By Jeanne Doyon
Letting go has never been easy for me. My son joining the military only compounded my fears. I struggled. I cried. I prayed for him daily, especially in light of the stirrings of war in Iraq. It didn’t help knowing he had put his relationship with God on the back burner during high school. Could God reach him without my influence?
A Christian mother in England has taken legal action against the school her four-year-old child attends, because teachers forced him to participate in a gay-pride parade in 2018, against his family’s wishes, the Daily Mail reports. In June 2018, Heavers Farm Primary School in London sent a letter to parents inviting them to participate in a gay pride parade on June 29, 2018. When Izzy Montague, 38, responded and asked that her child be exempt from attending, a teacher told her that attendance was mandatory. Montague says that she and her husband are devout Christians and do not believe their child should be forced to participate in an event that the family does not agree with. In an interview with Christian Concern (below), Montague said there were several parents who expressed concerns about their child’s participation in the parade, but were ignored. Montague added that these children did not consent to participate in this parade. Montague says that when she met with her child’s teacher in September, 2018, the teacher’s child was wearing a t-shirt …
By Jeanne Doyon
Whereas some take art or dance lessons, I have needed repeated lessons in letting go. Letting go of what, you ask? Everything. Kids, details, worries, the future, the past, you name it and I need to relinquish it!
Jim Breuer is a popular stand-up comic, musician, actor, radio host and podcaster. He became famous for playing Joe Pesci and the “Goat boy” on Saturday Night Live between 1995 and 1998. He has also had roles in several movies, including ‘Half Baked’. Jim married his wife Dee in 1993, and they have three daughters. I don’t know if Jim is a Christian, but his wife, Dee, certainly is, and she has had a profound impact on Jim. Dee, who was also a regular contributor on Jim’s podcast, The Breuniverse Podcast, was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, which was successfully treated. However, in 2015 she was diagnosed with Lymph node cancer and doctors admitted there is nothing they can do. But even after her second diagnosis, Dee continued to join Jim on the podcast as she talked about her struggle with cancer. In a recent episode, Jim shared a conversation that he had with a friend and you can see Dee’s profound impact. The friend, a former actor on SNL, asked if Jim …
A recent survey conducted by the American Bible Society (ABS) found that 63% of Americans state that their current faith is the same as their mother’s faith when they were 10 years old.
In an Instagram post on Mother’s Day (May 9, 2021), international pop star, Justin Bieber, wished his mom, Pattie Mallette, a “Happy Mother’s Day.” But instead of focusing on his mother’s sacrifice to his 171 million followers, Justin shared the important role his mother played in Justin’s faith: “Happy Mother’s Day Madre ! I could talk about all of the sacrifices that you made to take care of me but the most incredible thing you could have done was share with me the love of Jesus!” Justin’s climb to international stardom started through videos that his mother initially posted on YouTube for family and friends. But as others found the videos and saw his talent, Justin’s popularity began to grow, until he was noticed by those in the music industry. But as the fame took over his life, he was increasingly being caught up in the negativity that often comes with it. For a few years, all we were reading about were Justin’s run-ins with the law and the latest scandal that overtook his life: …
When things are going well, it is easy to feel that he does care. Even when things turn bad we can still feel like He cares. But when awful things happen we can lose sight of his love as we struggle through illness, job loss, and death. Once the shock and intensity of the trauma leave us, we can look back and see how his love and care carried us through these times. But what if the bad times never ended? There are many tragedies in our lives. Most are only for a short time. Some are lifelong. When I was disabled and in severe pain and chronically ill for thirteen years, I still felt God loved me. I still felt He cared for me. But just not as much as other Christians. In my mind I was a second-class Christian. This was my lot in life. To suffer and persevere. Not to thrive. In the end I was healed. I was restored to clarity of mind and heart as much as healed in my …
Sadly, for many years I believed that my purpose was tied into some far off destination that was going to drop into my lap someday. And, I stumbled over my wondering and worrying about what my purpose was and what my goals should be to help me accomplish whatever my purpose was. Even though I was married, had a family and worked part-time, I somehow excluded all this from being part of my purpose in life. Therefore discovering my purpose in life was on hold. It had to be on hold because I did not have the time nor energy to pursue anything else. My hands were quite full. Then I made the fatal mistake of comparing myself to other women, who worked, had families and were in leadership roles in their community and accomplishing great things while successfully raising their kids and supporting their husbands. As former US President Teddy Roosevelt once quipped, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Comparing myself to these women caused me to stumble over what was right in front …
Recently, I had an appointment with a young lady. Halfway through, my daughter arrived bringing me a coffee and joined us for the last half of the appointment. I love this young gal, and she obviously felt the freedom to express her thoughts on various world views. But the conversation was starting to become intense. Something had triggered her and I wasn’t able to figure out what it was or why. In the middle of this, she abruptly stopped and said, “I would give anything to have the relationship you and your daughter have.” Then she started to talk about her own father and it was then I realized she was talking about the relationship my daughter had with her dad. My daughter joked about her dad and how he likes to tease her. My daughter loves her dad, and they have a good relationship. I had found the trigger and the explanation why the conversation had become so intense. I looked at her and asked what the relationship with her father was like. She …
I walked out of the doctor’s office a few days ago and noticed a young woman in front of me crying. I passed her on the way to my car and then thought I should check if she was okay and turned around and went back to talk to her. She looked at me as she wiped a tear from her eye and said that she was just diagnosed with PTSD. She shared that it had been a year since she left a relationship with her narcissistic boyfriend. She fled England a year ago after her boyfriend burned her house down. The only way she could get away from him was to leave the country. Just days before leaving England she considered going back to him “because he would only be angry for a while and then things would get better.” This is the same guy that set fire to her house! What was interesting about this is that until a few weeks ago, I had no idea what narcissism was until I started reading …
We often joke with our daughter about being a “millennial” because she and her generation have a strong sense of entitlement. I realize now we are actually demeaning them and putting them in a shame position that makes it harder for them to move into adulthood. Several nights ago, I saw a young boy running with his teammates during a football practice and he couldn’t keep up. He was embarrassed. It broke my heart to see him caught in the throes of obvious comparison and failure in the eyes of his team mates. I wondered if this was what he wanted to do? Or was he playing football because that is what his parents’ wanted? On our journey through the child and teenage years, my husband and I realized that many times we were living our hopes and unmet dreams through our children. This was a harsh reality for us. It took time to undo the damage in their lives, our son in particular. We had to apologize and say “sorry” more than once. Many …
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