Readers frequently write in to request help and tips for stepfamilies, and so I am honored to bring you a guest blog this week from author and speaker Debbie Alsdorf. Author of Beyond the Brady Bunch, Debbie carefully and honestly leads us into this topic — and I hope the lessons she learned will benefit you (or help you see friends or family in a fresh light). By Debbie Alsdorf As little kids, I don’t suppose any of... Read more
Nothing will shift your perspective more quickly than seeing great need and recognizing the many things you have to be grateful for. Read more
Help your child come up with something nice to do for their person every day. I remember when two of my boys were struggling in their relationship, I worked with them to stop and think how they could make each other’s day. Some days it looked like us sneaking into their room and secretly making their bed. Other times we would be at the grocery store and I’d ask one of them for their brother’s favorite snack. “Let’s make their day!” I’d say. You’d be surprised how fun it can be when you’re actively searching for ways to be kind to someone else – even someone who is often difficult to get along with. Read more
We’ve spent the last two weeks exploring three critical (but oh so hard) steps that can help change our focus from ongoing frustration, discontent, or disappointment when life isn’t going the way we hoped or planned. In a nutshell, they are: Grief Acceptance Appreciation Read more
This is the second part of a three-part series on what to do when life or relationships aren’t what you wanted them to be. In last week’s part 1 we started with a challenging but important first step. Today, we explore two more. I’ve always wished I could draw, paint and do graphic design. I write books and I used to perform in musical theatre so I am not completely bereft of right-brain endeavors! But the drawing and design gene... Read more
How do we handle these situations with grace, steadiness, and joy, instead of frustration, chaos, and anguish? How do we live a life marked by true contentment instead of constant dissatisfaction? Read more
This week is the second installment of a two-part series in conjunction with the launch of season 4 of our Family Life podcast, Married With Benefits! Brian Goins and I have based this season on my Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages findings. In part 1, we looked at three steps to begin change in your marriage. In this part 2, we’ll tackle three steps to build the habit that all happy marriages have. * In The Surprising Secrets... Read more
The Married With Benefits podcast is designed to help you apply all of these steps, and develop the habits of the happiest marriages. Make sure to get notified when each episode drops! Read more
I don’t know what it’s like in your house when you hit a wall, but in mine? Look out. Impatience, irritability, or exhaustion can creep in real fast if I let them. Science and scripture show us a better way. And that’s why I invite you to join me this summer for a 7-week devotional journey into deeper rest. Based on my top-selling book Find Rest, my first-ever online summer devotional journey for women will feature: Live, interactive weekly group meetings with me, for teaching and Q & A Light devotional readings that can lead you from frazzled to refreshed Bonus material not found in Find Rest Customized content, based on group feedback Read more
This is Part 2 of a two-part series for parents who are tempted to do too much for our kids. (Guilty!!) Part 1 covered the importance of recognizing our teens’ desire for freedom and letting them make mistakes. This Part 2 tackles “but what if____” sorts of questions and how to handle the mistakes! When my friend Lisa Rice and I were doing the research with 3,000 teens for our book For Parents Only and several others, my children were... Read more
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