Generation NeXt Parenting

Interview with Gina Conroy

Here's is an excerpt of an interview with Gina Conroy at Mom2Mom Connection

Gina has contributed to my blog on a regular basis (just last week infact)!

Help for Praying Moms: Gina Conroy

With Mother’s Day coming soon, I want to highlight some special moms who reach out to encourage those of us deep in the trenches.

Gina Conroy is an author and mom of four who has a heart for using her gift of writing to build up her peers. According to her website, Gina grew up in a New York Italian family where she says “there was never a lack of drama, love and interesting dialogue.”

At the age of 15, she went to a Wayne Cochran retreat and gave her life to the Lord. She graduated with honor from Oral Roberts University with a degree in Communication Arts. Gina is founder of Writer…Interrupted and writes about her experiences trying to balance it all at Portrait of a Writer…Interrupted. She’s the co-author of Anytime Prayers for Everyday Moms and has also contributed to Reach for Your Dreams Graduate.

Welcome, Gina!

Why do you feel it’s important for mothers to pray?

Believe it or not, praying is not an easy thing for me to do. I’m not talking about the quick prayers we moms mutter consistently under our breaths every day. I’m talking about the more concentrated and thoughtful prayers, specific to each child. I’ve always known it’s important to do, but knowing and doing are two different things.

When I wrote Anytime Prayers for Everyday Moms, God met a need in my own life through my own prayers. The topics I was assigned to write about were exactly what I was going through. My prayers flowed naturally from me and ministered to me.

read the rest of the interview here:

http://mom2momconnection.com/2007/05/02/help-for-praying-moms-gina-conroy/

Labels: gina conroy, interview, mother's day, mothering, prayer, writing

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 9:17 AM 2 comments

Guest Blogger...Gina Conroy

Labels: breaking up, children, divorce, family, gina conroy, husbands and wives, marriage, prayer

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 9:55 PM 4 comments

Guest Blogger...Gina Conroy

Is it In Your Nature to Nurture?

I was a bit surprised by this article about a mom who openly admits she's bored with her children. After reading the article it's obvious to me how this mom lacks a nurture gene and is solely focused on herself and her needs and desires. If you don't believe me, go read it for yourself.

This got me thinking. Most times I feel I lack the nurture gene, and yes, I admit I feel like this woman at times. Bored of playing with toys and dolls, aggravated by the never ending kiddie board game, and frustrated by driving my kids all over town.

I'm not one of those moms who love to play with her children for the simple fact that I'm a type A personality, a Choleric/Melancholy who sees so much to do around the house, that playing a game often feels like wasting time. But it's not! It's all about molding the little minds and hearts God has given me and training them up in the way they should go. How can I possibly do that if I don't spend time with them in their world?

This article was convicting for me. It made me want to spend more time playing with my kids and less time doing "stuff". And I'm going to try and play with my children more, not just sit and watch them. I'm going to pull out the board games and get down on my hands and knees. I'm going to sit and color or play Star Wars, if they want me to because this life isn't about what I can get out of it, it's what God wants to me give to others, starting with my children.

Gina Conroy is founder of Writer...Interrupted and a homeschooling mom to four. She writes about her experiences trying to balance it all at Portrait of a Writer...Interrupted.

Labels: child's play, gina conroy, mothering, nurture, parenting

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 1:58 PM 0 comments

Guest Blogger...Gina Conroy

Staying Close Even Though You’re Far Away
This is reprinted from a published article from 2001 copyright

It had been my mother’s dream for me to attend a Christian college. Yet she didn't realize her answered prayer would put 1500 miles between her and her grandchildren.

Like so many college graduates, my husband and I chose to make our home in a state other than where we grew up. For years we have struggled with moving closer to our roots, but always return to the reasons why we stay. It is a great place to raise children, the cost of living is very affordable, and we are involved in our church and community.

