Tim and Olive's Blog

Thoughtful marriage, parenting, and life.
  • brave Invitation to be Brave
    Without realizing it, I had slowly become a coward.  This week, God invited me to step out of that hiding place and really live again. Ever since I burned out at the end of 2007, I somewhat unconsciously swung from go-with-a-gusto approach to life to self-protection mode. (Visit here for my blog dedicated to my burnout experience.)  I think it’s natural and understandable that I reacted to feeling utterly depleted and spent from life by being careful with how I used my time and energy.  But I was gently shown this week that the pendulum had swung to the other extreme.  I had, in a way, over-corrected. Read More
  • Breastmilk bags The Story of My Milk: How I Stumbled into Feeding a Hundred Babies

    Being the idealist that I am, before I had Alena, I imagined our feeding times to be like this:  myself as a gentle, nurturing mother looking affectionately at the sweet babe suckling at my breast as we nestled together in the rocking chair.  A week after we brought her home, that picture could not be farther from reality.  Well, everything except for the rocking chair.  It was 6am in the morning, she was thrashing about and crying, I was hysterical and crying, and milk was everywhere but in her tummy.
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  • The Name-That-Expression Contest

    Welcome to the Name-That-Expression Contest! We have 6 fabulous prizes to give out for the winners of this contest. Why the heck are we running a contest? Mostly for the fun of it. Also because we get bored in between the feeding and diapers and laundry and washing and changing of the baby. And we like giving away stuff.
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  • Permission to be yourself You Hereby Have Permission to Be Yourself

    In my conversations with people, one of the recurring unspoken sentiments I hear is a request for permission to be themselves.  No one actually says it in quite those words, of course, but under the surface, the question often is, “Am I ok (especially if I’m not like others)?”
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  • So you’re annoyed at your spouse. It’s your fault, not theirs.

    Have you ever been annoyed at your significant other? Sometimes I wonder if I get more annoyed at my wife, or she gets more annoyed at me. In a recent survey, men and women were asked what they found to be the most annoying time wasters of their spouses or significant others.
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  • baby faith How to Have a Baby Without Losing Your Faith

    “After the baby came, I haven’t had time to pray, read the Bible, journal, go to church, or attend small group.  In fact, I barely have enough time to shower, let alone think about God!”
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  • JustPotters Handmade Mug I love this mug made by JustPotters

    This morning I bought this beautiful handmade mug from JustPotters. I love the design, the colour, how smooth it feels, and the fact that my daughter’s middle name, Joy, is on the mug.
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  • 6 Reasons why You should become a Mentor

    Mentoring has become a buzz word these past few years. I’ve read countless articles about why you should find a mentor. I’m convinced. And I’m pretty sure most people are convinced. Having a mentor is a great idea. But this blog post is not about why you should get a mentor. This blog post is about why it’s a great idea for you to BECOME a mentor (If you are wondering how to find a mentor, here’s a blog post I wrote about how to do that).
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  • Oh how a baby grows

    It’s amazing how much a baby changes in just 3 months.
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  • The Gospel and Marriage

    Just read this insightful quote by Tim Keller in his book “The Meaning of Marriage”.
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