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Read MoreAre your parenting batteries depleted?
Could you use some encouragement and inspiration to help you on the parenting journey? Would you like some tips and ideas for ways to have fun and to make memories with your child? Then you’re at the right place and we’re glad you’ve joined us! Eighteen years sounds like a long time—but you really have just 18 summers . . . and we want to help you make the most of them.
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Read MoreSo how did the Just 18 Summers® brand come about?
My pastor, Rev. Ralph Sexton, dedicated a baby at church one Sunday. As the parents walked off the platform, he said, “Don’t forget, you have just 18 summers. Take time to make some memories.” Whew, the poignancy of that slammed into me and I knew at that moment that God wanted me to do something with that thought.
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Read MoreWe want Just 18 Summers® to be about YOU.
We’d love to hear from you with your thoughts, ideas, and ways we can help you on the parenting journey.
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Read MorePlease help us spread the word about Just 18 Summers®!
Post about us on Facebook and Twitter. Tell your friends and family. Tell your pastors, family ministry leaders, and organizations about Just 18 Summers. Let’s encourage and strengthen families across our nation and the world!
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Recent From A Happy Home
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Most Recent Articles
Welcome Spring!
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:3 ESV Splashes of color dot the periphery of forests, woods, and neighborhoods, indicating that spring is upon us. (A layer of yellow pollen in the deep south signifies that time of year, too!) Watch for new colors every day and fresh, new signs of spring, too. Enjoy the beauty of spring with lots of family walks and outdoor time and create some unique family holidays to accompany the silly ones below. Make it an awesome April for those you love! World Wish Day – Make wishes all month long – silly ones, like, cookies for breakfast and serious ones, like, an end to poverty and sickness. Look for dandelion weeds that have gone to seed when out and about. Pick a few and make silent wishes before blowing away the seeds. Brainstorm individual wishes and family ones over dinner one evening, and then pray over family and community concerns and world-wide wishes. Then read some of these fun wish books: Marien’s Wish by Cinthia Wild, Wish by Emma Dodd, and I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. National Dandelion Day –...
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Not Alone
I sighed as I walked into our living room and saw the mountain of clean clothes and towels covering the couch. Ten loads of laundry reminded me I wouldn’t be going to bed anytime soon. How do five people make so much laundry in such a short time? As I stared at the work ahead of me, my husband entered the room. Sensing my discouragement, he said, “Guess what? I’m with you and I’m going to help you. You don’t have to fold all of that alone.” I smiled. Suddenly, I didn’t feel quite so overwhelmed. Life is always better when a friend can help shoulder our burdens. We can give that kind of encouragement to our kids, too, by assuring them: I’m with My youngest daughter is quite the introvert, so new situations can be very unsettling for her. Often, she asks me to face them with her, because sometimes, just knowing you’re not alone makes all the difference in the world. Let’s give our kids the gift of our presence. Aside from facing scary situations with them, we can also cultivate our relationships by prioritizing one-on-one time, listening to whatever’s on their mind, and inviting them to join us as we go about our day-to-day lives. I’ll help Recently, I noticed my...
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Math and the Bible
Pi day isn’t about eating pies although you might have wanted to have one to celebrate on March 14th. It’s a day to celebrate math and numbers. Pi is a ratio between a circle’s circumference (distance around the edge) and its diameter (distance across the middle). Circles and numbers are all around you. Numbers are also in the Bible. Jesus had twelve disciples, fasted for forty days (that’s why we have forty days of Lent), named the two greatest...
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Who Will Be the Greatest?
Helmets on. Shields down. Laser swords up. Sabers held high throb with light while Darth Vader breathes his insanely evil inhale and exhale. The battle begins. My six-year-old and three-year-old grandsons have never even seen Star Wars, but the way they go at it, you’d never know. They grunt and shout in victory and defeat. It is a run-for-your-life war to the finish. Apparently, it only takes a few years of life to figure out someone gets to be...
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Making Memories with the Family is a Breeze in the Month of March
…He brings forth the wind from His treasuries. Psalm 135:7 (NASB) Another month just blew onto the calendar. March sometimes enters the scene as a lion, roaring with wind from God’s treasuries. And the saying goes, it will leave as a lamb. The reverse is also true, according to many farmers’ almanacs. If March begins with gentle breezes, then the month will end with ferocious ones. Celebrate windy days and calm ones, too, with the family throughout the month...
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Indiana Jones and the Lost Scrolls
It all began with a goat and a stone. It was early 1947 (or possibly late 1946) when a Bedouin shepherd boy named Muhammed the Wolf went out searching for his lost goat among the limestone hills in Qumran, not far from the Dead Sea in what is Israel today. As he hunted among the cliffs, the boy stopped to hurl a rock into the open mouth of a cave. He heard the crack of breaking pottery. That’s strange,...
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Real-life Conversations
“How do we know God is real, Mama?” My seven-year-old’s question reined in the distracted thoughts running through my mind. Our nightly routine faded into the background as eternity stepped into that moment. I prayed for wisdom and considered how to answer. I know He’s real based on my years of history with Him. I’ve experienced His provision, witnessed His miracles, and felt His presence more times than I could count. Yet I’ve also asked that same question many...
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