Having grown up in the same house as my grandmother, I know the importance of extended family. Although my children may never have that same experience, their grandparents don’t have to be strangers. Since we chose to live so far away, I feel it is our responsibility to do everything we can to keep our kids close to their grandparents.

Here are several ways we try to strengthen the ties that bind us together:

One of the best things we did was purchase a videophone for each of the grandparents. We chose the phone version (although there is also a camera for the computer) so it would be portable and able to travel to extended family gatherings. So far we have enjoyed Christmas, Thanksgiving and ordinary days with our relatives. Now the grandparents never miss the kids opening their birthday gifts or Christmas presents. They’re right there watching… it’s the next best thing to being there in person.

The next best thing to the videophone is sending videotapes or CDs. Once or twice a year I record a videotape of all the special and everyday events of the kids. The grandparents really appreciate watching the kids grow up and having a keepsake of their most precious moments.

Photographs are very important, especially when the kids are young and changing every couple of months. I used to send my family loose pictures. Then one holiday I gave each grandparent a scrapbook photo album with pictures of the kids. I chose a hinged album so I could send pages to them instead of pictures. Now when I send pictures all they have to do is put the finished pages in the albums. Needless to say the grandparents are very appreciative of this.

If you’re like me when we visit family I take several rolls of pictures. But how many pictures of the same pose do you really need in your albums? With the extra pictures we make family placemats. Just attach photos to a piece of paper and laminate it. You can have dad’s family on one side and mom’s on another. Writing the names of each family member also helps them remember who everyone is.

During the school year, my house becomes cluttered with school papers. I send several school papers and copies of their progress reports to their grandparents. At the end of the fall semester we make calendars for everyone with the papers and artwork I couldn’t bring myself to throw away.

We always send homemade cards and gifts for every holiday. We’ve even surprised grandma with an unexpected birthday fax to office.

We love to sit and look through pictures of the trips to the grandparents’ home. It helps the boys remember the fun times they had and not be so shy the next time we visit.

Let’s not forget all the cyber ways to keep in touch with families. There’s email, blogging, online videos and photo albums that allow access to whoever you invite to your site. It’s easier today to keep in touch than it was twelve years ago when I had my first child.

At least once a year we visit both grandparents try to come and visit us.Since my mom likes to travel, we’ve been meeting her in different states. It’s a fun surprise when we visit a place like Florida and grandma is there.

No matter how long we’ve been apart, when our children get together with their grandparents we all feel as if we had just had Sunday dinner together. It might take some effort, but with help from grandma and grandpa it is possible to stay close even when you’re far away.

Gina Conroy is founder of Writer...Interrupted and a homeschooling mom to four. She writes about her experiences trying to balance it all at Portrait of a Writer...Interrupted.

Labels: communication ideas, cyber communication, family, gina conroy, grandchildren, grandparents, keeping-in-touch

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 1:52 PM 0 comments

Guilty as Charged
First posted Dec. 2006

"I am the one holding the keys to the atmosphere in our home."~ Terry Maxwell ~Author of: Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit

Ouch! Does this quote ever hurt?

When my kids are out of control and I'm the reason why!

It's an all too familiar scene. Me checking email while the kids are supposed to be doing their school work. I look up in between typing. "Joey(9), have you started your school work?" Chris is still sawing logs in bed, and Timmy (6) is playing nicely with Grace (4) because I haven't set out his school work yet.

I'm distracted and not in control of my kids. When I call Timmy to do his work, he ignores me.

Chris (12) finally slumps down the steps, disrupting the semi-quiet house with his just out of bed attitude. (Not a good one, mind you.)

I pull myself away from the computer and try to gain control of the morning, but we've been off schedule for some time now.

I could blame it on the fact that the Chris' play has caused us to stay up late many times a week, for several weeks. So in an attempt to catch up on sleep, we all catch a few extra winks in the morning.

I could blame it on the holidays and the cold weather that makes me want to spend the day in my pajamas surfing the net. Or I could blame it on the fact that my kids are just rebellious. But bottom line is they are following my lead. When I don't have a plan for the day, the day seems to spiral out of control.

