Each chapter focuses on a virtue (like Joy, Forgiveness and Respect) and gives simple ideas to incorporate it into hearts and home for the month. My favorite aspects are the definitions and catch phrases that Courtney provides to help children understand and remember each virtue. I realize the idea of deliberately designing opportunities to teach virtues in a meaningful way can sound less like fun and more like yet another item for your never-ending to-do list. As a mom of two little girls, I understand where most parents are sitting today. We are wiped out yet yearning for more. The urgent is pushing out important things. What matters in the next ten minutes is pulling us away from what will matter in ten years.” -Courtney DeFeo, We Will Giggle, pg. 9 I was able to read an ARC of this book through Net Galley, and requested it since I have always worked to give my own five kids a magical childhood and love the idea of a book about making laughter a daily part of our family life.

These poor creatures also fall firmly into the “tragic villain” category, and while they’re considerably more worthy of our sympathy than our revulsion — which is one of the more compelling themes in both films — there’s no getting around how creepy they look and how damn clumsy they are around us fragile humans. And the actors behind the stitches, Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester, are amazing. Similarly, Love is Love is pretty hard to argue with. It’s a literal tautology… try getting out of that one. The argument behind this one is in favor of certain LGBTQ policies, some of which are, at their core, demands for complete repudiation of the human sexual binary. Nothing divisive about that, right? In its most innocuous interpretation, it’s a call for acceptance of the LGBTQ community (on a side note, why not keep it simple with Q?). Dig a level or two deeper, though, and you uncover far more contentious issues, some of which contradict one another ( lesbians, apparently, must now dig trans women or they’re branded as hopeless bigots — for all the talk of love, hate has been allowed to speak the loudest). Gay marriage is already settled — legally speaking, though the division lingers on. Around the same proportion of Americans ( one third) oppose gay marriage as voted for Joe Biden for president; imagine how unifying a “You’re a fool if you voted for Biden” yard sign would be. Parodies of the sign from a right-wing perspective also exist, including one that promoted the conspiracy theory that the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen, that Epstein didn't kill himself, that Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates are untrustworthy, that Hillary Clinton belongs in prison, and that "media is propaganda". This sign was shared with approval by the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party. [3] See also [ edit ] I also like that this book applies to all age ranges. Some projects are good for teens, some for elementary age, and some for toddlers. The whole family can learn and grow together.Within a matter of hours of the sign's placement, a remarkable chain of events was underway. A woman who happened to walk by Garvey's house had taken a picture of it and posted it to a friend's Facebook wall. "You should make signs like this," commented the friend, tagging another friend. That friend, Jennifer Rosen Heinz, agreed enthusiastically. Unlike Garvey, Rosen Heinz is most definitely an activist. "I'm kind of the carnival barker," she laughs. And she felt the profound need for something that the anti-Trump resistance could rally around.

You might not share the politics of the people proudly displaying these yard signs, but don’t dismiss their importance. They should be illuminating and convicting for Christians—ultimately a cause to connect rather than argue with your progressive neighbor. Post-Christian Creed If you’ve taken more than three steps anywhere in suburbia, then you’ve most certainly encountered the “In this house” sign that began popping up sometime between Democrats’ fury over Trump taking the White House and their fury that he was still in office one week later. The sign has spawned multiple variations, with various levels of agreement with the original message. Some variations have been sold for-profit, which Garvey has expressed her disapproval of, writing: "I don't want people to make money off of it. If they're donating the money they make, then that's fine". [1] Conservative parody of the "We Believe" yard sign The sign has proven popular at protests, including the 2017 Women's March and the George Floyd protests in 2020. [2] Variations [ edit ] Modified "We Believe" sign design in Arlington, Virginia, October 2020. As a counselor, I’m so grateful for Courtney DeFeo and her book. I hear weary parents every day trying to figure out how to combat the entitlement of this generation, instill virtues in their children, and enjoy one another at the same time. This book contains the encouragement and practical ideas to do just that! As a family, you will be inspired to grow, serve, love, and laugh together!”Courtney provides clear and encouraging guidance for building character into your children in fun, easy and lasting ways.

I understand the signal that they think they’re putting out there: that of a loving, accepting, open-minded, ultra-civilized citizen of the world. But what is the signal they’re really sending? What is the message being received by those who either disagree with the underlying value judgments or would never think to display them in such an in-your-face manner?The first time I came across the “In This House…” display was earlier this spring, when the Unitarian Universalist church down the street erected a ten-foot-wide sign on their front lawn, facing the intersection. My eyes grew wide as I took it in. A church, of all places, posting something this outright inflammatory and divisive? A vigilante church board member was the only thing that made sense. I was sure there would be a community outcry and it would be removed within days. If you’re looking for real-life ways to become a more proactive instead of reactive parent, you should read this book. Courtney DeFeo gives us personalized and practical ideas for building love and laughter into our children so we can actually develop an intentional plan for investing in them.” Sissy Goff, director of child and adolescent counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries, Nashville, TN, and author of several books, including Intentional Parenting