How to Parent Foolishly

Lyette Reback
1 Dec 2015
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Twenty-one years old, I sat holding my six-day-old baby. I realized that, quite frankly, I had made a mess of my life up to now. The only thing I had gotten right so far was convincing this wonderful man next to me that I was a catch worth keeping, and somehow got him to marry me! I was a handful as a kid — smart-mouthed and cute enough to talk my way out of most scrapes. I had walked through life about as gracefully as a bull in a china shop. Politely “released” from boarding school in 7th grade, I […]

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Love Letters

Lyette Reback
1 Aug 2015
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  Are you struggling with a child? Fighting? Every communication is just another botched attempt at reaching their heart or accurately portraying your love? Are they rolling their eyes when they see you coming, stiffening their stance, while in your heart you’re screaming, “Listen to me! I love you!” When every word you say seems to fail you, when every utterance becomes an argument, keep trying. Don’t give up. But maybe also give this method a try: Write letters. Notes. Anything, even if it’s just a drawing. Buy a pack of 100 blank cards and envelopes and write something every […]

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Love Letters

When We Love Them, We Fight for Them!

Lyette Reback
4 Jun 2015
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As parents, we will face countless trials and tribulations.  Sometimes the issues are small — sometimes they can spiral out of control.  As a mother there have been more times than I care to count where the possibilities were frightening, but the options were few. Many times my only option was…fight. When we love our children, there may come a time when the only thing that stands between their stupidity and/or destruction is our will to fight. We fight them with words, with actions, with consequences and most importantly we fight on our knees to God in prayer. We ask […]

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Memorial Day: It’s Not Just About the Barbecue and the Beach

Lyette Reback
1 May 2015
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I love Christmas and Easter. I am grateful for the birth and earthly sacrifice our Heavenly Father rendered that we may spend eternity with Him. But daily there are sacrifices our countrymen are giving that have bought our freedom nationally, and rarely if ever do I see it celebrated in the fashion it deserves. Memorial Day is one of my favorite holidays. It’s not about the barbecue. It’s not even about the beach or the beer or just another Monday off. Memorial Day is about those who paid the price for our freedom, those precious men and women who served […]

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Pretty Little Liars

Lyette Reback
3 Mar 2015
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pretty little liars

At one point or another, as a parent there is a certainty that your child will lie to you. Guaranteed. If you haven’t caught junior in a whopper yet then either you’re blind to it or he’s not yet old enough to be speaking.   I remember telling fibs and outright tall tales to my parents. My dad had a nose for truth, and I never really got by with much. But the worst part of having told a lie was the inevitable “Now you have lost our trust and have to earn it back” speech. I’ve heard that scenario […]

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Why I Don’t Want To Raise an Obedient Child

Lyette Reback
2 Mar 2015
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It’s funny the things people will ask me when they discover I have 15 children. Most times, the questions are a barrage of “How do you do it?” and “Don’t you know what causes that?” Sometimes the questions are heartfelt: “How did you get to adopt four children?” or “Why have so many?” But one of the most important questions that rarely gets asked is “What’s the most important thing I can teach my children?” Of course the most vital thing to teach any child is the redemptive power that faith in Jesus gives us. But past this, most parents just tend […]

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obedient child

Rekindling the Father-Daughter Bond with Your Teen

Lyette Reback
3 Feb 2015
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daddy loves you

It’s Valentine’s Day…a day where husbands (should) spoil their wives with chocolates and flowers — a sweet card full of gushy memories, a nice dinner out with your sweetheart — Ahhhhh…l’amour. Recently a father wrote me asking about how to relate to his teenage daughter. How can he read her, know what she needs or understand what she is really asking for? And I thought this being the season for love maybe I could help you dads out a bit — woman to man. I’ll let you in on some secrets about what women want…really want — even if they […]

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Is My Example Good Enough?

Lyette Reback
30 Dec 2014
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A new mother wrote to me last week worried about whether she will be a good enough example to her child as he grows up. I remember entering into parenthood terrified myself. I hadn’t always walked with Jesus, and I believed in “bad kid karma.” You know, when your mother says to you, “I hope when you grow up you get a daughter JUST LIKE YOU.” I had been a tough kid, so I thought my odds were pretty good that my daughter would turn out to be just like me — a challenge to say the least. I strived […]

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Simplifying Christmas With 15 Kids

Lyette Reback
2 Dec 2014
no comments

I know the feeling. It’s Christmas. And you want to give your kids the perfect family memory. Glowing tree, beautifully wrapped packages beneath it, matching pajamas and the sweet smell of something delicious wafting in from the kitchen. But the WORK! The sheer prospect of decorating, shopping, wrapping, and cooking up all this perfection is mind-boggling. Come mid-October many of us are already dreading the Christmas card chaos and by Thanksgiving panic is approaching. Stop. Breathe. Let me share with you some ways I have simplified the holiday to make the meaning of the season remain the reason. As a […]

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