on my mind specifically and I can’t shake the questions I have.

What will they be like? Will my children choose well? Will we naturally love each other? Or will it be a bit more work? Will they take well to me? Or will their tendency be to dislike me?
This boy…what kind of man will he be? Will he love my daughter like Christ loves His church? Will he care for her? Will he treat her with honor?

The thoughts can be incredibly overwhelming. But in all of that, I have made a vow to myself to always pray over these people. Their character, their parents, their childhood and the kind of man/woman they will become.

All the while, doing my very best to raise children who love and value marriage for the sanctity that it is. What a tough gig this parenting role is!

Read my letter to my future son-in-law over at my friend’s blog The Realistic Mama.

What Nine Months of Fostering Looks Like

August 25, 2015 by Roxanne

Hi Friends!

Today I’m so excited to showcase my friend Emily Wierenga’s upcoming new book, Making It Home: Finding My Way To Peace, Identity and Purpose. You know we love the world of foster care and have a huge heart for it. Emily has walked the walk and has a plethora of helpful information to share. Read more about her journey, and all about her upcoming book below! Oh – and buy it!

Affiliate links are included for your convenience. Thanks for supporting our family through your purchases.

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Nurturing the Sibling Relationship

August 23, 2015 by Roxanne

As the birth of our second child seemed to be approaching faster than I was ready for, I found myself flooded with worry and fear about my children’s relationship. Would my daughter and son love each other? Would they have a strong relationship? How on earth would I help develop that in them? What is my role in shaping their friendship?

What we learn from interacting with our siblings shapes the kind of person we become. We learn about sharing, love, kindness, difficult times, disagreements and everything in between. These two will learn more from each other and their friendship than I could ever teach them. I believe how we as parents encourage their bond should be one of our highest priorities.

I had done all I could in preparing my toddler for the new baby, but I was unsure how to develop and foster love for their sibling relationship. We’re not very far into this endeavor, but I’ve learned a few really important things I’d like to pass on about nurturing the sibling relationship.

Photo credits to the always talented, Laura Vanderzee.

Affiliate links are included for your convenience. Thanks for supporting our family through your purchases.

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The Perfect Parent

August 19, 2015 by Caleb Foster

Perfectionism: a personal standard, attitude, or philosophy that demands perfection and rejects anything less.

I am a perfectionist. This means I settle for nothing less than perfection in every aspect of my life; well most of them. This trickles over into my parenting in good and bad ways. The results of being a perfectionist are annoying at best and life-sucking at worst.

Perfectionism poses an assault against human relationships in so many ways. You may be thinking you do not struggle with this, but so did I. Being the perfect parent isn’t possible, we all recognize it. Here are the 2 main indications that you struggle with perfectionism in parenting and the consequences that flow from them.

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No More Daddy Daughter Dates

August 4, 2015 by Caleb Foster

Daddy Daughter Dates. We understand the implication: time well spent between a father and his daughter. I love these moments with my little girl. She and I regularly have “dates”. However, it may not always be a fine dining dinner setting (though occasionally it is). It is more often an early morning run to the grocery store in pajamas where she helps me carry the hand basket from aisle to aisle. Sometimes we go to the park together or to the library for movies and books.

My case is not that dads have dates with their daughters since that seems fairly obvious – dads should absolutely date their daughters. I hope to show you that simple, everyday exchanges between dads and daughters may actually serve her better rather than an outing to a restaurant or a fancy place in the city. Simply put, daddies should not just date their daughters, they should involve them in the circumstances of the day as long she can handle it.

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Guiding Your Child’s Heart Back to School

August 3, 2015 by Roxanne

Parents – school is JUST around the corner, but you didn’t need me to tell you that did you? Though my kids aren’t school aged just yet, I remember the hustle of school supply shopping (my favorite, I’ll do yours for you…seriously), clothes buying and trying to get back into a routine. I LOVE back to school season. But just like anything new and exciting in our lives, it can be really easy to lose focus on what truly matters.

The Man Foster spent a great deal of time writing a back to school devotional to help you direct your children’s hearts to God during this chaotic season. There are seven days worth of devotionals. He’s provided a page for parents to initially read over for their minds, then a shorter kid-oriented devotional for you to lead your child through. This is a really great resource and we don’t want you to miss it!

You can either purchase the devotional here for $1.99 (what. a. steal) or subscribe to our mailing list here and you’ll receive a coupon code rendering it FREE! The choice is yours!

Here’s an excerpt of the child portion of the devotional on Identity.

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Please Tell my Daughter She’s Beautiful, Just Don’t Stop There

July 31, 2015 by Roxanne

Here’s the thing. It’s undeniable. My daughter is absolutely beautiful. Yes, yes, I’m a biased mother. But aside from this fact, she hears it all the time. It’s a rare occasion for us to go out in public and someone doesn’t comment on how cute she is. Sometimes, it even merits her free snacks or gifts (seriously). And all this is fine and dandy, I know she’s beautiful and I want her to know that too. But I want her to know she’s more than just beautiful too.

(photo credit to Laura Vanderzee, the best photographer in OKC!)

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Three Questions to Ask in a Power Struggle with Your Child

July 29, 2015 by Roxanne

Bible Class.

Those words may as well be cuss words in our house. My daughter, even though she was raised in a ministry experience, does NOT do well in Bible Class. She has spent very little time away from momma in her short life, and she likes it that way. I can’t blame her really. I mean, I’m awesome. But I’d really love for her to attend Bible Class and interact with kids her age while learning a few lessons. How bad can that be, right?

Wrong. My sweet girl turns into some kind of screaming lunatic when it’s time to walk into Bible Class. I KNOW nothing terrible is happening in there, and I’m fairly certain they’ve outlawed punitive punishment, so why the fuss? Maybe I’ll never understand, but this past week I was convicted of a deep rooted issue in my heart while trying (and failing) to make drop off happen.

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