The day started off a little crazy. I was helping the five-year-old find her misplaced shoes while the boys got into some markers and began practicing their circles on the walls of the living room. After seeing the mess they were making, I turned around just in time to see the baby projectile vomit across…
Nameless But Known
“As I have encountered women all over the world, I have realized we have one significant need in common: we desire to be known, really known. Knowing comes from the tender protection and provision that we can only get from our Heavenly Father, who not only knows us and our circumstances but knows our hearts’…
Praying Your Kids Back to School
It’s that time of the year again. We are getting our kids ready to return to learning. Whether that is in a private school, public school, hybrid school, homeschool co-op, or something else, we can be concerned about children in various areas. Praying your kids back to school is a commitment that Fathers and Mothers…
Honesty Matters
One of the key tenants in the Lightner Household is honesty. When our children have done something wrong, they will always get into more trouble if they are dishonest about what happened. That’s why when our young boys threw a baseball through the shed window, they immediately came to tell us. With a little quivering…
Joy in the Scriptures
Living in Zambia for ministry is hard. Not only do you have electricity issues (the government regulates when your community’s power is on), but you also have water problems. The government also determines when to send water into your area. But one of the most challenging things for ministry, though, is the literacy rate. When…
The Most Important Element of Your Homeschooling Day
It’s that time of the year again… the time that I solidify all of my homeschool plans for the year. I like to add new things, but I mostly keep things the same. When we have a good school rhythm, I don’t need to change that. As I talk to new homeschool mothers, though, they…
Encouraging Books for a Homeschooling Mother
Homeschooling families all have their own unique rhythms for school. While some like to have school for six weeks and then a week or two as a break, others will have school breaks when the public-school kids do. For our family’s schedule a long summer break just works the best. We have a ministry called…
Teaching Manners at Home
Have you ever been in the grocery store and noticed that kid? He stands next to his mother, insisting that he gets the Fruity Pebbles. His tone increases as he stomps and demands that his mother buy them for him because he deserves them. His volume increases, but you quickly exit the aisle, only to…
Camp Life Devotions
My husband, Danny Lightner of Family Legacy Missions International (www.familylegacy.com), created these devotions for Camp Life 2025 in Lusaka, Zambia. Each devotional below was meant to be the leaders devotional that they work on before the Big Group Sessions. During those sessions the children receive teaching at their level. Use these devotions as an individual…
Hospitality in the Dark
Last week as I sat in our dark house in Lusaka, Zambia, I began to doubt saying YES to hosting a group of medical interns to our house that evening. “But we don’t have power. I don’t know if they will be able to flush the toilets. All I have to serve them is water…