Top 10 Chronicles of Claire Posts

Well, 2012, is on it's way out and I thought I would share my top 10 posts from the year. I am excited for what 2013 will bring! Thank you for sharing the year with me.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

"If we are created in His image, then what I look like isn't on accident. It isn't an accident that I have hair that can't decide if it's curly or straight. My height and weight, eye color and skin color aren't an accident. My proclivity towards acne well into my 30s? Not. An. Accident. I was created in Gods image, fearfully and wonderfully as a temple for the Holy Spirit." 

Calling a Truce in the Mommy War

"Do you make parenting choices I don't understand? Yes, you do. I'm not naive enough to think that my parenting choices don't baffle you sometimes. Maybe even all the time. Sometimes my parenting choices baffle me. I, like you, have one goal as a parent: raise kids who love Jesus and each other the way Jesus loved the world. Maybe you aren't a believer in Jesus, but I'd venture to guess that your goal looks pretty similar: love and treat others the way you want to be treated. We all want our kids to be kind, generous people who do good for the world. See? We want the same things. We can probably help each other out a little bit, can't we?"

Lies Channing Tatum Told Me

"Men have always taken the brunt of the shame associated with pornography, seeing as women just didn't do that. I think we have been hiding behind their shame knowing that we didn't have to take responsibility for what we do behind closed doors, because they are always going to be worse than us. I have always looked at these statistics and acknowledged them, but disassociated myself from them. I don't doubt that they are real, but they don't describe me."


Won't You Be My Neighbor?

"I just wasn't prepared for the everydayness of it. I wasn't prepared for kids who don't have boundaries bursting into my house all day long, leaving doors open and tacking in mud. I wasn't prepared for little girls to argue with me when I set boundaries and push my limits and challenge me to find a way to love them through it. I wasn't prepared for hungry kids who didn't eat breakfast needing lunch or kids whose parents don't speak English well enough to understand what I am explaining how their son fell off a bike and got banged up. I wasn't prepared for the mom who comes over every time she gets important mail or paperwork so I can read it to her and fill it out for her. "


Walking Talking Mirrors


"As a parent you do you very best for your kids, but sometimes your very best isn't very pretty. No one is perfect and no matter how hard we try some of our worst traits (and to be fair, our best, too) get passed down to our kids. All our kids have gone through stages of extreme difficulty. They pass in and out of them, sometimes leaving the offensive stage before we have really figured out what to do with it.

And sometimes it seems that a difficult stage isn't just a stage, but maybe a personality trait."

Faith  Like a Child

"One afternoon last year I asked Tyler if he was making sure that anyone who wants to join their club could. "You aren't excluding anyone, right?" He assured me that no one was being excluded; that once the club members prayed to "have Jesus live in their hearts" they were free to join any and all clubs.

Imagine my wide-eyed surprise, mouth gaping open. While it is sweet that he was such an evangelist (questionable theology, aside), my mind immediately went to what are those kids' parents going to think? Then, just as quickly, do I need to be worrying about this? Then, I don't want him to ever be ashamed of his faith, how do I encourage healthy (not to mention Biblically accurate) sharing? Followed by "!!!!!!!!!!" I won't lie, part of me wonders if this new label stems from his beliefs. We have discussed a few things about this recently."

My Dad Knew

"I loved writing and I loved seeing my name and my words in print. I knew it was what I wanted to do. It's been 21 years since that first byline and I am just now deciding to believe what my dad told me, what my mom told me, what my teachers and friends and now you have been telling me. I am a writer."

Expectations and Endeavor

"One of the things I have been most surprised with over the years is how quickly we can go from "Oh yeah, you get me, like, really, really get me!" to "Do you even know me anymore?" It is frighteningly easy to forget that we are supposed to be a team. There's no "I" in....yeah it's a cliche, but fitting nonetheless."

Forgive, Forgive, and Forgive Some More

"As I'm watching my son learn his first lessons in heartbreak and forgiveness via the playground I'm having examine my own issues with forgiveness. I say "issues" because, frankly, forgiveness and me, we aren't always buds, man. Sometimes I want to hold on to my hurt so hard it...um, hurts. Physically, mentally, and most especially, spiritually."

Tension

" I stared down at my three dollar brownie, four dollar mocha and my husband's two dollar fair trade, organic, locally roasted, freshly brewed coffee and the tension between what I believe and what I do snapped into a million pieces. I looked at him and heaved the heavy sigh that he has come to know as the sign to buckle up, I am going to say/suggest/do something crazy."