July 29
My Family Home Evening Lesson Lasted Eleven Minutes
I spent years treating the lesson as the point of Monday night. Here's the shape that finally works with kids who are two, eight and eleven.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa
Autumn · October
Every essay, every home note.
The complete archive of Melissa Whitaker's essays and reflections on LDS Family Life, organized around family discipleship, honest motherhood, marriage, faith at home, and the home rhythms that shape a family over time. Showing older posts, page 9.
Family discipleship
Practical essays on prayer, scripture study, Sabbath patterns, and building a faithful home culture in ordinary life.
Motherhood & marriage
First-person reflections on parenting, emotional honesty, family fatigue, closeness, and raising children without performance.
Home rhythms
Home notes on homemaking, hospitality, steadiness, and the spiritual texture of ordinary family routines.
Essays
July 28
Caleb Says He Won't Clean the Garage a Third Time
Caleb has quit our garage corner twice. Nehemiah's wall, my dad's cinder blocks and a plan for finishing one real job before school starts on August 19.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa
July 27
The Parenthesis in John 4 and the New Statues at Temple Square
Three new statues of Jesus went up at Temple Square this month. Here's how I plan to read the stories behind them with my kids before we go.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa
July 26
When Your Kid Says Church Is Boring, Believe Them
A bored child is usually telling the truth. Here's what I ask, what I stopped saying, and the small jobs that change a Sunday.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa
July 25
Pack the Sleep Things First, Then the Shirts
I'm writing from the cabin table with the packing list still in my pocket. What two weeks away does to bedtime, prayer and tempers, and what I'd pack again.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa
July 24
What I Tell My Kids About the Handcarts on Pioneer Day
Lily weighed her stuffed horse to see what fit in a handcart. Here's how I'm telling the real story this year, with a journal entry and a plain lunch.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa
July 23
Caleb Wants a Phone and Everyone Else Has One
Our eleven-year-old asked again this week. Here's the rule David and I landed on after he went to bed, and the parts we're still turning over.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa
July 22
I Spent Years Misreading the Man Who Turned Around in Our Pew
What I pack for a two-year-old in sacrament meeting, where we sit, and how I decide it's time to walk him out.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa
July 21
My Sister Said Jehoshaphat's Prayer Sounds Like Giving Up
My sister thinks "we have no might" sounds like quitting. After rereading 2 Chronicles 20, here's how I'd teach it to a scared kid, and what it can't promise.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa
July 20
Caleb's Best Friend Isn't LDS and His Mom Hid the Coffee Maker
Owen's mom invited Caleb on a boat for Sunday and I typed my answer four times. Here's what we said, and what I learned about her coffee maker.
By Melissa Whitakerwith love, Melissa