Susan Merrill's Blog

In chapter 3 of the Book of Ruth Naomi plays matchmaker with a crazy plan to get Boaz’s attention.

Subscribe to BBC on Apple, Spotify , or Amazon.

Naomi is beginning to see some hope in Ruth’s growing relationship with Boaz. But after months of Ruth gleaning in Boaz’s field nothing has happened. So Naomi comes up with a plan of her own. She instructs Ruth to get dressed up and lay at Boaz’s feet while he is sleeping on the threshing floor. It was a dangerous move for Ruth, but she agreed willi...

If you get this post, you are a faithful friend because I haven’t written in, well, years!

It has been a different season, one in which Family First has grown and with it the opportunity to increase my role in overseeing our main programs: iMOM and All Pro Dad. Sharing my parenting and marriage journey was not something I could keep up with in my expanded role. And really, while you never stop parenting, I don’t have nearly as many stories to share with you now that my children are grown.

I ...

Do your conversations with your daughter ever seem like a litany of corrections and instructions? Perhaps they sound like this: “Did you brush your teeth?” Please don’t provoke your brother!” “Your softball uniform is on the dryer.”

With school, sports, recitals, holidays, and church programs- in our case, for five children- life can easily spin out of control. Survival became our goal because everyone in the family was moving so fast. Communication became utilitarian, and relationships were...

We arrived at school, the kids got out the car, and I drove away, marveling that Megan had put into practice what we had discussed. I was so excited and wanted to encourage her to continue being patient with her siblings. 

Then my excitement turned pensive. I began to worry that I would forget to praise her after school. I knew I would be distracted getting all the kids where they needed to be, finishing homework, preparing dinner…you know the drill. But I was not going to miss this opportuni...

When your children have questions about life, where do they turn for answers?

Google? Alexa? Friends? Or you?

Our kids have more access to information than ever before. They’ve grown up with the Internet, social media, and now Alexa and they have access all day. And they may be more comfortable or trust online advice more than they do talking to you!

This realization became a reality for me when an 11-year-old girl emailed us here at iMOM. She was concerned about her parent’s marriage. She se...

Every year during the Christmas season my husband and I watch a particular movie together. If a year went by without doing it it would feel like a loss. It’s the small moments involving loved ones that makes this time of year so special. Are you a bucket list family? Add even more joy to your holiday season by making Christmas memories with these 12 simple ideas for family fun from our Family Christmas Bucket List.

This past Sunday in church my pastor shared a quote that made everyone laugh, but it’s actually really, really sad. He told us that Prince Edward of England was quoted as saying, “The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children.”

Ugh! Is this true? Possibly, I meet moms every day who are frustrated that they can’t get their kids to behave. Perhaps kids don’t behave because we just don’t have the time anymore to give consistent consequences. When there are...

I’m leading a small group on Genesis, so I’ve been reading a lot about the Patriarchs and, in particular, Jacob. At the end of his life, Jacob blessed each of his 12 sons, but some of the blessings weren’t what we would normally consider a blessing. He laid out things they’d done in their past, good or bad, and how the tendency to commit the same sin might make them struggle in the future. It impressed me how direct Jacob was… He wasn’t concerned about whether his kids would like him, or be m...

I sure hope I’m not a controlling mother, but sometimes I fear that I am. I’m certainly more hands-on with my children than my mom was, and I do tend to give a lot of direction and instruction to my children.

Sadly, even good, caring moms can veer into the controlling zone (think helicopter/lawnmower parent), and it’s a place that’s not healthy for us or our children. In fact, a new study found that controlling mothers are viewed more negatively by their children. So how can you be sure you’r...

The secret to loving your children well is showing them how to live well through the choices you make. One of my girls is pregnant. It was surprising to me how many foods and medicines she has been told to avoid for the health of her baby. One of them is lunch meat. I think that is all I ate with my third pregnancy just 23 years ago! Much new research has improved what we know about protecting the health of children in the womb.

But what about protecting children in the home? The cultural acc...