“I am not a good cook or a great hostess. I often wonder if I’m doing it all right. You’ll find me making bulk Mac and Cheese in gym shorts and t-shirts, un-showered or made up. The couch is sometimes dirty and it gets too crowded at times. And yet, no one cares. All anyone really needs is a heart that says, ‘Welcome, you’re important here.’ THAT is the gift you offer when you open up your home.”
‘My home isn’t special. We don’t have the high-priced items to entertain, or space for the masses. And yet, no one cares.’: Mom has ‘open home policy’ for friends and family, ‘It’s not about the place, but the people’
‘A sleeveless shirt would ‘bring too much attention.’ Everything I did was a ‘sin.’ There was no escaping it.’: Woman overcomes ‘unique’ childhood, trauma to find self-love
“I was in his bed, having unprotected sex. I lost my virginity. I was supposed to wait till marriage. Within 3 months of meeting him, I got pregnant. I came home and caught him talking to another woman. I felt betrayed, heartbroken, and utterly lost. I convinced myself to do whatever I had to do to create a life with this man. Boy, was I wrong. That’s when a girlfriend set me up on a blind date with a man named Larry.”
‘Once again, I would get shivers in the pew this morning. This generation is not interested in who is right. They are interested in truth.’: Mom realizes important lesson on faith at church
“BAM. So, we get to church, and the sermon was, you guessed it, ON THIS VERY TOPIC. Well played, God. Clearly God is listening to us around the kitchen island, too.”
‘We won’t charge you for her. She’ll be FREE!’ I was freaking out. We already had 5 children. We didn’t sign up for this. We’re done, right?!’: Mom of 10 has all-natural birth at age 43, ‘We’ve brought 7 lives into the world, and saved 3. That’s worth it!’
“Let’s just say, passion wasn’t an issue in our relationship. We were headed to the movies and had a conversation that I might be pregnant. He asked me to take a pregnancy test in the movie theater restroom. I just swung my arms in a rocking cradle motion as I walked towards them. My family started asking if we were done. My mom even told me I needed to make John an appointment for a vasectomy. Funny story.”
‘Stay with us,’ they kept telling me. All I wanted was to close my eyes. The next many moments were a blur.’: Woman overcomes addiction, finds faith, ‘I’m so thankful drugs didn’t take over the precious life that awaited me’
“My mom covered her mouth and ran out of the room with tears in her eyes as my brother sat next to me. I was dying. I took 30 more pills slowly, not realizing what was happening. I should have died, and I almost did.”
‘It’s been 5 years since I set foot in church. I have no intention of going back. It comes down to diapers.’: Special needs mom refuses to bring her kids where ‘they’re not fully embraced’
“Poop is where church ends. Poop is the special need that doesn’t get met by ministry. Believe me, I know that big kid pullups are not pretty. When the message finally got through to me, it broke me. My special needs boys were not wanted. They were only included if I was willing to meet all of the ‘unpleasant’ needs.”
‘I’m sorry, I can no longer touch you.’ I cried. I was ‘unholy.’ They brainwashed you.’: Woman loses husband to religious cult, ‘I am mourning someone who is still alive’
“You promised me forever. When I accepted your engagement ring, I didn’t know ‘forever’ was only 2 more years. You didn’t even say goodbye. All you said was, ‘I hope you join,’ and closed the door. I chased after you, held onto your pant leg. You shook me off. ‘Please, just read the verses.’ The love of my life was swept away by a cult. I spend each day praying he’ll snap out of it.”
‘I wasn’t playing games. 4 weeks after meeting, he asked me to marry him! I said yes. Then, I tried to break it off.’: Single divorced mom of 2 gets engaged to man she met after 4 weeks, ‘He is worth the risk of another heart break’
“I started to let fear creep into my mind. We came from two totally different worlds. Ryan was an Eagle Scout, never once touched drugs or alcohol, saved himself for his future wife… aka virgin. I was broken, just finished fighting cancer, recently divorced, teen mom, made so many mistakes. He seemed too good to be true. I thought, ‘Surely this will all end.'”
‘Mom—a MOUNTAIN! Can we climb it?’ She believes her $10 Amazon dress transforms her into a magical princess.’ Mom urges others to say ‘yes’ to magic every chance they get
“She wanted to dress like Elena of Avalor for church today. Which is why, at 35 years old, I fight my instinct to say ‘no’ to magic as often as possible. I want my children to savor the weirdness of their childhood as long as the world will allow it. I want my daughter to believe in goblins and fairies and princess warriors.”
‘UM, IAN. Cough. IAN!’ I expected a box of pizza on the floor. I found foot-tall flames.’: Mom recalls dangerous fire pet dog accidentally caused before 6 a.m.
“I hear the sound of a huge dog clambering down the wood floor hallway. If toddler silence is a dangerous sound, this is the doggy equivalent. I chased her around the house trying to dislodge a slice of Meat Lovers. Then I saw the flames. The kids come running in. ‘FIRE! FIRE! WHAT’S OUR ESCAPE PLAN?’ We don’t have one, but bet we do by this afternoon.”
