Family Unity
Showing 1–12 of 135 results

Who Wants Realistic?
When one of our foster daughters lived with us years ago, she did something that the others hadnโt done. She spent the first few weeks very intently watching me. She watched the way I kept house, the way I parented my children, the time I spent reading scriptures and good books, etc.
Posted by Nicholeen Peck on September 11, 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

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 Breaks Relationships And How To Fix Them
Relationships require selfless service to survive. Although there are multiple reasons people site for their relationship dysfunctions, from infidelity to arguments, relationship problems usually all have two things in common: dishonesty and selfishness. According to The Institute For Family Studies, the leading causes of divorce are: infidelity, incompatibility, drinking or drug use, growing apart, a lack of commitment, and too much arguing. In my own studies of families who are working to overcome dysfunctional family relationships and fractured family bonds through Teaching Self-Government parenting services, Iโve noticed that the main causes of broken or damaged family bonds can be grouped into a handful of reasons. These reasons include: lack of communication, laziness, not valuing family, arguing and fights, lies and manipulations, excuses for bad behavior, disrespect for parental authority and position of the child, losing common values, and only being concerned with oneโs own feelings and wants. Every reason listed …
Posted by Monica Pond on December 28, 2020

What a Mother Wants Most!
Itโs often said that โa motherโs work is never done.โ There are multiple ways to see this sentiment. Either Mother never does her work, or Mother always has a task that needs doing, or perhaps that Mother is a mother no matter the age of her children. The first interpretation gives a negative and lazy view of Mother. The second seems to make Mother into a martyr to household chores. But, the third interpretation of this common saying offers wisdom and a vision of Motherโs key role in the lives of her family members forever. The focus of this article is this third interpretation. No matter how old her children and grandchildren grow, a mother is always invested in their welfare and concerned about their happiness and moral success. A few years ago, I came across a letter written by a mother during World War Two. It was a response …
Posted by Monica Pond on May 9, 2018

Truth Be ToldโฆInfluence of Family is Astounding!
Even though thereโs violence dotting the globe, the largest battle of our day isnโt physical. Itโs a war of words. All these words are supposed to lead the listeners to truth. Often the talk feels cheap even though the claim is each new idea, paradigm and argument is the most valuable. Is this word war new? How are children faring during this ideological war? What is happening to family relationships and the historical pattern for finding happiness and success in life? How is this war impacting business, government and religious groups? What impact does the family have on this battle? This battle of ideas has been going on since the beginning of time and is often referred to as โthe great debate.โ Philosophers, scientists, theologians and families have tried to determine which ideas are true and which are merely creative, or worse, controlling. Why? Because the search for truth is …
Truth Be ToldโฆInfluence of Family is Astounding! Read More »
Posted by Monica Pond on February 22, 2017

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

Transformational Education Conference
(This event is not hosted by TSG. Nicholeen will be a guest speaker.) Welcome! I donโt know about you, but 2020 was a tough year!ย Homeschooling wasnโt the same.ย I heard from so many people who were on their own and needed inspiration. โฆNew homeschoolers who were trying to school at home. โฆVeteran homeschoolers who were trying to make this new โnormalโ work for their kids. โฆParents whose kids were not doing well with the limited socialization. One day it came to meโฆย I want to help.ย And I know of many others who want to as well. So, the Transformational Education Homeschool Conference is BACK! Register TODAYย to join us Friday, February 19th, and Saturday, February 20th, from 8 am to 4 pm Pacific. There is NO COST for this online conference. You get to enjoy it in your own home. It is our gift to you! There will be …
Posted by Monica Pond on January 19, 2021

Theyโre Caught in the Moral Middle
Todayโs children are caught in the middle of multiple moral battle zones. You could even say that childrenโs moral battles are divorcing them from their parents. One of the most common characteristics of a child with divorced parents is that the child feels pulled between the parentsโ different values and lifestyles. Itโs common for husbands and wives to get divorced because they start following different morals. The children are almost always caught in the middle of these two moral worlds and are left to decide which parent they want to follow. Unfortunately, children of divorce arenโt the only ones who feel caught in the middle of mixed moral messages. Even though most parents werenโt perfect youngsters, the majority still try to implement high moral standards at home and raise the moral bar higher than what they lived up to as youth. This is especially the case for parents who lived …
Posted by Monica Pond on August 1, 2018