Kind of like this... No one is listening to me and if they are, they're not obeying. I raise my voice a little louder, not wanting to deal with their disobedience, hoping that they'll just listen and do what they're told. Fat chance. They continue to ignore me until I finally get frustrated enough and blow my top. I run through the house like a lunatic, trying to get everyone back on task. My nine year old starts to yell and whine back at me, my 12 year old throws insults at my nine year old and my six year old cries because I raised my voice at him. When I gain composure and try to apologize, he won't listen to me and stomps off to find a quiet place to cool down.

I feel the weight of my sin and try to make everything right again. I find those I've offended and apologize. We talk about disobedience, distractions, the enemy and his fiery darts and then about consequences.

This scenario happened the other night. We all repented, and we all understood (and received) the consequences of our sin. But was it enough to change our behavior? Enough to change my behavior?

The reality is I've grown weary in doing good. It's no fun parenting all the time! So I think over the last several weeks, I've slowly allowed myself to get out of focus. I've welcomed the distractions because I've wanted to distance myself from my never ending parenting and homeschooling responsibilities. And I had to pay a price for it!

My children's behavior is a result of the atmosphere I've created. I didn't wake up one morning and consciously say, “I'm going to let my home go.” It just happened. Slowly.

But the story doesn't have to end here. If I am to blame for the negative behavior in my home, I have the power to turn it around.

How? By following God's leading...

A gentle answer turns away wrath.

Train up a child in the way he should go...

Do everything without arguing and complaining.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Beloved, let us love one another.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal...Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

I think those are good places to start!

Gina Conroy is founder of Writer...Interrupted and a homeschooling mom to four. She writes about her experiences trying to balance it all at Portrait of a Writer...Interrupted.

Labels: discipline, gina conroy, homeschooling, mother's roles, parenting, scheduling

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 1:44 PM 1 comments

Guest Blogger...Gina Conroy

Anger Management for Six Year Olds

I remember the first time Timmy threw his first fit.

He was two or three and we were outside jumping in the fall leaves. I don't remember what sparked it, probably that he didn't want to come inside, but my little "Angel boy" morphed into a demon.

Blazing hateful eyes, clenched fists, spitting ugly words from his mouth. I really didn't know what to do. He was my third born, but none of the others ever had a tantrum like this. Plus, he was my mild mannered, easy going kid.

We made it through the incident with tears on both our parts and managed to escape in one piece, but the first glimpse of my little Jekyl and Hyde scared me.

As he got older I began to realize what set him off. Embarrassment, when he perceived I was correcting him when he was wrong or disciplining him for something he didn't do.

Take this morning for instance. He was all excited that I asked him to butter toast. So I set him up next to the toaster and after a few minutes I checked on him. He had one glob of butter spread into a small area of each toast.
I said something like "Oh, that's not how you do it. You need to get the butter all over the bread." Then I took his hand and was guiding him. I guess I squeezed his hand too hard because Mr. Hyde came out.

His sweet smiled turned upside down and his angry eyebrows took control. I don't remember what he said, but he was in meltdown mode. Saying things like "I hate you", "I'm going to butter the toast my way," and "I wish you weren't in the family."

I wouldn't let him hold the knife when he was angry, and I could see him fighting for control.

Finally after threatening to break the toaster, he grabbed the knife to start buttering the toast. I very calmly picked him up and was surprised he didn't put up a fight. I carried him to his room and said "I love you." He, in his angered state said, "I hate you."

I managed to get him in his room with a slight struggle and waited for the sound of destruction. A couple of small bangs and that was it.

Later when he was back to the loveable Dr. Jekyll, I asked him if he hated me. He smiled, and said, “No, I love you.”

That’s what I call a happy ending!

Gina Conroy
http://portraitofawriter.ginaconroy.com
http://writerinterrupted.ginaconroy.com/

Labels: anger management, child rearing, gina conroy, love, tantrums

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 8:37 PM 0 comments