Light Duties

Growing up without a father and then becoming the mother of many children are two experiences that have taught me two things relevant to the abortion issue. The key to ending abortion is not to lie about life with children. The truth is so much better.

I've been asked about parenting teenagers, by some people who are anticipating their children soon growing to be teens. This collection of observations is a snapshot of what I've been learning thus far (with my 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 8 year olds). I expect to have more and less to say down the track, but also know that immediacy counts for something. This episode is a forerunner to anything I might s...

In this episode I start with a brief history of the problem that Sunday Schools were first trying to solve. I then spend time considering how the 17th Century challenges are not the same as ours, which then raises the question of what Children's Ministries exist for in 21st Century Australia.  I mention Charlotte Mason, Vol.2 Parents and Children p.92-100. To see other things I've written about ki...

This episode features a brief life update as well as an article I wrote at Easter-time, but true for all times. Life is a cycle of deaths, seeds buried. But we believe in resurrection through Jesus Christ. My garden is a metaphor for that.

God built certain responsibilities into the parent/child relationship. If you are looking to grow in understanding and doing that role, then you might appreciate the monthly Charlotte Mason study group I host. This episode explains what that is all about. You can join the group  via Patreon ($5 AUD per month). A reading schedule is available on the Light Duties website. Join anytime, no prior know...

First published August 2024 on the  Australian Presbyterian website . For the full text, see the AP site or the Light Duties website. This article explores the disparity between the sentiments of the 2024-25 Women's Budget Statement and the Bible's vision of how children are raised. Instead of focusing on women's rights, I suggest we refocus by considering how our children are going with the bibli...

Following the How to Fill the Time episode, I've received questions about what kinds of children's books to read. Here is a response, to help you filter out many of the options and point you to some good springs.  I mentioned: Biblioguides Vigen Guroian, " Tending the Heart of Virtue " (No affiliate link; I used the website that had the cheapest prices as of the date the episode was released). Han...

Jodie McIver is the Christian friend every expectant mum needs, especially in Australia. She understands the Bible, she understands midwifery and she understands the great variety of experiences faced by women who are becoming mothers. This is a review of her book, "Bringing Forth Life: God's Purposes in Pregnancy and Birth". 

When we've been invested in giving good and restraining harm for our kids, the situations that bring them low can be bitter to us. But we and our children need these pains, lest we miss the best of comfort, especially as they become independent.

Our work in mothering is not going to achieve all that we imagine. Why bother when we don't know which way the ball will bounce? This episode is about the comfort we can count on.

How can these maternal duties be called "light" when they are so weighty in importance and difficulty? 

A listener has asked, "What good things can I fill my time and the kids' time with before starting formal schooling?". This response was recorded while I was out and about (so it sounds a bit raw). It's a start in thinking about why we have trouble filling time with very young children (I propose that it is an oddity of our economic/social/historical context). I meander through some of the key ele...

Perhaps we find motherhood difficult because we haven't given much thought to building a house? The thing is, we're all building from ruins, salvaging and restoring what we can. We have ideals, but none of us are working with ideal materials. Our splintered posts have meaning.

In this think-aloud chat, we consider how our most basic form of treasure is our attention. And where our treasure is, there our heart will follow. Some thoughts on how we might come to love things we really don't like doing.

Sometimes God's generosity exhausts us. When the good gifts generate more work, we often treat them like a curse. This episode is about recognising the abundance we've had put in our hands so we can get busy doing something with it. It's about how to do a faithful job of handling the abundance (the abundance we often complain about). It's also about what pleases the Lord in those times when all th...

Perhaps telling people about Jesus while we're caring for our children isn't as complicated as we make it? Some reflections from a couple of decades (while I clean and repair books).

The great terror of motherhood is that we'd ruin it. This dread causes some mothers to do less: the less we do, the less we can fail. The same dread causes others to grip tighter and work harder: the harder we try the more sure the outcome will be. The painful truth is that both—minimal doing and overdoing—are ruinous to the thing we are trying to preserve.

I could NOT let Christmas come without saying something. But such is the sweltering pace of things around here that I am talking on the run, complete with the creaking of doors, thrum of traffic and stretching of sticky tape. Minus editing and intro and outro. It's a worked example of giving what you've got even though it's far less than your ideal. That's the kind of chat this is. May you and you...

We don't have to trick kids into obedience. And we mustn't neglect climbing trees. A life of obedience isn't a legalistic life. Obedience training is not a constant drill of facts and instruction. It isn't micromanagement, explicitly teaching every virtue and moral lesson by rote. It's not that we make obedience fun, like a cheap gimmick to bribe our children into doing what they ought. Obedience...

What if our children grow up to squander the good gifts we have tried to give them? If it doesn't end up achieving all we hope for, would faithful Christian motherhood be a waste of time? This is a think-aloud delve into how to stay motivated for a fraught work. I pray it is a comfort, and fortifying.

This is the first episode answering a few questions lately received. Ranging from preparing for the teen years; parenting books I wish I had read at the start of my time as a mum; suggestions for Bible study guides to support Christ centred mothering. Along with some comments about Christian cancel culture.  

If there was a way to sober me up in the euphoria of anticipating new motherhood, this verse was it. A hint that there was a weighty trust and great danger. I wasn't merely welcoming a baby, but a person who would grow into an adult who would either fear the Lord or despise him. " his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them ." (1 Samuel 3:13). 

In this think-aloud chat, Cathy talks aloud through a few things she's noted watching kids grow from complete dependence to almost the opposite (in a shockingly short space of time). A few things she's learning to focus on with the escalating pressure to fast track our kids into independence. It starts with trying to figure out what independence is. Note the audio was recorded while Cathy was buil...

In this think aloud chat, I continue thinking through my experience of handling motherhood and unwieldy moods. This is about some practical considerations that have helped. And books. See website for links.

In this think-aloud-chat, Cathy talks through some of her experience of learning to cope. This is a look at one mum's experience over a long time, and the things that made a difference when dealing with long term depression and anxiety.