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Showing 1–12 of 143 results

Worry Not โ Live Happy!
In his book, โThe Power of Positive Thinking,โ Norman Vincent Peale shares a story of a pastor talking to a painter about worrying.โHoward, donโt you ever worry?โ the pastor asked the painter.The painter laughed and said, โNo, not on your life. I donโt believe in it.โThe painter goes on to tell how he didnโt have time to worry and how he set aside one day a week to worry, pushing off all his daily concerns until that one day. But, after trying to worry on the designated day for all the things heโd pushed out of his mind throughout the week he couldnโt do it. He was a failure at worrying. The painter had already essentially trained himself not to worry.Whether knowingly or unknowingly, this painter had worked out a method, or skill set, for overcoming worry.Mr. Peale explained that, โpeople fail to overcome such troubles as worry becauseโฆthey allow …
Posted by Monica Pond on February 21, 2019

Who Drives You Crazy?
โBut what if they just keep talking back and are driving me crazy,โ a mother asked me while I was instructing a group of parents on how to teach their children to accept โnoโ answers.The mother of three told the group she knew she needed help becausesometimes she feels so crazy, or out of control, when sheโs around her children that she looks forward to going to work instead of being at home with the family.I immediately noticed that wanting to go to work when things got rough at home was really just a desire to run away from a problem she didnโt feel quite prepared to solve.This mother was missing vital tools and honest perspective needed to stop herself and her children from going crazy or running away.Children most often develop the habit of talking back to parents in disrespectful ways because the behavior is occasionally tolerated. Parents unknowingly …
Posted by Monica Pond on October 19, 2019

Who Are You This Christmas?!
Christmas is full of symbols and characters that inspire us and that we can relate to. We all want to be Santa for someone each year, so we look for needs that we can meet anonymously โ just like he would. Some of us relate to Rudolph. We feel different, but know that our difference is just what the people around us need to accomplish their goals. Some of us are the Littlest Angel, so we give our best for Christ even though our offering seems small and humble. Some of us have had or are having a change of heart like Scrooge or the Grinch. Who are you this Christmas? As I ponder the true meaning of Christmas, I canโt help but delight in the profound comprehensiveness of the characters in the nativity story. Everyone can relate to one or more characters in the story. When we see the …
Posted by Monica Pond on December 21, 2017

Where We Give Our Attention Matters Most
When I was a little girl, my brothers used to tease me. Every time I was teased or called names by them, I allowed myself to become emotional. One day when I was upset, my father said to me, โNicholeen, if you donโt let the teasing work, then it wonโt be fun for them and theyโll stop teasing. You have to choose not to give any of it your attention.โ Eric Broaderick said, โThat which we choose to give attention gains power.โ This is so true. If we keep entertaining our stressful thoughts, then that stress overpowers us. If we entertain thoughts of gratitude, then we feel more connected to the people we are grateful for and find more happiness. Adults and children alike can find increased happiness if they realize what they focus on is up to them. During these times of uncertainty, we must not entertain thoughts of …
Posted by Monica Pond on November 16, 2020

What Your Mother Really Wants
Recently, while texting with my oldest son, he asked, โHey, what do you want for Motherโs Day?โI shouldnโt really admit that I donโt like those kinds of questions, but the truth is I donโt. Maybe itโs because my love language isnโt gifts, or maybe itโs because I never know what to say. The most likely reason, however, is that deep down I always hope they already know what matters most to me.What Matters MostObviously, what matters most varies from person to person. But by and large mothers, who focus the majority of their lives on developing good relationships with their children and willingly give up any possibility for real free time to teach and nurture their children, all agree on one thing: The power of the gift comes from the heart behind the gift, not the gift itself.Since my son recently started his own family, I felt it was a …
Posted by Monica Pond on May 10, 2019

What Will You Sacrifice?
Sacrifice is vital for happiness. Most people think the word โsacrificeโ is bad and sounds like a hardship, not a joyful journey. Happiness sounds much better! But without giving up some of our indulgences, excuses and time wasters, itโs difficult to accomplish the things that bring the most happiness, like fulfilling our roles as parents and living the missions God has in store for us. Whatโs your mission? Do you feel called to, โFeed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, teach the ignorant, comfort the lonely, create beauty, liberate the captives, or preach the gospelโ? (Oliver DeMille) These eight missions appear repeatedly throughout history as ways people change the world and othersโ lives for good. Does one of these missions stand out to you? Did you know that being a parent covers all eight of these missions? What will we sacrifice to do our very best at our …
Posted by Monica Pond on June 6, 2018

