Dawn Camp

Five Thoughts for Mothers of Teens at (in)courage

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When a topic pops up continually in conversation or often catches my attention online, I wonder if it’s the Holy Spirit nudging me to write about it for others who are in the same place. Many of my friends and I are parenting teens, with fewer years of children living in our homes ahead of us than behind. We’re looking closely at how we parented our older children, what did and didn’t work, and what we’ve learned along the way. I hope the ideas my friends and I chew over and insight from thirty-three years of motherhood helps you too.

For some mothers of teens, the parent-child relationship doesn’t look like they thought it would. Some children push back against the values their parents have worked hard to instill. Some children push people’s buttons in general, especially their parents. Most days you’d give anything for your teen to put their trust in you again more than their friends and the world. 

With five of our eight children grown and living on their own, three of those married with children and three teens still at home, I’ve parented eight very different teens. I’m far from a perfect mom, but I trust that God specifically put my husband, children, and me together as a family. 

Please join me at (in)courage as I share five things I’ve learned from our years of parenting teens!

Five Thoughts for Mothers of Teens

It’s Back—March’s Desktop Calendar!

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It’s Back—March’s Desktop Calendar!

I want to offer a big apology to those who’ve downloaded my calendars for years and a big welcome if you’re snagging some desktop bling for the first time. I’ve posted these wallpapers almost monthly, through three different sites, since April of 2010—almost 10 years!—but this is the longest I’ve gone without one. Thank you for patience!

I submitted not one, but two books to my publisher since I posted the last calendar in August, and I can’t wait to share them with you! It All Began in a Garden releases in September (and is now available for pre-order!) and It All Began in a Garden Essential Oils Day Book arrives in January 2021.

I don’t know what March looks like in your area, but here in Georgia it’s rain, rain, rain! Because of some exceptionally warm February days, the daffodils are in full bloom. I took an umbrella, a knee pad, and my camera out in the rain to capture ours on a drizzly day this week.

I’ve spent a lot of time sitting outside in the cold at my kids’ track meets lately. We have three on the same team and it’s wonderful to watch them participate together. My youngest son graduates this year and I’m savoring each event, each moment actually, and holding onto these days.

What’s keeping your household busy these days?

Download March’s Desktop Calendar

Enjoy!

When We Give Each Other the Benefit of the Doubt @ (in)courage

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When We Give Each Other the Benefit of the Doubt today at (in)courage

Recently, three friends and I joined thousands of buyers and sellers at the Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market, one of the world’s largest wholesale shows. We received guest passes, and although our name badges identified us as exhibitors, really we were gawkers, mostly-window shoppers, and grown women acting as giddy as kids in a candy shop.

We could hardly comprehend our good fortune: a day roaming show rooms, tasting samples, and hunting bargains on the cash and carry floor, plus the anticipation of a dinner event that evening. For most, the market is big business. For us, it was play: taking selfies with a man creating a balloon dress for a showroom display, obtaining an up-close-and-personal look at coming trends, getting a glimpse of what it feels like to work an outside-the-home job. The years we’ve spent caring for and teaching our children made this extravagant dose of me-time, of us-time, even sweeter.

We shared intimate details of our lives in a crowded food court over overpriced chicken salad sandwiches and bottled water. We roamed together when our interests were the same and apart when we wanted to explore different things. We were altogether comfortable.

Late in the afternoon, we found ourselves seated in barstools while our hair was styled. (It’s hard to resist when someone wielding a fancy tool offers to do your hair, especially when you have somewhere to go later that day.) When they added extensions that perfectly matched our current shades, our heads nearly exploded. We were awed by how good it felt: mirrored reflections that more closely matched what we felt on the inside.

We oohed and aahed over each other, hugged the man who made the magic happen, and walked away transformed. I knew how hard it would be to wear the extensions later, outside this circle of friends, faced with what the world might say (or whisper).

In some relationships, I’ve worn a mask, not sure if my friends would like the real me. But in true friendships, we view each other through a lens of love. Love offers acceptance. When we act in love, we handle each other’s hearts with care.

When love covers all, friendships can grow roots, both wide and deep.

Come visit me today at (in)courage for the rest of the story and see what happened when we got on the wrong bus!

When We Give Each Other the Benefit of the Doubt

How Do We Have Love for One Another?

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This week we not only approach the beginning of a new year but the birth of a new decade. Our family feels it especially, as my oldest daughter prepares to deliver her second child and we celebrate my second daughter’s twentieth birthday. I still remember the fear and uncertainty of expecting a child in the days before Y2K, when the world wondered whether we would experience widespread computer malfunctions that would send our banking and power systems into chaos since many computer programs used double digit dates for the year and we entered the year 2000, not 1900.

I think we typically approach milestone dates with unease and uncertainty. Am I where I thought I would be personally or professionally by this time? If not, why not? What are my goals and resolutions for the year? Do we typically set higher expectations for ourselves at the start of a new decade?

My hopes for my children, as they grow into adults, have shifted with time. In our early parenting days, I wanted to raise smart, accomplished children (and of course, I still do). The grades I made and the schools I attended were very important to me. Now what I want most is for them to be good, kind people, to make a difference in the world (even on the smallest of scales), to hold fast to faith, to live joyful lives. Although these expectations seem simple, look around and you’ll see they aren’t easily attained. 

When our Heavenly Father looks down on us — His children — what does He hope to see? I imagine He’s more concerned with our character than our resume. 

Please join me today at (in)courage for the rest of the post as we prepare for a new year and a new decade!

How Do We Have Love for One Another?