What Is Destroying Family Bonding?
There is an international parent/child bonding problem. The world has never seen a global lack of parent/child attachment like this before. Of course, there are factors leading to this detachment, factors that the world has also never seen before. Are we experimenting on our families and children and calling it good leadership? Have we given up our roles in the family for social conformity, loss of identity, and cluelessness? I know Iโm not going to win many points with diligent, loving parents by calling them clueless. Iโm not intending to be mean, but every day I see video after video that laughs at what parents donโt know. Comedians and YouTubers have never-ending fodder for their acts if parenting is continually equal to a joke. If parents are overly tough, people will laugh. If parents are passive, people will laugh. If parents are worn out and have attitude problems, people will …
Posted by Monica Pond on November 1, 2017

What If Your Child Is A Bully?
Let’s be careful not to bully our children into not being bullies. In a recent Huffington Post article a mother talked about how she taught her daughter”to damn well treat people right.” (Sorry for the language. That washer exact quote.) In the article the motherthreatened her daughter with no ride to school if the daughter didn’t include another girl in her friend group. In the end, the girls became friends and the daughter learned: “…her initial instinct about people isnโt always correctly motivated.” And that “…you can be friends with the least likely people; the best friendships arenโt people that are your ‘type!’In the world of friendship, contrast is a plus…” While I understand the point of the article is to promote inclusion of others, I have to “disagree appropriately” on a few things. First, teaching children not to follow their instincts can be dangerous for them. Instincts stop many …
Posted by Nicholeen Peck on April 25, 2016

What Children Think of Negative Consequences
I recently asked a group of 10-year-old children what kinds of negative consequences their families have. โAt our house, we sweep the floor and clean,โ said one boy. โMom gets mad and goes into a bad mood,โ said another boy. โMom used to send us to time out, but we donโt do that anymore,โ said a thoughtful girl. I asked her what they do for negative consequences now. She thought for a minute and said, โI guess Mom just does whatever she can think of to control us. Sometimes we get soap in our mouths when we say bad words, sometimes she gets really grumpy and makes life hard for us, and sometimes she takes our stuff away,โ she replied. Negative Consequences Shouldnโt Be Bad I then asked the children if they thought negative consequences are bad. Most of the children in the room said, โYesโ before the first little …
Posted by Monica Pond on July 18, 2018

TSG Parenting Course
10 modules including over 70 lessons Downloadable PDF workbook pages for each lesson Group live mentoring calls with certified TSG mentor Weekly Support Group calls with Nicholeen Downloadable version of the cue cards, meeting forms, and choices map. Teaching Self-Government 15-Lesson Family Tutorial included FREE (Viewable on the website, no DVD) Online videos of actual parenting interactions Lifetime access to online course materials More in-depth understanding of self-government and personal self-mastery Stronger relationship strategies for husband/wife relationship Suggested assignments for implementation success Please noteย that the course material isย online. No physical materials will be included. If you also wish to have the Parenting: A House United book or any other physical materials we recommend the Parenting University Packageย orย Parenting Essentials Package.
Posted by David Eggertsen on June 28, 2020

Treasure the Little Ones
As I rounded the corner of a shopping isle at a local grocery store, I heard crying. Through tears a young girl, about 8 years old, said, โTell me what it is Mom. Tell me what this is.โ The moment I turned into this isle, the mother was in the middle of yelling, โShut up right now or youโll be sorry!!!โ The mother caught a quick glimpse of me and immediately pretended she was examining the paper towels on the shelf. Then she quickly walked away. She had four girls with her. The oldest looked about 13. The 13-year-old, who didnโt see me, grabbed her younger sister by the arm and whacked her on the back side as hard as she could. The older sister looked proud of herself โ even though she now knew I was watching. Then the two of them quietly followed the group to the next …
Posted by Monica Pond on May 23, 2018

Traveling Trends Meet Parenting Problems
Family travel looks different these days than it used to. Todayโs parents were raised in a slower time. Most families planned one or two trips a year, which were usually taken during school holidays, and in our case, in the family travel trailer. While there are still families that really donโt like to leave home for even one night (even though I donโt know any of them myself), the average household spends 2 percent of its annual income on travel expenses. A familyโs average cost of travel is $4,700 per year according to Value Penguin and $4,300 per vacation according to Stuffed Suitcase. Many families spend around 30 days on vacation annually. What impact do all those travel days have on family relationships? I think the hope is that they be positive. Parents have always known that to create lasting memories, families need to have shared experiences for extended periods …
Posted by Monica Pond on June 18, 2018